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 fatty build-up will slow the blood flow, eventually causing heart failure.

It is wise to have a complete physical once a year, this will aid in preventing problems such as high cholesterol.

To learn more about cholesterol levels click Understanding Cholesterol.

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 fats. The parents will go through the same window grabbing a coffee loaded with caffeine, muffin or something worse for breakfast in a rush to get to work.

These are just a few of the things that are causing diabetes and heart failure in young adults and children to be at an epidemic level.

You will find more information by clicking here Dr. Michael Farkouh.

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 volunteer with a dog.  There was only a 10% drop in patients when visited by a volunteer and those with no visits stayed the same.

When your body is under stress, levels of (epinephrine), which is a hormone, will rise, but after a visit from the dog and volunteer the levels dropped 17%. When a visit by a volunteer was over the level dropped only 2%, the levels rose by 7% when there was no visit at all.

You will find more information on the site below.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10051979/

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 build up in there arteries. The fat will attach itself to the walls of your arteries and in time become calcified, causing a narrowing of the arteries. The narrowing in turn can cause a multitude of problems such as those listed below.

• Heart Failure
• The Aorta will become swollen and inhibit the flow of blood throughout the body. The swelling makes the blood vessel weak and can cause it to rupture.
• Blood clots can cause strokes, angina, pain, and heart attack due to lack of oxygen. Blood clots can also cut off the oxygen to the brain causing ischaemic strokes.
• Those with very high blood pressure are at risk of a heamorrhagic stroke, which can cause irreversible damage to the brain or in some cases death.
• When the arteries are extremely narrowed to the lower extremities such as your legs the result can be amputation.

Exactly how atherosclerosis begins or what causes it isn’t known, but some theories have been proposed. Many scientists think atherosclerosis starts because the innermost layer of the artery becomes damaged. This layer is called the endothelium. Three possible causes of damage to the arterial wall are:

• Elevated levels of cholesterol and triglyceride in the blood
• High blood pressure
• Cigarette smoke

Listed below you will find some of the sites that I referenced.

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=228

http://www.stronghealth.com/services/cardiology/Conditions/atherosclerosis.cfm

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 internal medicine, and Curt D. Furberg, M.D., Ph.D., professor of public health sciences. Rosiglitazone and pioglitazone are the two major thiazolidinediones.

What are the drugs being above mentioned? Actos and Avandia. If you take these medications please talk to your physician if you have any concerns or questions.  Remember, you need the risk factors to be affected in a negative way.

via Wake Forest 

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 eat healthy too, right? I mean seriosuly speaking, if you are feeding table scraps- healthy is better.

via Press trust of India 

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.

There is hope that by monitoring these items there will be better clinical and longterm outcomes.

via SD 

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 of information, from a patient health survey, heart condition information, treatment options and regional resource directories, to an extensive article library, blog, chat room, and the latest news and media clips featuring top experts in the field. There is even a printable list of “Questions to ask your Doctor,” a tool to help patients make the most of their medical visits.

Heart failure is an overwhelming disease for many, and having the tools and resources to make informed treatment decisions is very welcomed indeed. If you live with heart failure on a daily basis, go check it out. Let me know what you think.

The site is very easy to navigate and has some great resources. I am very excited at the service that it could provide!

HeartFailureCenter.com 

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 41 and several since then. He entered rehab as recent as 2004 for Vicodin and alcohol addiction- after many years battling cocaine.  His funny ways and sparkling personality will be missed.