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?
Prevention zeroes in on families of heart disease sufferers
Filed under: Family history, Prevention
Earlier this year, my great-aunt passed away suddenly from an unknown heart condition. Her doctor recommended that all of her siblings, children, and nieces and nephews be screened for heart problems as well, flagging them at a higher risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Thankfully, no problems were uncovered, but they are now aware of the higher risk associated with having heart disease in our family.Scottish researchers believe that if family members of those with known heart disease were singled out as high-risk and their risk factors gotten under control, up to 40% of early deaths from cardiac events could be prevented. Even so, this type of flagging system is rarely used, even though it is common procedure among families with genetic cancers.
So if someone in your family has had some form of heart disease or heart attack, be sure that you know your risks. Talk to your doctor and tackle any problems that increase your chances of developing cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and protect your heart for the long haul.
Prescribed a blood thinner? Things you should know
Filed under: Prevention, Drugs
Shortly after giving birth to her first child, my sister-in-law developed a blood clot that traveled to her lung. Because she's only in her mid-30s, she was surprised to find out she'd be taking blood thinners for the rest of her life, due to a previously undiscovered genetic blood clotting disorder. Though blood thinners are commonly prescribed to those with high risk of heart attack or stroke, they're also prescribed to prevent blood clots and to those who suffer from atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure. When you first start using blood thinners, there are a few basics you should know, including:
- Blood thinners may interact with other medications you are taking, so be sure to tell you doctor about all prescription and over-the-counter drugs you use.
- Alcohol should be avoided while on blood thinners and patients should quit smoking.
- Regular monitoring of the blood is necessary to make sure your medication is effective.
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.
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!
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.
Blood pressure: 20 ways to do something about it
Filed under: Prevention, Men Heart Health
Who knows why so many people, men particularly, ignore their high blood pressure and don't make any moves to lower it -- only 1/3 of all patients with a diagnosis of hypertension have it under any kind of control at all. It's one of those illnesses that you can't necessarily feel doing damage, so it's easier to ignore. But whether you feel it happening or not, it is slowly killing you: among other things having high blood pressure increases your risk of heart attack by 4 times.Msn has compiled this list of 20 different things you can do to help lower your blood pressure. Although the article is written for men specifically, many of the tips are good for all of us, man or woman. Some things, like inactivity and stress, affect us all!
Flu or a heart attack
Filed under: Prevention, Women Heart Health
Nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain are symptoms of many conditions. During this flu season, don't just disregard your stomach illness as the flu and don't just pass it off as bad food that you ate. A lesson that I learned first hand from my doctor after my flu like symptoms kept coming and going. Conversations with my doctor about personal and family medical history, stress, and ongoing symptoms prompted her to order tests I thought were a little abnormal since I thought I had the flu. These upcoming tests opened my eyes and curiosity to hop on the Internet to do more research. I personally have battled cancer and my whole family has a large history of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. So with this in mind, my doctor has ordered up several tests to determine nothing else is wrong besides the nasty flu bug. With my personal cancer and lupus medical history and my family heart disease and diabetes medical history, the tests make more sense to me now.The obvious diagnosis of most nausea and vomiting is food poisoning. Nausea or vomiting one to eight hours after a meal may indicate food poisoning. However, certain food born bacteria, such as salmonella, can take longer to produce symptoms. If you are a woman and are pregnant, you experience nausea and vomiting. A viral infection such as the flu can induce vomiting and another well known cause for vomiting is ulcers.
Now a little awareness for the not so obvious reasons for vomiting and nausea. Heart attacks, gastroparesis (most common in diabetics), and certain cancers. Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death and disability in women after menopause and symptoms of a heart attack at times can be vague and mild in women and include nausea and vomiting. Gastroparesis means paralysis of the muscles of the stomach. Gastroparesis results in delayed emptying of food from the stomach into the small intestine and can cause one to have extreme nausea and vomiting. Certain types of cancers like stomach cancer can cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
So if you have persistent indigestion, nausea and vomiting off and on, don't just take it for granted that you have food poisoning or the stomach flu. Talk to your doctor about ongoing symptoms that you are experiencing so that they can get to the root of the problem better and give you a more thorough diagnosis.Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Taking care of women's hearts
Filed under: Heart Centers Online, Research, Women Heart Health
As you may know, The Cardio Blog is being retired today. It's been an honor to write for this blog, and I hope that the information we brought to you was useful and informative. Since this will be my last post for The Cardio Blog, I thought I'd write about a topic that is near and dear to my heart (pun, lamely, intended): women's heart health. We've seen it in the headlines again and again -- women, and often their doctors, don't always prioritize their health, and this seems to be especially an issue when it comes to heart health. But the fact is that heart disease is public enemy number one for women, and we all need to better understand and deal with our risk factors.
So I'll leave you with this post from Her Daily News. In it, they talk about Heart Truth, the National Institute of Health's campaign to bring heart education to women. They also include a checklist of questions to take to your doctor, as well as a list to help you understand your own risk. Do yourself -- and your heart -- a favor today and read through the questions to determine if you need to do more to protect your health.
Thanks for reading The Cardio Blog, and don't forget to come visit us at That's Fit for all of the latest news in health and fitness!
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.
:: [Next. Page]