Sunday, March 6, 2011

Heart Health



This is my notes on heart and heart diseases obtained solely from MedicalNet.com (wholesale -picture and notes), to be shared with my readers who might be interested to know. Let it be known that MedicalNet.com claim to bring Doctor's knowledge to you ... so I take the liberty to share their notes with you on the subject and should you need to know about any doctor's knowledge ( on any other topics important to you).. you know where to go and find them.

Your heart is an amazing powerhouse that pumps and circulates 5 or 6 gallons of blood each minute through your entire body

Understanding how the heartworks

To understand heart disease, you must first know how the heart works. The heart is like any other
muscle, requiring blood to supply oxygen and nutrients for it to function. It beats about
100,000 times a day, pumping blood through your circulatory system. The cycle of pumping blood throughout your body carries fresh oxygen to your lungs and nutrients to your body's tissues. Blood also takes waste, such as carbon dioxide, away from your tissues, without this process we could not live.


What is heart disease?

Heart disease begins when cholesterol, fatty material, and calcium build up in the arteries , a process known as atherosclerosis. When this occurs in the arteries that supply the heart, this buildup, or plaque, causes the arteries to narrow, so that oxygen delivery to the heart is reduced. The reduction in oxygen delivery to the heart can create chest pain, also called angina.


Blockage of the coronary arteries by plaque may cause a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or a fatal rhythm disturbance (sudden cardiac arrest).


The link between heart disease
and heart attack

When plaque builds up to the point that it ruptures, it causes a blood clot to form in the coronary artery. The blood clot blocks blood from flowing to the heart muscle, leading to a heart attack. In a worst-case scenario, sudden cardiac arrest or fatal rhythm disturbance can occur.


Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S




Heart disease: the number - one killer.

Heart disease affects about 14 million men and women in the United States, and it has a high mortality rate. In fact, it takes more lives than the next seven leading causes of death combined.



What are the risk factors for heart disease?

Some of the common risk factors for

heart disease include
  • smoking,
  • high blood pressure (hypertension),
  • high cholesterol,
  • diabetes,
  • family history of heart disease,
  • peripheral artery disease, and
  • obesity.




Lifestyle risk factors that contribute to heart disease include :-
lack of exercise,
high-fat diet,
emotional stress and
having a "type A" personality (aggressive, impatient, competitive).



One of the most devastating consequences of heart disease can be sudden cardiac arrest



Sudden cardiac death - a fatal consequence of heart disease. Everyone's experience with heart disease is different. Some people experience shortness of breath or chest pain and make it to the hospital in time to be treated. Others are not as lucky. For some people, sudden cardiac arrest can be the first symptom they experience, and it is often deadly unless treated immediately.


Besides chest pain (angina) and shortness of breath, some other common symptoms of heart disease include jaw pain, back pain, and heart palpitations.


What are common symptoms of heart disease?

Symptoms of heart disease usually occur during exercise or activity. That's because the heart experiences increased demand for nutrients and oxygen that cannot be met because the coronary arteries are blocked. Other symptoms of heart disease include

chest pain (angina), shortness of breath, jaw pain, and back pain, especially on the left side


Other symptoms of heart disease may include dizziness, weakness, irregular heartbeat, nausea, and abdominal pain.




Other symptoms of heart disease may include

  • dizziness or light-headedness,
  • weakness when at rest,
  • irregular heartbeat,
  • nausea, and
  • abdominal pain.

Women, seniors, and people with diabetes tend to experience heart disease differently than men.


What are the heart disease symptoms in women, seniors, and people with diabetes?


For many women, seniors, and people with diabetes, pain is not a symptom of heart disease at all. Instead of experiencing discomfort, they often have symptoms of malaise or fatigue.


There are variety of tests to detect heart disease and it related treatments. Not to forget are some available means of control and lifestyle changes that can be made to prevent heart disease but that will another dig on this not so heart warming topic.

May Allah bless us all and keep us from suffering this dreadful disease.

Have a nice and productive days ahead.

7 comments:

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Ayoh Wang,
Very informative, thank you. We had many people close to the family who died suddenly of heart attack, one uncle actually died laughing (serious! Was enjoying a good joke then suddenly slumped on the chair and died on d spot). And of course there's my Pak Long who had a bypass last yr. purrrrr.....meow!

Dmarie said...

seems I'm often hearing of women who go to the hospital and wait for hours to be served, unknowingly having a heart attack that doesn't match the normally expected symptoms. OH, sign me up for dying while laughing like Cat's uncle. We've all gotta go someway and that would sure beat choking to death on a peanut butter sandwich. ;)

Wan Sharif said...

Dear CiS,
My condolence to the family of your uncle who died laughing.. may be we should make less joke (if we know some people who have heart problem around). So is your pak Long now.. enjoying a stronger heart I supposed.

Wan Sharif said...

Dear Dmarie,
We seems to have more serious problem here.. some private practices refused to treat people wiyhout guarentee letters from Assurance companies or form the corporation or employer..
Then there someone who cannot be treated fast enough at Government sponsored hospital because somebody thought one is feigning sickness..
Hopefully we get better treatment when we need them.

yohteh said...

...Ayoh Wang... nicely shared journal... if only today I'm started to come across your blog, proudly I shall call you "Doktor Wang Sharif" and surely asking for your clinic whereabout... hehe...

Wan Sharif said...

Yohteh,
What ever written here is from somewhere else compiled for self use.. I am worried as so many friends leading the way and some are not so lucky.. Just to let my current kind readers know the site of Doctors knowledge.. MedicalNet.com
You sure know how to make joke on my attempt but that not was so bad yet.. Someone very close to me went to see a lecturer who has a PhD in Syariah and after a lengthy conversation asked for that Lecturer 's clinic.. ha..ha..ha

superhumanradio said...

This blog about heart heath is very informative and useful.It is really important to keep our heart healthy to avoid heart problems.Thanks for this wonderful post.