A growing number of people are feeling the pressure to learn more about hypertension, and for good reason. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a significant risk factor for the progression of heart disease.

It is estimated that one in three adults in the United States has the condition and nearly a third of them don’t know they have it.

Uncontrolled high blood pressure alone is serious because as blood pressure increases so does cardiovascular (CV) disease risk. Combined with other conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure becomes even more significant as it increases the chance of a CV event. It can also lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, or kidney failure.

What is high blood pressure?

Blood pressure measures the force with which blood pushes against the artery walls as it travels through the body. Hypertension, or chronically high blood pressure, can cause the heart to work too hard. This can lead to damage of the coronary arteries, the kidneys and the eyes, and is a major cause of stroke.

Who is at risk of developing high blood pressure?

The risk for cardiovascular disease doubles for those people who have both diabetes and hypertension. In fact, someone with diabetes can be up to four times more likely to develop CV disease due to a variety of risk factors, including hypertension. Lifestyle can be a factor as well. People who are overweight, use too much salt, are physically inactive or drink too much alcohol may be more likely to have hypertension. Age can also be a factor.

How is high blood pressure best treated?

High blood pressure can be treated with diet, exercise and a variety of different medications. If you have the condition, it is important to work with your health care professional to evaluate your other risk factors, such as high cholesterol or diabetes, and then select the best treatment based on your overall risk profile.

Many health care professionals turn to angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors to treat hypertension.

ACE inhibitors are designed to block or inhibit the production of a protein found in the body that causes blood vessels to constrict. ACE inhibitors relax blood vessels, making blood flow easier, which can reduce blood pressure.

An ACE inhibitor with a history of success in treating hypertension, as well as reducing cardiovascular risk, is Altace® (ramipril) capsules. The drug is described as the No. 1 brand name in its class prescribed by cardiologists and endocrinologists.

Its benefits can extend well beyond blood-pressure reduction. It is the only ACE inhibitor proven to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and CV death in high-risk patients aged 55 or over. For these patients, it was found to reduce the risk of heart attack by 20 percent, CV death by 26 percent and stroke by 32 percent. The drug has also proven the ability to reduce the risk of CV complications associated with diabetes.

Studies have shown that this drug may not be for everyone. Altace may lower blood sugar if taken by patients with diabetes. A physician should be contacted if one experiences symptoms of low blood sugar, such as sweating or shakiness. Common side effects include persistent dry cough, dizziness, and light-headedness due to low blood pressure. Do not take Altace during pregnancy, as death or injury to your unborn child may result

How is diabetes related to CV disease and high blood pressure?

Research indicates that these conditions can amplify one another. The presence of one risk factor is likely to influence the development of others. And the more risk factors you have, the higher your risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke; however, early treatment of individual risk factors is likely to decrease the risk of developing others.

Dr. Banas is a member of many professional organizations and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology, and the Council on Clinical Cardiology of the American Heart Association.

It is estimated that one in three adults in the United States has hypertension. Nearly one-third of those people are unaware that they have the disorder.

Dr. Banas

Note To Editors: About Altace.

Do not take Altace during pregnancy, as death or injury to your unborn child may result, or if you have experienced serious side effects related to previous ACE inhibitors.

Common side effects include persistent dry cough, dizziness, and light-headedness due to low blood pressure. Prescription Altace is not for everyone. Altace may cause swelling of the mouth, tongue, or throat, which could cause extremely serious risk and requires immediate medical care. There have been reports of low blood sugar in patients taking Altace with medicine for diabetes. Please contact your doctor if you have symptoms of low blood sugar such as sweating or shakiness.

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Some people who have abnormal heartbeats may not even be aware of them. Awareness of heartbeats (called palpitations) varies widely among people. Some people can feel normal heartbeats, and most people can feel heartbeats when they lie on their left side.

Arrhythmias have consequences that range from harmless to life threatening. The seriousness of an arrhythmia may not be closely linked with the severity of the symptoms it causes. Often, the nature and severity of the underlying heart disease are more important than the arrhythmia itself. Some life-threatening arrhythmias cause no symptoms. Otherwise inconsequential arrhythmias can cause severe symptoms.

When arrhythmias impair the person’s heart’s ability to pump blood, they can produce weakness, a reduced capacity for exercise, light-headedness, dizziness, and fainting. Fainting occurs when the heart is pumping so inefficiently, it can no longer maintain enough blood pressure. If such an arrhythmia persists, death may be a direct result.

Arrhythmias may also aggravate the symptoms of underlying heart disease, including chest pain and shortness of breath. Arrhythmias that produce symptoms require prompt attention.
Often, a person’s description of symptoms can help doctors make a preliminary diagnosis, determining the severity of the arrhythmia. The most important considerations are whether the palpitations are fast or slow, regular or irregular. If the palpitations are brief or prolonged? Whether or not the arrhythmia itself produces symptoms?

Doctors also need to know whether the palpitations occur. At rest or only during strenuous or unusual activity, whether they start and stop suddenly or gradually. However, certain diagnostic procedures are often needed to determine the exact nature of the arrhythmia and its cause

People with suspected life-threatening arrhythmias are usually hospitalized. Their heart rhythm is continuously recorded and displayed on a television-type monitor by the bedside or nursing station. Thus, any problems can be identified promptly.

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Heart disease is a term that applies to a large number of medical conditions relating to the heart. These medical conditions relate to the abnormal health conditions that directly affect the heart and all its components. Heart disease is a major health problem within some cultures.

One theory for heart disease is the radical changes within our lifestyles. People are often less active and eat diets high in fats. Takeaway food is abundant today and often people will eat it due to the increased availability. Some takeaway outlets are now helping cater to a healthier lifestyle by offering a variety of healthy dishes such as salads. People are becoming more aware of the risk of heart disease and choosing to change their diets.
Exercise is extremely important in order to avoid heart disease. Exercise helps to keep the heart in peak performance. By using a combination of exercise and a balanced diet, the risk of heart disease is greatly decreased.

Most arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats) neither cause symptoms nor interfere with the heart’s ability to pump blood. Thus, they usually pose little or no risk. They can cause considerable anxiety if a person becomes aware of them. There are some arrhythmias, harmless in themselves that can lead to more serious arrhythmias.

Any arrhythmia that impairs the heart’s ability to pump blood adequately is serious. How serious, depends in part on where the arrhythmia originates. Is it in the heart’s normal pacemaker, in the atria, or in the ventricles? Generally, arrhythmias which originate in the ventricles are more serious than those that originate in the atria. These are more serious than those that originate in the pacemaker. However, there are many exceptions.

For people who have a harmless, yet worrisome arrhythmia, reassurance that the arrhythmia is harmless may be treatment enough. Sometimes arrhythmias occur less often or even stop, when doctors change a person’s drugs or adjust the dosages. Avoiding alcohol, caffeine, smoking, or strenuous exercise can also help.

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According to National Statistics online, nearly 15% of the population of the UK are suffering or have suffered from a cardiac health event in their lifetimes. That means that for every 100 people in the room, about 15 of them will have a heart attack or suffer from a coronary disease. Interestingly enough, this statistic includes both men and women, with men only having a slight advantage over the women in terms of number of cases. Even with all we know about heart disease and how to prevent it, it seems that there is so much more to learn.

What is Heart Disease?

The heart is the muscle in the body that allows for transportation of materials throughout the body. When a person takes in food, these meals are broken down by the digestive system in order to be accessible for functions in the body. As the food is broken down into nutrients, these nutrients are then transported into the blood stream in order to get to the right areas of the body. When the heart pumps, it moves these blood cells around to the extremities and then when it contracts, it pulls the blood into itself by means of the veins in order to push that blood into the body into the arteries. When the heart is unable to function properly, this process can not take place.

There are a number of reasons and names for the idea of heart disease. At its simplest definition, heart disease is when the heart is damaged or just unable to work as it should. This can be a hereditary and congenital condition, like in the instance of a valve problem. A patient can have this from birth and never need to have anything done to repair it, while other patients need to have this fixed in order to make sure that heart works properly.

Heart disease can be grouped into being caused by heredity, lifestyle or by a defect or injury. Hereditary factors like a predisposition to high cholesterol can cause troubles like heart attacks and myocardial infarction. Then again, if a patient takes in too much cholesterol and fat into their diet, they can also increase their risk for heart disease.

The heart disease cases that cause troubles for patients will have conditions like hardening of the arteries, blockages of the vessels, and a narrowing/widening of these passageways for the blood. When the vessels become too blocked, blood can not get to the heart, resulting in heart damage and death.

What are the Symptoms of Heart Disease?

The real concern when it comes to heart disease is that there may be few, if any, symptoms at first. A patient may have completely normal lab results as well as no noticeable physical symptoms. In more advanced cases, the cholesterol levels will be high, the LDL levels will be high, and HDL levels will be low. Blood pressure readings may increase and the patient may report mild chest pain and tightness. Some patients even report troubles with breathing during activity. The heart rate may be higher as has become more difficult for the heart to do the same job on a lower number of beats per minute.

In an emergent condition, the symptoms would be an increased heart rate, crushing chest pain, and possibly nausea. Others report that they had a raised temperature and sweating, as well as left arm weakness.

How Can Fish Oil Help?

According to recent studies done at Harvard Medical University, fish oil seems to be able to prevent heart disease. With its anti-inflammatory properties, fish oil seems to allow the body to repair smaller damage spots before they become too problematic. There have also been previous studies linking the idea of using fish oil and lowering bad cholesterol as well as increasing good cholesterol. The essential fatty acids in fish oil help the body process the cholesterol and other toxins in the body before they build up in the liver and cause damage.

Where Can You Find Fish Oil Sources?

Understandably so, fish oil can be found in its purest form in oily fishes. Fish choices like salmon, herring, kipper, and mackerel all contain high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids that can help to protect the heart from heart disease. In addition, there are studies being done now that indicate that fish oil might be able to help in the repair of damage from previous concerns with heart disease and heart attacks. In countries with a high fish consumption, the prevalence of heart disease is much lower, even with the high smoking rates (as in Japan, for example).

Conclusion

While there are many studies that are questioning the use of fish oil in the treatment and prevention of heart disease, it’s clear that there is some connection. Since the body can not make this essential fatty acid on its own, adding a supplement to the diet can not be a hard decision to make.

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Heart failure, as well as all the risks that accompany it, can be a terrifying prospect for any man, woman or child. The impact of a heart, the body’s central tool for survival, no longer functioning may seem like the beginning of the end. The good news is, by establishing an effective treatment plan with your cardiologist the prognosis, and the chances for you to lead a normal life, increase exponentially.

Heart failure occurs when the heart can no longer efficiently pump blood throughout the body. The blood pools, and while organs are deprived of vital, life giving oxygen and nutrients the excess sodium that would normally be excreted in the urine builds up in the tissues, resulting in fluid retention that leads to organ stress and the dyspnea that is so common in cases of congestive heart failure. Left untreated, the oxygen deprived organs will eventually cease to function and the patient will die.

Fortunately, there are now many ways to combat the mortality factor associated with heart failure. Doctors can prescribe medications to facilitate the flow of blood through the body and take some of the pressure off the heart; blood thinners can decrease the chances of clots forming in the veins. Aside from medicinal means, there are many factors that may be altered in your lifestyle to impact the prognosis of your disease.

It is essential that the body be given sufficient time to rest in a day. While at rest the heart can more easily pump blood throughout the body; just as you would rest an injured leg when it began to pain you, you should rest your heart as well. On the flip side, it is important to establish a daily exercise routine. It doesn’t have to be three hours of aerobics; a half hour walk every day would have a greater impact on your physical being than nothing. Consult with your physician to find the plan that works best for your individual circumstances.

Along with an exercise plan you should work with your doctor to find the best diet plan for you. In most cases a low sodium diet is recommended to help reduce fluid retention. Diuretics can greatly affect the levels of potassium in the body causing hypokalemia, which can lead to muscle weakness, paralysis and a fatal cardiac arrhythmia; therefore, very often if you have been given a diuretic to take daily a potassium supplement will also be prescribed.

Nicotine can create a serious problem for patients with heart failure. It increases the heart rate and blood pressure while having a negative impact on the oxygen level in the blood. All of these things cause the heart to work harder. It is strongly recommended that if you have been diagnosed with heart failure you quit smoking completely.

Hand in hand with smoking are the inherent dangers associated with contracting a case of pneumonia or flu. If you are able you should receive an annual flu shot, as well as the one time dose of pneumococcal vaccine. This will provide some level of protection against pneumococci bacteria, the major cause of bacterial pneumonia. Pneumonia is a problem for the same reasons as smoking; the decreased oxygen levels in the blood cause the heart to work harder in an attempt to compensate and get oxygen to the organs and tissues. If possible, avoid crowded areas during cold and flu season, and stay away from people you know are sick.

Amazingly, something as simple as the clothes you wear can impact your condition if you have suffered heart failure. Tight clothing can cause blood clots and restrict blood flow to the extremities. In addition, in cases of extreme temperature your clothes should be weather appropriate; if the body has to work to maintain its temperature the heart will have to work that much harder.

Sexual relations can usually be continued as before; however, they should occur in as peaceful an environment as possible to prevent undue stress. If your condition is severe it is important that you discuss this with your physician; it may be necessary to forego sexual relations for a time in favor of other, less stressful shows of affection.

Each of these steps will help you continue to live much as you did before being diagnosed. Heart failure will inevitably impact your life; it is entirely up to you how much.

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High cholesterol is a big concern these days and puts people at high risk for heart attack and other serious cardiovascular problems. The diseases of the heart and circulatory system are the leading cause of death in the U.S. killing more than 1.3 million people a year.

High cholesterol is one of the primary risk indicators of heart disease and effects nearly 50% of Americans. It’s a silent disease - there are no symptoms until problems have already developed. The worst thing is that many people don’t know they have it until their first sign is a heart attack.

It is vital to keep your cholesterol within healthy limits. A healthy diet and regular physical activity are necessary for maintaining cardiovascular health, but supplementation may also be needed in order to manage cholesterol levels.

What exactly is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a type of fat and most of it is generated by our bodies. It is made by your liver from the fats, carbohydrates, and proteins you eat. You also get cholesterol by eating animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy products. We need cholesterol, but too much of it generates problems.

The term high cholesterol is actually a bit misleading because there are two types of cholesterol - HDL and LDL. HDL (high-density lipoprotein) is the good cholesterol and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is the bad cholesterol. The good cholesterol (HDL), decreases the risk of heart disease while the bad cholesterol (LDL), increases the risk. Most cholesterol is unfortunately LDL.

LDL cholesterol can build up on the inside of artery walls, contributing to artery blockages that can lead to heart attacks. Most efforts to battle arterial clogging focus on lowering LDL. HDL cholesterol is good because it helps prevent arteries from becoming clogged. It transports cholesterol to the liver where it is eliminated from the body. Higher HDL levels generally mean lower risk.

How can Policosanol help?

Policosanol is a natural supplement derived from sugar cane or beeswax that has been shown to promote cardiovascular health by raising HDL, the good cholesterol, and keeping LDL, the bad cholesterol, in check.

Policosanol works by helping the liver control its production and breakdown of cholesterol. In addition to reducing dangerous LDL, it also inhibits abnormal platelet aggregation, protects against LDL oxidation and suppresses arterial inflammatory factors.

Clinical studies have shown that Policosanol works as well as FDA-approved drugs, only free of side-effects.

People with elevated LDL cholesterol as well as people with low levels of good HDL cholesterol may benefit from taking Policosanol.

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