When my father came home from the hospital he changed his life style and diet to include more fruits and vegetables very little fat if any and more exercise. Along with all of this he cut his alcohol consumption. Needless to say he lived 25 years longer than expected.

When the heart cannot pump enough blood to the other organs, it is called congestive heart failure. When the blood flow slows going out of the heart, the returning blood through the veins backs up. This change in the flow causes congestion in your tissues.

Some of the symptoms of congestive heart failure are, shortness of breath, swelling of ankles and legs usually, but swelling can take place in other parts of the body as well. Congestive heart failure changes the ability of your kidneys’  to dispose of the fluids and sodium, thus causing the edema.

To find more information on Congestive Heart Failure.

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Congestive Heart Failure

When the artery feeding blood to the heart is blocked a heart attack occurs. The blockage not only stops the flow of blood to the heart muscle, it also stops the hearts oxygen.

In most cases when a blockage is found a metal stent is placed in the artery.

Until recently researchers were unable to tell if the patients were bleeding into the heart after the stent surgery.

In the new study, researchers used (magnetic resonance imaging) to examine bleeding inside the hearts of 15 individuals who had recently suffered a heart attack. (They could spot areas of bleeding due to the magnetic effects of iron, which is present in the blood.)

Thanks to the study our health care providers will have more insight as to the damage caused by heart attacks, and the best treatments for individual patients.

Lead study author Declan O’Regan, of Imperial College’s MRC Clinical Sciences Center.

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MRI Gives New Hope

When Dr. Melina Jampolis diet and fitness expert was ask the question, “are dried fruits equal to fresh fruit”? Her answer, she was not a big fan of dried fruit because they are higher in calories due to added sugar and fats. When fruit has been dried we also lose some of the nutrients.

When the water is taken out of the dried fruit we tend to think that the portions are smaller so therefore we can eat more. Actually when eating fresh fruit we can control the amounts we eat with greater ease.

With obesity at epidemic levels we need to lower our calories as often as possible, while making healthy choices.

A book that you may find interesting that will help you in finding tasty alternatives to fattening foods is “The Super Foods RX Diet.” In the book you will find healthy foods and facts such as blueberries as well as cranberries are also good for urinary tract health.

In choosing fruits you may keep in mind that all deeply colored berries, cherries and grapes are rich in disease fighting phytonutrients and antioxidants. These deeply colored fruits are a great way of eating heart healthy.

When the urge for something sweet hits you at work or for that late night snack be sure to reach for some fruit.

For more information click here Dr. Melina Jampolis.

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Fresh Or Dried Fruit

I along with millions of people, I know how hard it is to change your eating habits. With so many people having diabetes and heart disease because of obesity I took this as my wake up call. I went on line and found an article from Mayo Clinic that is very informative, that I would like to share.

In the article there are seven steps to follow as a guide to better health; you will also find menus to help get you started. There are suggested foods to eat and foods you need to limit.

To lower your cholesterol and risk of coronary artery disease you need to limit saturated and trans fats. These fats increase the risk of plaque buildup in your arteries called atherosclerosis, which is the cause of heart attack and stroke.

When choosing foods high in protein make sure they are low in fat, such as lean meat, poultry and fish. Select egg whites or egg substitutes, skim milk instead of whole for better health.

We all know that vegetables and fruits are good for us; they are low in calories and rich in fiber. We should eat whole grain foods as well; they provide fiber, vitamins and minerals.

One of the most important things to remember is to limit your salt intake, we all know that salt is a killer causing high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association suggests that we eat no more than 1 teaspoon of salt per day. 

To find more information on the subject click here Heart disease, Menus.

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Seven Easy Steps To Health

A study on 161,808 postmenopausal women and multivitamins was carried out in Chicago. The study found that multivitamin did nothing to prevent cancer or heart disease.

The findings were that vitamin users and nonusers still had cancer and heart disease problems.

The researchers are not saying that the vitamins are not useful, but they should be used along with fresh fruits and vegetables. We all know that by eating fresh fruits and vegetables we are more likely to have the proper amount of vitamins in our daily diet.

In today’s world where so many people are losing their health care it is more important than ever to eat a healthy diet and to get daily exercise.

Women need to tell their health care providers the exact symptoms they are having and that they want to be tested for heart problems. 

In a study conducted by the American Heart Association, researchers found that heart disease, heart attacks and strokes killed more women than men over the past 25 years, but fewer than one in 10 doctors knew that.

To find more on this subject click here MSNBC, WBAL-TV .

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Multivitamins And Women’s Health

Cherries have powerful antioxidants, known as anthocyanins that are thought to help fight inflammation and risk of heart disease.

A study conducted by Dr. Steven F. Bolling at the University of Michigan, shows that eating cherries may lower body fat, weight, cholesterol and inflammation.

Our bodies use inflammation to fight off infection and injury. A chronic state of inflammation can raise your risk of heart disease.  With 2 out of 3 people overweight or obese in the United States, especially around their middle, this problem is more prevalent.

In the study rats were feed a (Western Diet) which was high in fat and moderate carbohydrates.  The study added tart cherry powder to some of the rat’s diet, which caused them to maintain lean muscle mass as well as a decrease in fat and body weight.

Listed below you will find some important facts you need to know about cherries.

  Antioxidant Levels of Cherries

• Cherry Juice Concentrate: 12,800 ORAC units
• Dried Cherries:                    6,800 ORAC units
• Frozen Cherries:                  2,033 ORAC units
• Canned Cherries:                 1,700 ORAC units

Below you will find three interesting articles on cherry nutrition, cherry reports and cherry recipes.

Nutrition Facts, Cherry Report, Cherry Recipes

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Cherries The Super Fruit

I received some very interesting information this morning from Kaylea Livingston of Ohio State University Medical Center and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

I found that children born with heart defects are all but forgotten when they reach 18.

Caitlyn MacKay underwent heart surgery when she was just 90 days old, for an extensive heart defect. Throughout child-hood she had consistent care; she is living proof of what has been accomplished in recent years.

It is estimated that 30 to 40 thousand children out of a million are now receiving specialized care.

The way health care stands today 95% of the children that have gotten specialized care throughout their child-hood will find that it stops at 18.

Doctor Curt Daniels of Ohio State University is participating in a study following children into adulthood that have congenital heart disease. The Nationwide study is reaching out to those that have lost their health care after turning 18. Doctor Daniels and others are trying to find alternative ways to best treat these patients. 

To learn more about these programs click here, Adult congenital heart disease.

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Forgotten Children At 18

My sister married when I was 8 years old, her husband was like another father to me. Don was my hero he was always so full of life and included me in his mad adventures, with his children.

Don was over six feet three inches tall and weighed about 240, he was always outdoors, his only faults were smoking and eating fatty foods. He was never sick so there was no need to go to the doctor, so he thought.

Imagine our surprise when we found that he was an extremely ill man with diabetes.

He fought a good fight in every way, but he would not give up his smoking. The doctors told him that the medicine that he was taking could not help him if he continued to smoke.

Don died in a nursing home with heart failure, unable to walk; he took a large part of my heart with him.

If you have a loved one that is fighting diabetes please do all you can to help them to give up smoking.

Patient’s with diabetes should have an AIC glucose test twice a year. Diabetics blood pressure should be no more than 130/80mmHg. Their Cholesterol LDL (bad) needs to be below 100 mg/dl their HDL (good) should be above 40mg/dl for men and 50 mg/dl for women. 

Currently, 2 out of 3 people with diabetes in the United States die from a heart attack or stroke. Diet and exercise can help reduce the risk of developing diabetes-related complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and amputations. In many cases, medicine is also needed to keep diabetes under control.

For more information click here MSNBC.

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Diabetes Stroke And Heart Attack

The traditional way of angiography is accomplished by snaking a catheter through a patient’s blood vessels, where a dye is injected near the heart. Patients receiving this test will receive the same amount of radiation, which is found in other standard test such as nuclear stress test.

When patients undergo CT scans they receive radiation equivalent 600 chest X-rays.

The amount of radiation that that is given to a patient depends on where your health care provider sends you to have the CT scan. Some medical facilities take into consideration the size of the patient, when deciding on the dosage. The smaller the patient, the smaller the dosage. The technician may also pinpoint the radiation to the specific portion of the heart, which shortens the patient’s exposure.

Find more on the the use of CT scans click here for video  Dr. Gupta CNN. 

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Cardiac CT Scan Angiography

While searching Nova my husband came across a very interesting article, I thought I would share it with you.

In the article you will find facts such as, the human heart beats 100,000 times per day.

The human body contains 6 quarts of blood, which circulates throughout the human body 3 times per minute. In one day alone the blood in your body travels 4 times the distance across the United States, or a total of 12,000 miles.

Your blood starts and stops as it moves throughout the arteries, this movement is known as a pulse. Adults pulse rate on average is 70 beats per minute. Children’s resting pulse rate is in the range 90 to 100 beats per minute.

The muscles in the human heart work twice as hard as the muscles in your legs while sprinting.

When you are squeezing a tennis ball with a lot of pressure, you are using the same amount of force that the heart uses to pump blood throughout the human body.   

To see the entire article click here Nova map of the human heart.

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Map Of The Heart