In today’s fast pace, fast food world even our children have high cholesterol. It is more important than ever to know your cholesterol levels.
Good cholesterol HDL levels for men should be higher than 40 and 50 for women. When the levels are over 60 it lowers your risk factors for heart disease.
The HDL removes cholesterol from the arteries, taking it back to the liver where it passes from your body.
Bad cholesterol or LDL builds up in the walls of the arteries. The walls of your blood vessels will narrow over time, due to the build-up of the fatty deposits. The …read more

Dr. Michael Farkouh of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, is a specialist in the effects of diabetes on the cardiovascular system.
According to Dr. Farkouh research studies state that there is an epidemic of diabetes in North America. The epidemic is due to the lack of exercise, the foods that we consume and our lifestyles and stress.
Our schools are cutting back on the physical education and the halls are lined with pop and candy machines, which also adds to the epidemic.
Parent’s are going through the drive up and getting dinner on their way home from work, which is usually loaded with …read more

Dogs have truly proven they are man’s best friend. A study led by a nurse Kathie Cole, at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center used dogs to interact with heart patients.
The study conducted by Kathie, used therapeutic dogs. There were 76 patients with an average age of 57, that had been hospitalized with heart failure.
Patients received a visit from a volunteer with a dog, just a volunteer or no visit at all; physiological responses were measured before, during and after the visits. The findings were that anxiety dropped 24%, in the patients that were visited by a …read more

When fatty deposits called plaque build up in the walls of your arteries over a period of time, it is called Atherosclosis. This buildup can start as early as childhood, due to their dietary habits and lack of exercise.
Children today eat fast foods more then any other time in history, they also spend less time in physical exercise. Parents need to watch their children’s eating habits more. They should also get the children involved in some sort of physical activity, even if it is just going outdoors to play.
A person can go for years without any symptoms of the plaque …read more

Over 20% of all diabetics have heart disease. That is why it is so scary when new research and studies come out that prove diabetic medication to harm your heart. And here we go again… Two Wake Forest University School of Medicine faculty members sifted through three trials to come to the conclusion that certain diabetic medications could cause increased heart failure- ACCORD, ADVANCE, and the Veterans Affairs Diabetes study.
“We strongly recommend restrictions in the use of thiazolidinediones (the class of drugs) and question the rationale for leaving rosiglitazone on the market,” write Sonal Singh, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of …read more

Holy cow! We do forget about our pets at times. They take a back seat to all the craziness. But your lil’ Fido is at risk for heart disease.
…heart disease affects one in four dogs over the age of seven. Statistics reveal that 50 per cent of dog owners lack knowledge that their pets may be at the risk of heart failure and calls for educating owners on the means to recognize the disease and maintain the health of their animal friends.
They need exercise just as well as you and I guess if you eat healthy your pet will …read more

There is a new tool for physicians to determine the severity and exact risk for heart failure patients. This came on the heels of the OPTIMIZE-HF study that monitored more then 48,000 heart failure patients.
Researchers and doctors feel that there is certain criteria that are very good predictors… as follows
The patient characteristics most predictive of in-hospital mortality were admission creatinine levels, systolic blood pressure and patient age. Increased risk was also associated with conditions such as liver disease, past cerebrovascular issues, vascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Diabetes, gender and coronary artery disease were not significant predictors of mortality. …read more

Between the years 1997 and 2003 Gyorgy Kolonics won 15 world championships in canoeing. Gyorgy was also a canoeing gold medalist at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.
Sadly, at 36 years old Gyorgy Kolonics died Tuesday after collapsing in his canoe while training for the Beijing Games.
The Hungarian Olympic Committee said that he lost consciousness and paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.  The committee cited heart failure as the probable cause of death. So sad, so young and an exceptional athlete. It reminds us that we are all vulnerable at times and heart disease is so prevalent.

I have been getting many questions about heart failure lately. It is a scary disease process and there isn’t a heck of a lot out there in way of resources. I did write about a great heart failure resource previous so I am going to share it with you again. I hope that it gives some of you some guidance and answers…
There is a new tool out there to help patients that suffer from heart failure. HeartFailureCenter.com was developed to help consolidate information and provide a “one stop shop” if you will…
The new site is replete with a wide variety …read more

George “Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV” Carlin died of heart failure on Sunday at the age of 71. George Carlin was well on his way to being a seasoned and all out comedian by the time I became old enough to watch one of his shows. I remember a lot of bad words, raunchy content and a heck of a lot of laughs.
Says fellow comedian Tommy Chong, “”He made us look at things, look at ourselves. You won’t find too many comics with the kind of chops to do that.”
Carlin suffered his first attack when he was …read more