Young golfer doesn't let heart defect end dreams, it's the LPGA for her
Filed under: Events, Children Heart Health
I am always inspired when I hear of a young person overcoming the restrictions that a congenital heart defect can place on them. As a mother of a child with a heart defect, I often experience those niggling questions of, "Will my child truly lead a normal life? Will this unfortunate bit of misdirected body tissue stop him from pursuing his dreams?"Young MacKinzie Kline, just 15 years old, has not allowed her defect to mar her dreams. Last week she participated in an LPGA golf tour event in Charleston, North Carolina. Kline received permission to ride in a golf cart during the competition, a huge decision for the event organizers, because she has difficulty breathing and walking long distances.
Kline is an inspiration for both children and parents of children who have congenital heart defects. It is always such a joy to read of somebody overcoming hurdles and setting higher goals for the rest of us.
Heart x-ray linked to risk of cancer
Filed under: Women Heart Health, Children Heart Health
When a doctor wants to see inside a heart, one option is to use a procedure called computed tomography (CT) coronary angiography, which can identify problems inside the heart and arteries without making a cut. But the use of the higher radiation procedure on certain patients is being questioned. By taking what they know about certain kinds of radiation, researchers were able to predict the risk of developing cancer for various groups of people. What they found was that women who underwent the procedure were especially at risk, because the breasts may be damaged by the x-ray. Young women, especially, had an increased chance of developing cancer, because their is a longer period of time in front of them for cancer to develop. There are other procedures that can help make a diagnosis of a heart condition if a patient falls into a high-risk group, so it's likely that doctors will start weeding out who gets this kind of heart x-ray and who doesn't.
The truth about women and heart disease
Filed under: Women Heart Health
Although breast cancer seems to be getting a lot more press lately, the biggest threat to women's health today is actually heart disease. And although men are more often thought of when picturing a heart attack victim, the truth is women are actually more likely to both have heart disease and they're more likely to die from a heart attack in the weeks immediately following than men are. The Mayo Clinic has a handy quiz for women regarding the truth on a variety of health topics, heart disease and breast cancer included, and it's interesting to read the explanations after you take it because some of the answers are surprising!
10 things you need to know about your heart problems
Filed under: Drugs, Women Heart Health, Men Heart Health, Aging Heart Health, Surgery
You've been diagnosed with a heart problem. You have a lot of questions but you can't seem to get your head around this, this thing that's just been dropped on you like bomb. You probably feel very alone but believe it or not, situations like this are pretty common so WebMD has come up with this handy list of things you should ask your doctor about your heart condition. You need to know the facts, what can be done and where you'll end up on this roller coaster of life--and you might not know which questions to ask. Either that or you're too overwhelmed to think it through. You can even print the list out and take it to your doctor.
If you've gone through this before, what information did you find the most useful?
Men: Smoking can harm your unborn children
Filed under: Smoking, Men Heart Health
In a recent post on our sister blog, That's Fit, Jonathon Morgan wrote a post on the fact that male smokers can damage the genetic makeup of their offspring. I am always happy to see research done in equal measures on both males and females. So often, only men (as in a large number of heart attack studies) or only women (as in the effects on unborn children) are used in studies.It takes two to tango, so to speak, and it just makes sense that what men do translates to their babies. Doing studies on the effects that fathers have on their offspring is welcome. There have been studies that show that men who drink a lot can affect their unborn children. What we do very rarely affects only ourselves in real life. Knowing that smoking can affect their offspring might get some men, who are not taking the warnings of harming their own health seriously, to quit smoking. I believe that there are many men out there who truly believe that they are invincible, and do not heed warnings about the effects of smoking. I also believe that a large number of those men will think twice about lighting up when it can harm their children.
We are, of course, assuming that men who smoke can "make" babies in the first place. Men should also remember that smoking can lead to impotence. Men who started smoking in their teens can be impotent in their 30s or 40s. So, guys, if you want to make healthy babies, butt out!
Heart health and family history
Filed under: Family history, Prevention
When we first applied for life insurance, my marathon running husband was shocked to find out that his premium would be twice as high as mine. The reason, according to our agent, was his strong family history of early heart disease. Though we knew that genetics play a role, we thought that a healthy lifestyle would balance things out. Not so, at least in the eyes of life insurance companies.A healthy lifestyle does have a significant impact on your heart health, but if you've been wondering just how much of a role family history plays in your personal risk of cardiovascular disease, check out this article from WebMD. It covers the basics of family history and may help initiate a conversation about prevention with your doctor.
What you need to know about coronary heart disease
Filed under: Prevention, Research, Women Heart Health, Men Heart Health
How much do you know about coronary heart disease? I'll admit that I don't know much -- afterall, I'm young and healthy and far from heart problems ... at least I hope I am. But everyone should be informed about their health. We don't need medical degrees but we should know what risks we face and what arising symptoms could mean.Dr. Naidu of Heart Matters recently posted this info on coronary heart disease, including the risk factors and prevention methods. By living a healthy lifestyle, not smoking, being active and managing my stress, I'm doing pretty well at preventing coronary heart disease, and it's good to know what I'm doing right. Don't you think?
Lifestyle strategies for your healthiest heart
Filed under: Women Heart Health, Men Heart Health, Aging Heart Health
We often post tips and facts about having a healthy heart, but over at That's Fit, I think this post sums up what you need to do to have a healthy heart. Here's what they recommend:- Get a good night's sleep
- Get active -- this especially includes resistance training
- Drink wine in moderation
- Eat fish, or some other source of Omega 3's
- Floss regularly
- Quit smoking
- Take a daily walk
- An aspirin a day can take the heart problems away -- but talk to your doctor first.
Keep your heart health a priority!
Filed under: Blogs
So The Cardio Blog is going into retirement, and since is this is my last post I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all for reading! It's been a blast writing and reading and learning about the importance of taking care of ourselves and our heart health specifically, and of course I encourage you all to continue doing so. There are countless great resources online (even though we were voted #1!) and I thought I'd share a few that I personally like and plan to stay in touch with:A Hearty Life
The Heart Scan Blog
Mark's Daily Apple
That's Fit
So keep your heart health a priority! If you don't have your health, what do you have?
Global warming and heart health
Filed under: Prevention, Daily news
Global warming is a term we're all familiar with right now, and as we look to the future of our planet, we can only wonder what effects it will have. At the European Society of Cardiology's annual meeting this week in Austria, conversations turned to the affects of global warming on heart health, and some experts are concerned.Citing the fact that hearts don't do as well in hot weather, some cardiologists feel that in the coming years we may see an increase in heart related fatalities. Others think that pollution and overpopulation (leading us all to live in cities) may be a problem. Still others think that humans may adapt, and that warmer temperatures may get people out exercising more frequently.
It's all speculation at this point, but it's interesting nonetheless. What do you think?
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