Cholesterol is a wax-like substance present in the cell membranes of body tissues and is carried in the blood plasma. It is a sterol (alcohol and steroid combination), also called atherosclerotic plaque. The body requires cholesterol to form and sustain the...
It is a common misconception that coconut oil is bad for you. People worldwide are experiencing the healthy benefits of using coconut oil. It is one of the healthiest oils you can consume. Coconut oil is a product that can be obtained from dried coconut or fresh...
Cholesterol is a wax-like substance present in the cell membranes of body tissues and is carried in the blood plasma. It is a sterol (alcohol and steroid combination), also called atherosclerotic plaque. The body requires cholesterol to form and sustain the...
Within 10 seconds of your first puff, the toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your brain, heart and other organs. Smoking harms almost every part of your body and increases your risk of many diseases. Smoking also affects how you look and feel, your finances and...
Everyone has heard the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but it's not just an old cliche, it’s true in a lot of ways. Apples have a variety of helpful vitamins, minerals, and fiber that make them extremely healthy. They can help with disease...
Cholesterol is a wax-like substance present in the cell membranes of body tissues and is carried in the blood plasma. It is a sterol (alcohol and steroid combination), also called atherosclerotic plaque. The body requires cholesterol to form and sustain the...
It is a common misconception that coconut oil is bad for you. People worldwide are experiencing the healthy benefits of using coconut oil. It is one of the healthiest oils you can consume. Coconut oil is a product that can be obtained from dried coconut or fresh...
Within 10 seconds of your first puff, the toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke reach your brain, heart and other organs. Smoking harms almost every part of your body and increases your risk of many diseases. Smoking also affects how you look and feel, your finances and...
Everyone has heard the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but it's not just an old cliche, it’s true in a lot of ways. Apples have a variety of helpful vitamins, minerals, and fiber that make them extremely healthy. They can help with disease...
Food (and water) is the absolute first thing you need in order to ensure life. Without it you would wither away and die. You need food for its nutrition and for its sustenance. But are the foods you consume today supplying you with good solid nutrition, or are many of...
If you’re currently not eating a healthy diet, it can be difficult to start such a plan. However, healthy eating along with some exercise is very important for maintaining a good bodily function and goes a long way towards living a disease-free life. If you struggle...
Because all of us have been brought up eating junk food, well most of us, it is not easy to change our eating habits. Your eating habits have developed since childhood based on what your mothers or fathers cooked and what your psychological make-up was...
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March 25, 2022 Glynis Kennedy
A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is blocked. The blockage is most often a buildup of fat, cholesterol, and other substances, which form a plaque in the arteries that feed the heart (coronary arteries).
Sometimes plaque can rupture and form a clot that blocks blood flow. The interrupted blood flow can damage or destroy part of the heart muscle.
A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, can be fatal, but treatment has improved dramatically over the years. It’s crucial to call 911 or emergency medical help if you think you might be having a heart attack.
The major symptoms of a heart attack are:
Other symptoms of a heart attack could include unusual or unexplained tiredness and nausea or vomiting. Women are more likely to have these other symptoms.
Heart attacks can also be caused by blood clots or torn blood vessels. Less commonly, a heart attack is caused by a blood vessel spasm.
Several factors can put you at risk for a heart attack. Some factors you can’t change, such as age and family history. Other factors, called modifiable risk factors, are ones you can change.
Risk factors that you can’t change include:
Modifiable risk factors which you can change include:
Act immediately. Some people wait too long because they don’t recognize the important signs and symptoms. Take these steps:
If you see someone who’s unconscious and you believe is having a heart attack, call for emergency medical help. Then check if the person is breathing and has a pulse. If the person isn’t breathing or you don’t find a pulse, only then should you begin CPR.
Push hard and fast on the person’s chest in a fairly rapid rhythm — about 100 to 120 compressions a minute.
If you haven’t been trained in CPR, doctors recommend performing only chest compressions. If you have been trained in CPR, you can go on to opening the airway and rescue breathing.
Diagnosis
A diagnosis of a heart attack is made by a doctor after they perform a physical exam and review your medical history. Your doctor will likely conduct an electrocardiogram (ECG) to monitor your heart’s electrical activity.
They should also take a sample of your blood or perform other tests to see if there’s evidence of heart muscle damage.
If your doctor diagnoses a heart attack, they’ll use a variety of tests and treatments, depending on the cause.
Your doctor may order a cardiac catheterization. This is a probe that’s inserted into your blood vessels through a soft flexible tube called a catheter. It allows your doctor to view areas where plaque may have built up. Your doctor can also inject dye into your arteries through the catheter and take an X-ray to see how the blood flows, as well as view any blockages.
If you’ve had a heart attack, your doctor may recommend a procedure (surgery or nonsurgical). Procedures can relieve pain and help prevent another heart attack from occurring.
Common procedures include:
Your doctor may also prescribe medications to treat your heart attack, including:
Complications are often related to the damage done to your heart during a heart attack, which can lead to:
It’s never too late to take steps to prevent a heart attack — even if you’ve already had one. Here are ways to prevent a heart attack.
If you’ve had a heart attack, your heart may be damaged. This could affect your heart’s rhythm and its ability to pump blood to the rest of the body. You may also be at risk for another heart attack or conditions such as stroke, kidney disorders, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
You can lower your chances of having future health problems following a heart attack with these steps:
A team of people may help you through cardiac rehab, including your health care team, exercise, and nutrition specialists, physical therapists, and counselors or mental health professionals.
What lifestyle changes are needed after or before a heart attack?
To keep heart disease from getting worse and to head off another heart attack, follow your doctor’s advice. You might need to change your lifestyle. Here are some changes you can make that can cut your risk and put you on the path to a healthier life:
Stop smoking: Smoking dramatically raises your risk of both heart attacks and strokes. Talk to your doctor about how to quit. You’ll also be doing your friends and family a favor, since secondhand smoke can also lead to heart disease.
Keep a healthy body weight: If you’re overweight or obese, you don’t have to get thin to reduce your risk for a heart attack or stroke. If you lose 5% to 10% of your weight, you’ll improve your cholesterol numbers and lower your blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Follow an exercise plan: Moderate physical activity lowers your chances of a heart attack. It also can reduce your blood pressure and LDL or “bad” cholesterol, raise your HDL or “good” cholesterol, and help you stay at a healthy weight.
Aim for 30 minutes of exercise that gets your heart pumping at least 5 days a week. Brisk walking or swimming are some good choices. On the other 2 days, do strength training, like lifting weights. If you’ve got a tight schedule, break your exercise routine into small chunks.
Eat a heart-healthy diet: Fill your plate with different kinds of fruits, veggies, beans, and lean meats, such as poultry without the skin. Also up your intake of whole grains like oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, and fish, (especially those with omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, trout, and herring).
Avocados, olive oil, and flaxseeds also have omega-3s, as do some nuts and seeds. Fat-free or low-fat dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese also are better choices for your heart health than higher-fat versions.
Cut back on unhealthy foods: Stay away from processed or prepared foods that often are high in salt and added sugar. They’re also filled with preservatives. Avoid fatty beef, butter, fried foods, and palm oil. All are high in saturated fats.
Skip sugary drinks like sodas and fruit punch, which can lead to weight gain. So can packaged baked goods such as cookies, cakes, and pies. They are high in trans fats and can raise your cholesterol levels.
Limit alcohol: If you don’t drink already, don’t start. If you do drink, limit how much you drink. The recommendation is no more than one drink a day if you are a woman and no more than two a day if you are a man. Drinking raises your heart rate and blood pressure. It also increases the level of fat in your blood and can cause weight gain.
Get regular checks of your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar (glucose) levels. If you have diabetes, make sure it’s controlled. Keeping a check on these numbers can help you be more aware of the changes you need to make to keep these levels within normal limits.
Control stress: You may feel anxious or frustrated at times. Make sure you open up to your family and friends about what’s going on. Support groups can help you learn how others adjusted to life after a heart attack or stroke.
You may want to talk to a mental health professional or ask your doctor about a stress management program. You can also reduce stress with plenty of physical activity and mind-body practices like meditation.
Pay attention to your symptoms: Don’t just hope they’ll go away. See your doctor if you feel anything unusual, like shortness of breath, changes in your heart rhythm, or extreme tiredness. Also, watch for pain in your jaw or back, nausea or vomiting, sweating, or flu-like symptoms.
Bottom line
Improving your heart health after a heart attack depends on how well you stick to your doctor’s treatment plan. It also depends on your ability to identify potential problems.
Knowing your risk factors and making lifestyle changes can help you become a survivor and enjoy your life.
Did you know that the leading cause of death globally is cardiovascular disease? And that these diseases are responsible for 17.9 million deaths each year?
Shocking, right? Well, not really.
You will soon find out why.
Cardiovascular diseases or CVDs concern disorders of the heart and blood vessels which can manifest in the form of coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, and other conditions.
Heart attacks and strokes are the most common deaths and, what may come as surprising to you, most of them occur in people under 70 years of age.
If you suffer from high blood pressure, raised blood glucose, raised blood lipids, and obesity, you should know that some of these health concerns are behavioral risk factors of heart disease and stroke.
So, what are these factors? The most common and obvious ones are physical inactivity, an unhealthy diet, smoking, and drinking too much alcohol. All of these increase the risk of complications, such as heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.
Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect your heart. Some of them are:
The good news is that you can prevent many of these forms of heart disease or even treat them with a healthier lifestyle. Changing your lifestyle choices and some habits might not seem that easy. However, it is an easy way to prevent yourself from CVDs. And what better motivation is there than living a long and healthier life? You can start by quitting tobacco use, reducing the amount of salt in your diet, adding some more fruit and vegetables to your diet, practicing physical activity regularly, and avoiding alcohol. Any of these lifestyle choices will reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
To facilitate things, there are healthy practices that people can follow to maintain good health. Let’s look at some affordable heart healthy choices.
Can Vitamins Help with Heart Disease?
Vitamins are essential to normal life and the normal functions of the body. Plus, there are some that may even help prevent and treat CVDs. This group includes antioxidant vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids), folic acid (FA), vitamins B6 and B12 from the vitamin B group, vitamin D, and coenzyme Q10.
The question you might want to ask is whether ingesting a number of vitamins i.e., vitamin substitution therapy, is effective in preventing and/or treating CVDs.
Despite the long investigation on the benefits of vitamins in CVDs, which is supported by observational studies and randomized controlled trials, the data remains inconsistent. The role of vitamins in primary or secondary prevention of CVD hasn’t been defined and some cases indicated increased mortality in those with pre-existing late-stage atherosclerosis.
Although not confirmed in trials, it has been suggested to prioritize combination therapy over single supplementation. Studies have indicated that β-carotene mediates pro-oxidant effects and that its negative effects may diminish the beneficial ones that come from the other vitamins in the supplementation cocktail. The trials on a combination of vitamins that include β-carotene have proven to be disappointing.
Meanwhile, vitamin E and vitamin C combined have shown long-term anti-atherogenic effects even if their combined effect on clinical endpoints has been inconsistent. We can also see in some studies that vitamins would be beneficial to individuals who are antioxidant-deficient or exposed to increased levels of oxidative stress. These include smokers, diabetics, and elderly patients. Because of this information, we can see the importance of subgroup targeting. If we manage to define the right population group and the best vitamin combination, there is a good chance of finding a positive future role for vitamins in the treatment of CVDs. How great does that sound?
Another way is through certain vitamins called antioxidants.
Antioxidants are the vitamins responsible for keeping cholesterol from going through “oxidation.” This process consists of the reaction of oxygen with cholesterol in your blood and causes the “bad” cholesterol (called “LDL” cholesterol) to stick to the lining of your arteries and even block them, not letting the blood get through. There are foods, especially fruits and vegetables, that effectively prevent this process from happening. Vitamin E and vitamin C are probably the best vitamin antioxidants. Vitamin E might reduce your risk of a heart attack if you already live with heart disease; Vitamin C complements vitamin E while improving the function of your arteries.
Some foods that contain antioxidants are:
Vitamin E and vitamin C play a crucial role in lowering the risk of heart disease, and foods containing these vitamins are a good way to achieve a positive health outcome. You may have already heard from your doctor to take extra of these vitamins if you have had any of the following problems:
Doctors and investigators haven’t defined a precise ideal dose. However, the following amounts of vitamin C and vitamin E areconsidered reasonable:
Most people don’t have side effects from many of these vitamins, but those who do may notice nausea, bloating, an upset stomach, or loose stools at first. So, be aware.
Also, you should not take vitamin C for three days before you have your blood tested.
If you’re already taking a blood-thinning drug like warfarin (brand name: Coumadin), and want to take vitamin E, you should take a dose lower than 800 IU per day. This is because of the fact that this vitamin acts like a blood thinner when you take more than the dose suggested above. Check with your doctor.
Good food sources of vitamin E:
Good food sources of vitamin C:
If you make sure to eat lots of foods containing antioxidants and phytochemicals, you will be doing more to improve your overall health.
You can surely find a good balance in some multivitamins, but they rarely have the amount of vitamin E and vitamin C that you may need for a healthy heart. Taking daily multivitamins along with extra vitamin C and vitamin E could be a reasonable solution. Be sure to ask your doctor about this before you take any multivitamin or combination of vitamins.
Women still menstruating should probably take a multivitamin containing extra iron. For those who are past menopause, this isn’t necessary, and multivitamins with 4 mg or less should be enough. Extra iron in your body can cause oxidation, so be sure to check with your doctor about the kind of multivitamin that is best for you.
Coenzyme Q10 ( CoQ10) is an enzyme that your body naturally makes in small amounts. If you take it as a supplement, it may help lower blood pressure.
Pills that contain CoQ10 are popular as a treatment for the side effects of statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs). Statins are drugs that usually have side effects, precisely lowering the amount of CoQ10 that the body makes naturally. Although not supported by overall scientific evidence, some doctors suggest that taking a CoQ10 supplement can make up for the loss, and perhaps relieve problems such as muscle pain and weakness.
Fiber, which can be found in fruits, grains, vegetables, and legumes, lowers your cholesterol. The ideal dosage is at least 25 to 30 grams of it daily. For men less than 51 years of age the goal should be 38 grams a day. Getting your daily dose from your diet is recommended, but supplements are also an option. When you start taking a fiber supplement, be aware to increase the amount slowly and drink enough liquids. This can help prevent gas and cramping. Nuts and grains contain sterols and stanols which are also useful to reduce the amount of cholesterol that your body absorbs from food. You can buy them as supplements or even find them added to other foods, such as some kinds of margarine, orange juice, and yogurts. For people who have high cholesterol, 2 grams a day are recommended to help lower LDL cholesterol.
Other beneficial foods and liquids
The American Heart Association recommends that all adults eat at least two 3.5-ounce servings of fish a week, as you can find benefits, like improvement of blood pressure, from having fish oil in your diet.
Research has shown that garlic could also slightly lower blood pressure and lower the risk of blood clots.
Some research concerning green tea showed signs of it lowering LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and raising HDL levels.
After taking all of these facts into consideration, you should always be cautious when you take supplements. Not all of them will be helpful to you. So, be sure to pay attention to what it does and if it will be beneficial for you. If you are interested, you should ask your doctor first, especially if you have a heart condition or a high risk of a heart attack.
Bottom line
Vitamins are not yet proven to be helpful for curing CDV diseases. Nevertheless, there are still many things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease. It is important to decrease your risk factors and adjusting your lifestyle remains an effective choice, you can add vitamins or supplements to your healthy lifestyle choices.
Seven Simple methods to Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease:
It remains important to stress the necessity of preventing heart diseases. In today’s society, people usually start worrying about their health when they already have a problem. Yet, if you start gradually making changes to your lifestyle you will experience great health benefits which you will surely be thankful for in the future. If you already suffer from a heart condition, making healthier choices will also be of great importance to you.
