Millie Bruce -- World News Trust
May 14, 2011 -- For men and women of all ages, coronary disease is considered the No. 1 killer.
It kills more people than ALL different types of cancer joined together. If you are black or over 65, your chance of heart disease is bigger, but it's an equal opportunity destroyer. Any individual, any where, anytime could have a cardiac arrest [1].
Myth 1: Only older adults need to be concerned about their cardiovascular system.
Heart disease develops with time. Being a couch-potato, boredom eating and never working out are all improper habits that might begin in childhood. More and more medical doctors are starting to have victims of heart attacks in their 20s and 30s in place of sufferers generally in their 50s and 60s.
Appearing physically fit and at the right weight is not going to protect you from heart attacks. Although, both working out regularly and keeping the right body weight helps. You'll still want to check your cholesterol levels and blood pressure. The right blood cholesterol (or lipid profile) quantity is below 200. A very good blood pressure level is 120/80.
Myth 2: I'd feel ill if I had high blood pressure levels or high cholesterol.
They call these, “silent killers” basically because they exhibit NO warning signs. One-third of all mature people have high blood pressure. Of those, one-third do not know they have it.
Cholesteral tests measure the fats maintained through your blood. Fats may be dropped anywhere in your body, but may congregate all around internal organs, as well as your heart. The condition runs in families. Even if you're at a good body weight and do not smoke, have your cholesterol and blood pressure analyzed frequently. Once will not be enough [2].
Myth 3: Men and women DON'T have the same signs.
Women and men CAN have exactly the same symptoms, but they generally will not. Females tend to have the subtler signs though men more regularly experience the type of heart attacks you see in the movies. But, either gender CAN have any indicators and symptoms.
These subtler signs and symptoms, which include jaw achiness, nausea or vomiting, difficulty breathing and intense fatigue, usually tend to get explained away. “My jaw hurt mainly because my lunch sandwich was on whole-grain bread and I simply had to chew very hard,” or , while clutching their stomach, “I shouldn't have had that extra piece of pizza.” “Half of women have no chest pain in any way,” announces Kathy Magliato, a heart expert at California's St. John's Health Center. Pay attention to your whole body for warning signs.
Not surprisingly, both males and females can experience the “grab-your-chest-and-fall-down-gasping” type of heart attack, but now you already know, that is not the only kind.
Myth 4: Given that my glucose level is in check, Type 2 diabetes will not be a heart risk.
While continuing to keep your blood sugar level with a standard range (80ml-120ml) keeps you healthier and stronger, just having the added blood sugar in your system takes its toll on arteries. You will be training and eating more healthy to help control your type 2 diabetes. Remember to test your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, too.
Myth 5: My doctor would order exams if I were at risk for cardiovascular disease.
Most of us sometimes fail to tell the physician about the little aches we feel. Health professionals, not knowing some of the things we deem as unimportant, can pass over heart exams.
“Mammograms and Colonoscopies are regularly prescribed,” says Merdod Ghafouri, a cardiologist at Inova Fairfax Medical center in Va, [3] “and are usually very important, but heart tests typically are not routinely done.” A cardiac scan can identify plaque build-up inside the arteries before you even identify you've got a problem.
Do you have the oil pressure and transmission liquid checked in your car? Doesn't your only heart ought to have as much attention as your motor vehicle?
Links to Extra Information About Heart Disease:
- [1] The Web MD is a good source for good and timely health and medical facts and information. They have a high-quality post covering coronary heart common myths.
- [2] Mediterranean Book is the National Board for the preservation of the Mediterranean healthy eating cultures. It's a non-profit web site managed by Southern Italians that encourages the Mediterranean Sea Eating plan. They provide news and medical-related research connected to the many benefits of the Mediterranean diet plan to prevent heart disease.
- [3] Nutrition Certification is an informative webpage that features free guide for medical practitioners who might need to get a certificate in nutrition. Most health professionals need to give consideration to their patient's diet program and target it to focus on their heart health. They provide a deep overview of the best online nutrition certification programs supplied by the top U.S. faculties skilled in cardiovascular disease.
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M. Bruce (@millie_bruce on Twitter.com) was born in Banffshire, Scotland Aug. 2, 1944. She earned an undergraduate degree in Medical science at the University of Glasgow in 1962. She has provided nourishment guidance and coached adult nutrition in Adult Daycare Treatment centers. She previously worked for clinical journalists and testers that posted reports for the New England Journal of Medicine. She retired in 2005 and is now a contributor to health-related websites and blogs.