CVD
In practice, cardiovascular disease is treated by How to prevent Cardiovascular Disease?
cardiologists, thoracic surgeons, vascular surgeons,
neurologists, and interventional radiologists, depending on Take steps to avoid heart disease -- don't smoke, get
the organ system that is being treated. There is regular exercise and eat healthy foods. Avoid heart
considerable overlap in the specialties, and it is common problems in the future by adopting a healthy lifestyle today.
for certain procedures to be performed by different types of Here are some heart disease prevention tips to get you
specialists in the same hospital. Most countries face high started.
and increasing rates of cardiovascular disease. Each year,
heart disease kills more Americans than cancer. In recent Have your blood pressure checked occasionally. Keep
years, cardiovascular risk in women has been increasing your blood pressure low by eating a diet low in sodium,
and has killed more women than breast cancer. A large exercising and keeping your arteries functioning.
histological study (PDAY) showed vascular injury
accumulates from adolescence, making primary prevention Eat less cholesterol, Trans and saturated fats. Those
efforts necessary from childhood. clog up your arteries, forcing your heart to work harder and
even speeding up respiration.
By the time that heart problems are detected, the
underlying cause (atherosclerosis) is usually quite Eat less meat. A diet low in saturated fat is one crucial
advanced, having progressed for decades. There is factor in preventing heart disease, obesity, cancer, and
therefore increased emphasis on preventing diabetes among others. One way to lower your intake of
atherosclerosis by modifying risk factors, such as healthy saturated fat is to limit your intake of meat and high-fat dairy
eating, exercise and avoidance of smoking. products. Incorporate more meatless meals into your diet.
Meatless Monday is a non-profit national public health
What causes Cardiovascular Disease? campaign in association with the Johns Hopkins School of
Public Health that advocates lowering your intake saturated
The following things can increase your risk: fat by limiting meat consumption.
Smoking
High blood pressure Exercise regularly. Exercising has so many benefits. It
High blood cholesterol relieves stress, lowers your blood pressure, burns fat,
Physical inactivity strengthens your immune system and just leaves you
Being overweight or obese feeling good for the rest of the day.
Diabetes
Stay at your healthy weight, or lose weight if you need
Family history
to in order to be healthy. Shedding a few extra pounds
Age - the older you are the more likely you are to
will take a lot of stress off your heart, feet, bones, joints and
develop CVD Ethnicity
lungs, and keeps your blood pressure and cholesterol
levels down.
Why high blood pressure hurts?
Avoid excess stress. Stress will raise your blood pressure.
High blood pressure increases the heart workload and can
Always look on the bright side of things, and don' t use any
lead to increased arterial damage, opening the door further
chemicals as a crutch.
for atherosclerosis. This is because increased blood
pressure scars the artery walls and causes damage. Where
Avoid tobacco smoking and places where
the damage occurs, more plaque is likely to form, and the
Environmental Tobacco Smoke is present. About 20% of
plaque causes the artery walls to narrow and lose flexibility.
cases of CVD are caused by smoking. 40,000 non-smoking
This in turn causes the body to increase blood pressure.
Americans get CVD and die from secondhand smoke each
year (American Heart Association). Secondhand smoke is
High blood pressure is also the biggest risk factor for
the third leading preventable cause of death in America.
stroke. Your brain is given blood, containing oxygen and
nutrients, by the arteries in your neck. If these arteries
Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases?
begin to narrow because of a build up of fatty material, it
can affect your blood supply to your brain. A stroke
The traditional approach is medication and surgery, but
happens when the artery carrying blood to your brain is
several published studies indicate that a second and even
blocked, or an artery bleeds into your brain. Stroke can
third opinion should be obtained before proceeding with
affect the way your body works and the way you think.
surgery.
When high blood pressure exists with obesity, smoking,
high blood cholesterol levels, or diabetes, the risk of heart
"Angiograms, bypass surgery, and angioplasty are a
attack or stroke increases several times.
big business. Over one million heart angiograms are
performed each year for a total annual cost of over ten
Family history of cardiovascular disease billion dollars. But based upon extensive analysis, it
appears that most of this money is wasted. The use of
Family history is an important cardiovascular disease (CVD)
expensive surgery is physically invasive and traumatic for
risk factor. Preventive behaviors, including lifestyle
the heart patient, and upon evaluation of case histories has
modifications, can attenuate CVD risk. If you have a family
been shown to be five to ten times more deadly than the
history of CVD, that is your father or brother was diagnosed
disease, and in many instances unnecessary!" [As reported
when they were under 55, or your mother or sister when
in: Graboys, et. al. 1987 Journal of the American Medical
they were under 65, you also have an increased risk of
Association; Graboys, et. al. 1992 Journal of the American
developing the condition.
Medical Association; Coronary Artery Surgery Study
(CASS) 1984 New England Journal of Medicine; CASS
As well as the risk of CVD, genes can also be responsible
study, Alderman, et. al. 1982 and 1990 Circulation
for passing on other conditions such as high blood pressure
(Journal)].
or high cholesterol levels. Lifestyle habits, such as smoking
or poor diet can be passed on from one generation to the
Many scientific studies validate the effect diet and
next. If CVD runs in your family tell your doctor. You can
supplements can have for the body to heal damages to the
help minimize the risks by avoiding smoking, watching your
cardiovascular system. Lifestyle changes can also make a
weight, eating healthily, and taking regular physical activity.
big difference.
