Bradley Bale, MD and Amy Doneen ARNP answered my questions on cholesterol concerns for women. They specialize in the prevention of heart attacks and ischemic strokes. You can read more about them at Bale Doneen Method.
How often should women have their cholesterol checked?
Women should have their cholesterol checked at least by the time of puberty. If it is fine, it should be rechecked at least every five years until age 25. After age 25, annual lipid testing should be standard. Women should have cholesterol evaluated pre and post each pregnancy, as hormone levels can cause significant variations in lipid profiles. …read more

A three-year study of 170,024 patients has found that two low-cost medications – one for lowering cholesterol and one for lowering blood pressure – taken for two years reduced their risk of having a heart attack or stroke by more than 60% for the following year.
The patients were divided into three groups at the start of the study. The high-exposure group was composed of 21,292 patients. They took both medications  (40 milligrams of lovastatin and 20 milligrams of lisinopril) more than half the time throughout the two years. The amount of time they took the medications was determined by a …read more

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) occurs when your blood circulation is compromised, because your arteries are narrowing, making it more difficult for the blood to flow through. Your arteries are the blood vessels that carry refreshed and oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. Having PAD raises your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke.
People at highest risk of PAD are those who smoke or have diabetes, but also people who are African American and seniors have a higher risk than most others.
PAD isn’t rare. It’s estimated that about 10 million American live with PAD.
Since PAD doesn’t have …read more

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 …read more

NuvaRing was approved for use as in birth control October of 2001. NuvaRing is considered a third generation combination hormonal contraceptive.
There are ongoing lawsuits due to the side effects of the contraceptive which include risks of blood clots, stroke.
You should always research any medications before having them prescribed for you.
Here are a few more side effects of the NuvaRing birth control.

Deep Vein Thrombosis
Pulmonary Embolysm
Heart Attack
Death

To find more information on this type of birth control click here NuvaRing

CRP or an inflammatory marker is a protein that is made when there is inflammation present in the body. CRP inflammation can be caused by high blood pressure, high blood sugar or smoking, it is also the way your body reacts to injury or infection.
CRP(C-reactive protein) inflammation encourages plaque to form in the blood vessels. This plaque will eventually cause the blood vessels to rupture causing a heart attack or stroke.
High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is often shortened to CPR. When your health care provider is explaining your disorder they will usually use the term CRP.  You will see CRP in …read more

Before you start any drug regiment, make sure to ask your health care provider first. This is even more important if you have any health issues.
Some over the counter drugs can cause problems for a number of people, especially those with heart problems and high blood pressure.
Not everyone can take an aspirin daily due to the fact some people are resistant to them. Women have proven to be more likely to be resistant to the blood-thinning effects of aspirin.
An aspirin daily is used by millions of people to prevent heart attacks. The aspirin breaks up platelets in the blood …read more

The Chairman of the Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland Ohio has reported that a drug known as Rosiglitazone (Adavandia(TM) raises a patents’ chances of a heart attack and death by 43%. The drug also has the same risk by 64% when compared to other drugs such as placebos and other anti-diabetic therapies.
With 65% of diabetic deaths being caused by heart attacks, these findings are sending up the red flags. 
Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921, and continues to be one of the top hospitals in the United States. Therefore their findings are respected around the world.
If you …read more

Coronary thrombosis usually takes place in the artery lining that supplies the heart muscle, when there is a build up of cholesterol and fat in the artery. The atherosclerotic plaque that builds can form to the point of rupturing, when this happens blood colts will form. These formations can stop the flow of blood to the heart. When the blood flow is shut off to certain parts of the body because of a clot, the tissue then dies.
There are three major arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. When the blood to the heart is shut off, a …read more

When we think of depression we generally think it is associated with women, this is not always true as we get older. There have been studies that show when men in their fifties start to show signs of depression, it puts them at a greater risk of a heart attack.
In the U.S. 80 percent of suicides are male, and 90 percent of these suicides are Caucasian males over the age of 60.
Men that fall into a depressed state after a heart attack or stroke are more likely to die of heart disease.
If you recognize a change in moods or depression, …read more