Battling Heart and Stroke

At last, a new device to help those with coronary heart disease. Coronary arteries are the main blood vessels which supply your heart muscles with their well-needed blood rich in oxygen. Unfortunately, these blood vessels can get clogged up by deposits of plaques. Plaques are made up of cholesterol-rich fat molecules, calcium and cellular debris in the blood. Plaque deposits can cause the coronary arteries to get narrow and can damage blood vessel walls, or cut off blood supply to the heart. Plaques can be classified in two categories:

• Hard plaques tend to stay in play and make arterial walls thick, hard, and inflexible - resulting in atherosclerosis.
• Soft plaques are more unstable and have lipid cores . These fatty deposits on arterial walls have the tendency to rupture or break off and get carried by the blood flow. They are then transported to other parts of the body can cause blood clots and result in a partial or total obstruction of an artery and cut off the blood supply to tissues and to vital organs such as the brain, the liver, or the kidney. When fatty plaques in the coronary artery rupture, blood clots can form which can lead to heart attacks.

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We all know that high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels are bad for our heart. A study by Irish and Canadian researchers shows that these health conditions can damage our eyes as well.

According to a recent report in the Archives of Ophthalmology
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By Gene D. Millen

People who take statin drugs to achieve lower cholesterol numbers stand the risk of having their cholesterol go too low. New studies show that people with the lowest cholesterol have a higher risk of cancer, according to a meta-analysis of over 41,000 patient records from 23 statin drug trials.

Researchers found one extra case of cancer per 1,000 patients with the lowest levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesterol, compared to patients with higher LDL levels.

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By Julia Carmichael

HDL cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein) is the so-called good cholesterol in the blood serum. It is responsible for carrying excess cholesterol away from the body tissues and arteries back to the liver. The liver combines cholesterol with lipoproteins for use in various physiological body functions and building of tissues. A lipoprotein is a combined unit of lipid, that is, fat on the inside surrounded by protein on the outside.

Since cholesterol is water-insoluble, the blood cannot carry it unless it is turned into a water-soluble form. That is where water-soluble lipoproteins enter the scene. They combine with cholesterol to form water-soluble units that can move through the bloodstream.

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By Stewart Hare

In this food that lowers bad cholesterol article about oats, you will discover:

* What are oats?
* Why are oats an important food that lowers bad cholesterol?
* How much oats do you need to eat to lowers bad cholesterol?

What Are Oats?

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By Mike Abraham

Most people have at least heard about cholesterol, usually when they’re about to eat something considered unhealthy. They know that high cholesterol is bad and low cholesterol is good. But that’s about it. Throw in fancy sounding terms like LDL and HDL and most people will ask “What the L?”

Cholesterol, in fact, is found in the cell membranes throughout the human body and is transported via blood. This is why a blood test is needed to determine your cholesterol levels.

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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 Rafael Todorini

How to lower cholesterol fast without medication, without drugs, opting for natural treatment becomes all the more important when you realize that heart disease is America’s number one killer and probably, the number one killer in the industrialized world. The myth being perpetuated that cholesterol is never high before the age 40 is exactly that – a myth. Don’t believe a word of it.

According to an article by CNN in November 2006, “more than 70 million Americans live everyday with some form of heart disease.” And the number is expected to rise steadily over the next 10 years.

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By Connie Limon

The best way to lower your risk of heart disease is to reduce LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol. Increased risk of coronary artery disease is caused by the bad cholesterol buildup (LDL cholesterol) that forms plaques. These plaques make arteries hard and narrow, which contributes to coronary artery disease.

The good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) picks up excess cholesterol in your blood and takes it back to your liver for disposal. The higher your HDL cholesterol, the less bad cholesterol you will have in your blood.

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By Lynn Ruder

Many of us today have been instructed by our doctors to “lower our cholesterol”. Why is this? What is wrong with cholesterol and why is less better than more? This article will describe the issues surrounding elevated cholesterol and provide tips on how to do what the doctors want without resorting to prescription drugs.

What is Cholesterol? Cholesterol is a waxy, fatty substance which is manufactured by the liver. Cholesterol is absolutely necessary for good health and it can be found in every cell in the human body. However, elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood have been associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart disease.

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