Battling Heart and Stroke

By Rafael Todorini

Many cholesterol-conscious individuals tend to worry about that one best diet for high cholesterol. The questions that keep surfacing most often in health forums about cholesterol are, “Is there a best diet for high cholesterol?” or, “What is the best diet for maintaining low cholesterol?” The answer to those questions is a straightforward, “No!” There simply is just no one best diet to lower and control high cholesterol. Yes, figuring out how to lower cholesterol through diet is important, but - I believe that is going about it the wrong way. What they should be asking themselves instead is - if there is a diet to control high cholesterol that is best for them! And I’m here to tell you how to do just that.

Your choices in diet to help lower high cholesterol are one of the most important and safest ways to control high cholesterol. In fact, planning what to eat to lower your cholesterol should be one of your first priorities even before considering consuming any kind of cholesterol-lowering medication.

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By Stan Kitchen

You do not have to be diagnosed with high blood pressure to check your blood pressure. Many people do so, however, to insure they keep a normal blood pressure reading. But what, exactly, is normal?

Blood pressure is considered normal if it falls around 120 over 80. The top number shows the systolic pressure. This is the pressure your heart exerts when it contracts just before pumping blood from the heart out into the arteries of the body. The last number represents diastolic pressure, or the pressure in the heart at rest between heartbeats. The pressure that a heart normally exerts to force blood to all blood vessels, and in time, to every living cell and tissue within the human body is considered normal if it does not rise above a certain number. While all of us have days when we are more stressed than usual, and our heart rates quicken, long-term acceleration of your heartbeat can lead to damage and even strokes or heart attacks.

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By Seth-Deborah Roth

When a stroke strikes a person, the supply of blood to the part of the brain affected is interrupted, starving it of oxygen. Brain cells can be seriously damaged or die, impairing local brain function.

Within weeks of a stroke, new blood vessels begin to form, (one can visualize marching ants), newly born neurons migrate long distances to the damaged area to aid the regeneration process. We don’t know what the right cellular environment is, and what the cellular cues are for this process of regeneration and migration to take place.

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I have been posting around the week of the 10th of each month (or so) .. a “THANK-YOU” post, like this one, to all the advertisers from the previous month listed as at month end. That’s a permanent link in this blog, under the category heading which I call .. “Sponsor Appreciation”. I know it’s hard out there trying to figure out where to spend your advertising dollars .. and well .. THANKS for considering the Battling Heart and Stroke Blog.

I have compiled a new advertising page for the HART-Empire Network of sites for your perusal.

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By Tanya Turner

When you discover that you have hypertension or pre-hypertension, the first thing doctors do, they prescribe medication. However, the right diet can dramatically reduce your blood pressure as well, sometimes so much that you will not need any drugs. Find out what a high blood pressure diet is and how you can easily incorporate it into your lifestyle.

An ideal diet for high blood pressure will be:

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By Eddy Lam

Defibrillator – heart savior or life killer? The typical thought is that a defibrillator is used to save lives, but how can it kill too?

A defibrillator is a medical device used in the defibrillation of the heart. Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT), the two most common causes of sudden cardiac death.

Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is a condition in which there is uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle of the ventricles in the heart. As a result, the heart fails to adequately pump the blood, and tachycardia and hypoxia may occur.

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By Terry Edwards

The signs and symptoms of hypertension, or high blood pressure as it is also known as, include blood pressure readings that are consistently more than 140/90. Pre-hypertension is present when your blood pressure readings are consistently between 120-139/80-89. Although this does not mean you have hypertension, it is a good indicator that you will most likely develop high blood pressure in the future.

For either hypertension, or pre-hypertension, your doctor will usually suggest changes in your lifestyle to get it down to a more normal range. You’ll be told to adjust your eating habits and begin to eat more healthy foods, as well as get on an exercise program if you’re not already doing so.

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By Eric Hartwell

Heart attacks are a common form of ischemic heart disease. The World Health Organization estimated in the year 2002 that over twelve percent of all worldwide deaths arose as a result of ischemic heart disease. In developed countries, it is the leading cause of death. In developing countries, however it comes third behind AIDS and lower respiratory infections.

Heart attacks, known by their medical name of acute myocardial infarction, is a state of disease that involves the interruption of the bloody supply to part of the heart. The result is a shortage of oxygen that can damage the heart tissue and potentially kill. Heart attacks are the leading cause of death all over the world. Major heart attack risk factors include a history of angina or vascular disease, a previous stroke or heart attack, old age, excessive alcohol, the abuse of illegal drugs, smoking, episodes of abnormal heart beat, obesity, high levels of stress, high or low cholesterol, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

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By Stan Kitchen

Many people suffering from high blood pressure need to take their blood pressure reading daily, sometimes more often. A technological advance has made taking a blood pressure easier than ever before. Gone are the days when you had to take a blood pressure reading from the upper arm. Today, different styles and models of blood pressure reading equipment are available to suit just about any comfort level.

Are you Aneroid or Digital?

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By Patsy Hamilton

Much of the latest published research reports on coronary heart disease focus on treatment and the use of statin drugs to lower LDL cholesterol levels. The coronary heart disease research studies mentioned here focus primarily on causes and the need for prevention education, rather than treatment.

A number of scientific studies have focused on the relationship between heart disease and type-2 diabetes mellitus, sometimes referred to as adult onset diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes is a risk factor for developing heart disease. One recent study focused on the survival rate of patients with diabetes mellitus, who had already suffered one heart attack.

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