Hey all,
In my previous posts I have touched on what heart disease is and the genetics behind heart disease. For this one, I wanted to discuss what to do if you or someone you know has been diagnosed with heart disease. My sister is an RN and works in a cardiologist office, so I wanted to get her insight on the advice she gives patients in her office once diagnosed with heart disease.
"If someone is diagnosed with heart disease I tell them that diet, exercise, and medication compliance can help significantly reduce their risk of worsening the disease. Lifestyle modifications are key." - Kendall Love, RN
Now, my sister is no cardiologist, but she is VERY knowledgable on the heart and different diseases of the heart. Heart disease, if you have read my posts before, is the NUMBER 1 cause of death in the United States. Knowing what to do once diagnosed with heart disease and how to treat heart disease is imperative.
"The goals of treatment are to relieve symptoms, reduce risk factors in an effort to slow, stop, or reverse the buildup of plaque, lower the risk of blood clots forming, widen or bypass-clogged coronary (heart) arteries, and prevent CHD complications" (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2014).
It is important to be knowledgeable on heart disease, anyone, including you and I, could be diagnosed with it down the line. Prevention is incredibly important as well, but also being realistic and know what to do if diagnosed is important as well.
I hope you find this post helpful! :)
Healthy Heart, Happy Life!
National Lung, Heart, and Blood Institute, (2014). How is heart disease treated? Retrieved from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hdw/treatment
Monday, October 10, 2016
Monday, October 3, 2016
Heart Disease...Is it genetic?
In my previous post, I mentioned how much my family has been affected by heart disease, specifically mentioning my dad. My dad was in his 40s when I was born and when I first heard about how bad his heart really is. I was in kindergarten when my dad was rushed into open heart surgery with seven bypasses - way too many. Being only five, I didn't know just how serious heart disease is and how bad it was affecting my dad. Since then, my dad goes every year for tests and to see if there is blockage in his heart that would need a stent. It is a tense week in my family when those appointments come around, but the appointments are extremely necessary to not only my dad's health, but his life.
With me having so much experience with heart disease, it got me thinking, is this genetic? Am I at an increase for heart disease since my dad has a bad heart? I did some research and found that heart disease and risk factors for heart disease are strongly linked to family history. "Knowing you family's health history can help prevent both heart disease and stroke - the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death in America" (American Heart Association, 2016). I know for a fact millions of families are just like mine and have family members suffering from heart disease. In fact, I'm sure some of you reading this now know someone who has unfortunately suffered from a heart attack or had stents put in to prevent blockage in the arteries. It is extremely common and very unfortunate.
It is SO IMPORTANT that we know our family history in all areas of health, including heart disease. We are always asked a million questions when at the doctor regarding smoking, pregnancies, cancer, and we are most definitely asked about heart disease in the family. Now, don't get me wrong, just because you have a family member who has heart disease DOES NOT mean you will automatically have problems with your heart in the future, but it definitely raises some red flags and means you need to be more active in knowing your family health history. I am very aware of the changes I need to make in my life because of genetics - I need to eat healthier, I need to exercise, I need to be in tune with my blood pressure, and I need to be in contact with my physician about my worries if I have any. While we can't change genetics, the more we are aware of who we are, our family line, and our family health, we can make the most of that information and live life as healthy as we can.
Healthy Heart, Happy Life!
Thank you for reading!
American Heart Association, (2016). Family History and Heart Disease, Stroke. American Heart
Association. Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/MyHeartandStrokeNews/Family-History-and-Heart-Disease-Stroke_UCM_442849_Article.jsp#.V_KcIqIrK2w
With me having so much experience with heart disease, it got me thinking, is this genetic? Am I at an increase for heart disease since my dad has a bad heart? I did some research and found that heart disease and risk factors for heart disease are strongly linked to family history. "Knowing you family's health history can help prevent both heart disease and stroke - the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death in America" (American Heart Association, 2016). I know for a fact millions of families are just like mine and have family members suffering from heart disease. In fact, I'm sure some of you reading this now know someone who has unfortunately suffered from a heart attack or had stents put in to prevent blockage in the arteries. It is extremely common and very unfortunate.
It is SO IMPORTANT that we know our family history in all areas of health, including heart disease. We are always asked a million questions when at the doctor regarding smoking, pregnancies, cancer, and we are most definitely asked about heart disease in the family. Now, don't get me wrong, just because you have a family member who has heart disease DOES NOT mean you will automatically have problems with your heart in the future, but it definitely raises some red flags and means you need to be more active in knowing your family health history. I am very aware of the changes I need to make in my life because of genetics - I need to eat healthier, I need to exercise, I need to be in tune with my blood pressure, and I need to be in contact with my physician about my worries if I have any. While we can't change genetics, the more we are aware of who we are, our family line, and our family health, we can make the most of that information and live life as healthy as we can.
Healthy Heart, Happy Life!
Thank you for reading!
American Heart Association, (2016). Family History and Heart Disease, Stroke. American Heart
Association. Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/MyHeartandStrokeNews/Family-History-and-Heart-Disease-Stroke_UCM_442849_Article.jsp#.V_KcIqIrK2w
Monday, September 26, 2016
Healthy Heart, Happy Life
If I were to ask you what is the number one leading cause of death in the United States, what would you say? Most would say cancer, suicide, car accidents, etc. Here's the kicker- it's heart disease. The number ONE cause of DEATH in the United States! *cue shocked emotions* When thinking about it deeper, it only makes sense. The human heart is the most important organ in the human body - other than the brain. The heart is what pumps blood through our body and also supplies oxygen to the rest of our body (Lewis , 2016). You might be wondering, if the human heart is so important, why do so many people suffer from heart disease?
Millions and millions of people are affected by heart disease each year. To understand the importance of cardiovascular disease, I'm going to get super scientific for a second. Cardiovascular disease happens when plaque is built up on the artery walls, atherosclerosis if you really wanted to know the technical term (American Heart Association, 2016). In literal terms, people eat terrible and don't exercise (just two examples) and suddenly blood can't get through their arteries. That blood then can't reach the rest of the body. It is natural to grow plaque on the artery walls, even you reading this blog has plaque on their artery walls. Sorry, don't mean to scare you. The silver lining is that there are SO many things we can do to improve our heart health!
One of the biggest things we can do to improve our heart health and limit our risk of suffering from heart disease is to EXERCISE? Do you hate that word? Because I do. All jokes aside, living a sedentary life is definitely not a good thing in any area of life. It can lead to obesity, low self-esteem, and most importantly... HEART DISEASE! Exercise can lower cholesterol, make a person lose weight, and will lower blood pressure. All of these things are exceptional ways to prevent heart disease. Trust me when I say you are not alone if you are reading this and dreading the thought of getting on a treadmill - I'm currently tired just writing this - but just knowing how beneficial just 30 minutes of exercise a day can be is worth it.
My passion for this topic stems from my father - a man who suffers from heart disease. At age 5, I watched my dad go through open heart surgery with 7 bypasses. 7!!!! Seem like a lot? It is. For the rest of my life after that, my dad has had several stents put in place and I see the fear in his eyes every time he has to go to the cardiologist. I love my dad, do not get me wrong, but if I can prevent this from happening to other people down the road, it is worth sharing the story. But more on that in later posts :)
Healthy Heart, Happy Life!
Thanks for reading!
References:
American Heart Association. (2016). What is Cardiovascular Disease? Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Caregiver/Resources/WhatisCardiovascularDisease/What-is-Cardiovascular-Disease_UCM_301852_Article.jsp#.V-m8eqIrK2w
Lewis, Tanya. (2016) Human Heart, Anatomy, Functions and Facts. LiveScience. Retrieved from
http://www.livescience.com/34655-human-heart.html
Millions and millions of people are affected by heart disease each year. To understand the importance of cardiovascular disease, I'm going to get super scientific for a second. Cardiovascular disease happens when plaque is built up on the artery walls, atherosclerosis if you really wanted to know the technical term (American Heart Association, 2016). In literal terms, people eat terrible and don't exercise (just two examples) and suddenly blood can't get through their arteries. That blood then can't reach the rest of the body. It is natural to grow plaque on the artery walls, even you reading this blog has plaque on their artery walls. Sorry, don't mean to scare you. The silver lining is that there are SO many things we can do to improve our heart health!
One of the biggest things we can do to improve our heart health and limit our risk of suffering from heart disease is to EXERCISE? Do you hate that word? Because I do. All jokes aside, living a sedentary life is definitely not a good thing in any area of life. It can lead to obesity, low self-esteem, and most importantly... HEART DISEASE! Exercise can lower cholesterol, make a person lose weight, and will lower blood pressure. All of these things are exceptional ways to prevent heart disease. Trust me when I say you are not alone if you are reading this and dreading the thought of getting on a treadmill - I'm currently tired just writing this - but just knowing how beneficial just 30 minutes of exercise a day can be is worth it.
My passion for this topic stems from my father - a man who suffers from heart disease. At age 5, I watched my dad go through open heart surgery with 7 bypasses. 7!!!! Seem like a lot? It is. For the rest of my life after that, my dad has had several stents put in place and I see the fear in his eyes every time he has to go to the cardiologist. I love my dad, do not get me wrong, but if I can prevent this from happening to other people down the road, it is worth sharing the story. But more on that in later posts :)
Healthy Heart, Happy Life!
Thanks for reading!
References:
American Heart Association. (2016). What is Cardiovascular Disease? Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Caregiver/Resources/WhatisCardiovascularDisease/What-is-Cardiovascular-Disease_UCM_301852_Article.jsp#.V-m8eqIrK2w
Lewis, Tanya. (2016) Human Heart, Anatomy, Functions and Facts. LiveScience. Retrieved from
http://www.livescience.com/34655-human-heart.html
Friday, September 23, 2016
Introduction Post
My name is Alex Love and my major is Health Administration. I chose to pick a topic dealing with heart disease because heart disease has majorly affected my family. I hope the information people find in this blog will be useful.
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