Heart disease in women

The disease is the number one killer and the leading cause of disability in the United States women. It is a surprising fact that one in four women actually die of heart disease. That is twice as many deaths from all cancers including breast. It used to be thought of as a mans disease, but no longer. Signs of a heart attack can be subtle and not even know it is happening and many people think it’s something else. Learn the signs and symptoms of heart failure are important. We also need to do everything we can to prevent it. Educate yourself and make lifestyle changes are important to prevent you from being a victim of this deadly disease.

The heart is a muscle that is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood throughout the body, every cell and organ. The heart pumps blood by opening and closing several slots in your heart to keep the blood moving. The right side of the heart receives blood that has passed through the body and sends it to the lungs to increase oxygen levels. From your lungs goes on the left side of your heart and back out in your body. This blood Delivers oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. It’s pretty awesome to think that blood goes through the whole body in about a minute and then resumes the process. There are many ways that we can get more oxygen into our lungs to increase the level in our blood that is essential for our bodies to perform as needed.

Deep breaths – even relax and relieve stress
Exercise-aerobic exercise like walking, running, swimming or anything that increases heart rate
Go outside and get some fresh air
Lose weight-when you are overweight can cause sleep apnea, where our breathing is interrupted and diminished. That’s why you feel so sluggish in the morning.
Healthy eating such as citrus fruits and dark green leafy vegetables.
Vitamin supplements-Vitamin B 12, Vitamin C, folic acid and iron to prevent anemia and help increase the production of red blood cells that increase oxygen levels.
Your heart needs oxygen to function properly and proper blood flow. If you compromise the flow of blood through your heart that part of your heart can have permanent damage and stop working. If your heart is not working as it should, because heart failure. There is chronic progressive heart failure and worsens over time and which is sudden, acute and severe.

The main cause of a heart attack is coronary heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease or atherosclerosis. This disease affects the blood vessels that go to and from the heart. Within building walls of these vessels get a fat called cholesterol. This is an increase of LDL or bad cholesterol causing plaging arteries and restrict blood flow. When this occurs the extraordinary narrowing can cause a stroke or a heart attack because the heart is not getting the blood it needs. The good news is that usually our cholesterol can be controlled from our diet and we can build more of good cholesterol or HDL, which protects our heart.

High blood pressure for a long time can cause heart problems. High blood pressure makes the heart work harder, which makes it stiff and hard to pump without a great effort. Because the heart is not pumping blood properly can cause lung congestion and shortness of breath. Hypertension also quickens the build up of cholesterol, causing damage to the arteries making them stiff and narrow.

The most common types of heart failure are:

Dilated cardiomyopathy is where large chambers (ventricles) of the heart become weak and enlarged, causing the pumping of the heart to become diminished and pumped blood through the circulatory system is diminished. This type of heart problem is associated with congestive heart failure.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is where the ventricle of the heart thickens and the heart does not completely fills with blood. Stress can cause shortness of breath.

Diastolic dysfunction, as discussed with high blood pressure, when the heart becomes stiff and the heart cannot fill properly with blood causing congestive heart failure and shortness of breath.

Congestive heart failure is when fluid accumulates in the lungs (because the heart is not pumping properly) and causes fluid retention and swelling (edema) in the body, usually in the legs and feet, but can be all over the body. Eventually the congestive heart failure affects the kidneys, because they tie additional liquid.