Herbal Treatments to Combat Heart Disease

Since your heart beats involuntarily, so it is understandable that people easily forget that it’s there. This is mostly true if you have a sedentary lifestyle and tend to eat foods high in cholesterol, fat, salt, and other things that are bad for you. Add some stress and a smoking habit, and you are on the road to heart disease. Lucky for you, heart disease can be controlled with some simple changes in your lifestyle.

Healthy hearts must have healthy blood vessels that promote good blood circulation. The body will not be able to survive, if it does not get its required nutrients and oxygen that the heart pumps out through the arteries and veins all throughout the body.

To ensure you have healthy blood vessels, make sure your diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy, whole grains, lean meat and fish. Combine this with adequate exercise and the right amount of water intake to ensure the best kind of blood flow.

Another way to improve blood vessel health is by consuming certain herbs that can grant passage for the blood into the heart. Without good circulation, strain will be put unto the heart and may lead to heart disease. Some herbal remedies include:

1. Garlic
This herb is widely used to combat heart disease, as well as other diseases. Garlic is known to effectively lower cholesterol levels and triglycerides, as well as raise HDL cholesterol blood levels. Garlic also lessens the build-up of plaque in blood vessels and helps protect against wrinkles.

2. Cayenne pepper
Cayenne pepper contains an herbal component called capsaicin, which helps lower cholesterol and blood clotting; in turn, helping combat heart disease. Cayenne also improves the elasticity and strength of blood vessels within the body, especially the smaller capillaries. Cayenne also maintains proper blood flow and makes the heart muscle stronger, as well as lowers blood pressure.

3. Hawthorn
This herb helps reduce atherosclerosis, which builds up plaque in the arteries and leads to heart disease. Hawthorn also keeps the liver in check to make sure it produces enough cholesterol and promotes proper blood flow.

4. Bilberry
This herb also helps in strengthening the blood vessels and thus combating heart disease.

5. Valerian
This herb usually combats sleep, but it combats heart disease, too. If you are usually nervous, stressed or hyperactive, this herb can also calm both your nerves and your blood pressure.

There are a lot of herbal remedies out there with different benefits to help combat heart disease. You personal body chemistry and tolerance, as well as your current medications, will decide which herbs are ideal for you in preventing heart disease.

Heart Disease Treatment

There are several heart disease treatments out there when one has heart disease and it must be remembered that several changes must be done to your lifestyle, in order to cope with them. It would also be necessary to work hand-in-hand with your doctor to find the best treatments to fight your heart disease and live a much longer life.

The key is to find essential preventative measures to combat your heart disease and to make changes in your lifestyle. For instance, your diet must be changed. To do this, it is recommended to get in touch with a nutritionist. In general, you should eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, lean meat, fish, and dairy products that are low in fat.

If you are a smoker, stop smoking. If you are having trouble kicking the smoking habit, get help. If you are a drinker, curb your drinking. Research shows that drinking once a day may reduce some heart disease risk factors (red wine, in particular). But if you do not drink, don’t start now. Compared to women, men are allowed to have two drinks a day to keep heart disease at bay.

Physical activity is another thing you must do to prevent heart disease. If you live a sedentary life, working out will really need to be added into your life. A great way to do this is by walking; it is good for your heart. Once you have gotten used to regular exercise, you can add a bit of strength training to prevent weight gain.

If you already know that heart disease is present in your genes, you will really have to be more diligent when it comes to your health. Regular cholesterol check-ups are recommended to make sure that your HDL cholesterol is higher than your LDL cholesterol. If you have diabetes, strictly follow your diet, take all the medications needed and get your insulin levels tested on a regular, as well.

Ask your doctor for some aspirin that you can take daily, in order to lower your heart disease risk factors. Check your blood pressure on the regular, as this will also keep you away from hypertension.

Some people, however, simply do have heart disease risk factors that they cannot get rid of. For these people, medications will need to be prescribed by doctors to keep a strong and healthy heart, and to keep arteries free from plaque. Certain drugs, such as diuretics, aspirin, nitroglycerin, beta blockers, and calcium channel blockers have the capability of keeping a healthy blood flow and better oxygen within the body.

Health heart disease angioplasty may also be used if arteries are blocked. This involves threading a balloon-like device into arteries to inflate them where there is blockage. This will also prevent those areas from breaking down and making more blockages.

There are other medical procedures, like surgery, that could help battle heart disease. Everyone is different from each other, though, so heart disease may have been received for various reasons – be it poor lifestyle or genetics. Speak with your doctor and find out which treatment is best for your heart disease.

Heart Disease Isn’t Always about Cholesterol

When it comes to heart disease, cholesterol is to blame – but only sometimes. Nowadays, several studies have shown that heart disease isn’t always about cholesterol, after all. Various questions have popped up regarding the correlation between cholesterol and heart disease, and now is the time to set the records straight.

Cholesterol does a lot of things to the body, one of which is protecting the damages done to the artery’s walls through the use of lipoproteins. In fact, cholesterol does this for all possible body wounds and can thus be classified as a life saver. What has linked cholesterol to the world of heart disease is its binding to the artery’s walls.

Cholesterol comes in two different forms: good cholesterol through high density lipoproteins (HDL) and bad cholesterol through low density lipoproteins (LDL). It is said that bad cholesterol can accumulate in the arteries, thus restricting the blood from flowing and stopping oxygen from flowing freely through the body. In turn, the heart muscles will suffer from malnourishment. It is recommended to eliminate as much bad cholesterol from your diet as can be done, in order to lower the LDL levels and prevent heart disease.

Recent theories show, however, the cholesterol isn’t the only one to blame in the world of heart disease. No real link has really been found between cholesterol from food and cholesterol levels in the blood. In some test groups, there were higher levels of cholesterol but lower incidences of heart disease. In China, there was no real correlation between cholesterol consumption and heart disease at all.

One study lasted for a decade and involved around five thousand people with high cholesterol levels. They were given a top statin drug to lower these levels, while another five thousand people with high cholesterol levels were given a proper diet and adequate exercise. Surprisingly, the statin drugs lowered the cholesterol but did nothing to lower heart disease risk factors. In fact, the testers were more prone to certain things, like liver disease. The diet and exercise group also got lower cholesterol; however, they also had improved heart disease risk factors, but they were still just as susceptible to heart disease as before.

Other cholesterol studies done around the world have also proved surprising. In Denmark, 20,000 people with heart disease were checked and most had normal cholesterol levels, so cholesterol could not be blamed for their heart disease. So far, no real proof has been given that cholesterol has anything to do in the heart disease world. This does not mean that cholesterol has nothing to do with heart disease, but there are a lot of other changes you can do in our diet to lower heart disease risk factors, such as the reduction of trans- and saturated fats.

Studies are still ongoing to figure out how bad cholesterol really is. If your cholesterol levels are extremely high but you feel fine otherwise, get tested for heart disease. Chances are your arteries are free clear and completely fine. It would be smart to start leading a healthier lifestyle, however, with a new diet and less cholesterol intake. Your body makes enough cholesterol without your help.

Heart Disease in Children

Children are the least expected to get heart disease since heart attacks usually only happen with old people. Unfortunately, this is not the case. As heart-wrenching as it sounds, children can get heart disease, as well. There are two different kinds of heart disease for children: congenital heart disease and acquired heart disease. Congenital heart disease is a heart disease that has been there since birth. Acquired heart disease, on the other one, is the heart disease that developed through childhood and could have been cause by other minor ailments.

The most common congenital heart diseases are: ductus arteriosis, ventricular septal defects, and atrial septal defects. Acquired heart disease could be there due to heart sac infection, rheumatic fever, endocarditis infection or the Kawasaki disease. Kawasaki disease can be found in children below five years of age, while rheumatic fever can be prevented with vaccination. Rheumatic fever may be fatal, but its effects can damage the entire body for years without notice, mostly the heart muscle, which causes heart disease.

One percent of babies are born with some kind of heart disease. These congenital heart diseases are oftentimes outgrown or treated with surgery. Even babies with horrible defects can do well after surgery. The defect should really be tried to repair before the babies are old enough to live normally. Some babies may need several surgeries before reaching normalcy, however.

Do know that congenital heart diseases could not have been prevented, no matter what. A lot of parents think that maybe high school marijuana sessions or excessive drinking may have led to their children’s congenital heart disease, but this is not the case. Defects like congenital heart disease just happen due to mere genetics.

It may be a bit tricky to test children for heart disease because of their size. Catheterization, in particular, is very tricky since a child has smaller blood vessels than an adult and the catheter has to be threaded through blood vessels into the heart. This is done to get samples and to shoot dye into the heart to complete special x-rays to see the heart disease.

Some testing procedures that children may have to go through include blood tests, echocardiograms, x-rays and electrocardiograms to see if they have congenital heart disease or acquired heart disease. Every child is different, so the tests may differ from one child to another. The medical staff makes sure that these testing experiences are anything but traumatic. These tests are needed, though, so that doctors will know if surgery will be required or if certain non-invasive procedures should be tried out first.

Heart Disease Could Lead to Pregnancy Risks

Having a baby simply proves that life is truly a miracle. However, this miracle could be at risk if you suffer from heart disease. Being pregnant puts a lot of pressure on the women, including her heart. And with pregnancy, the heart works overtime since it has to deal with the baby’s extra weight and supply the baby with oxygen, blood, and other nutrients, as well. With a healthy heart, pregnant women will be able to take the extra strain that her pregnancy will need to cope with.

Being pregnant could be extra troublesome, if the pregnant woman in question has a heart disease; this may also give certain health issues during the pregnancy. Since there are various kinds of heart disease, this could pose various problems during pregnancy.

Pregnant women may suffer from heart disease risk factors where there is lower blood flow to the lungs. Pulmonary stenosis could happen if the blood flow from the heart to the lungs is hindered due to issues with blood flow. Mitral stenosis could happen if the blood flow operation from the lungs to heart is affected.

No matter what the case, the problem is that there is not enough blood flow needed, in order to keep the baby and yourself full of the required oxygenated blood flow in the body. If this happens, various diseases including heart disease could happen, as well as pulmonary hypetension, Cor pulmonale, Eisenmenger syndrome, and other pulmonary vein conditions. Even the risk of death during pregnancy could be as high as fifty percent due to heart disease alone.

Sometimes, when it comes to heart disease, a normal pregnancy is still feasible with the result of a completely healthy baby. If your heart disease is due to rheumatic fever, you are sure to be fine, though the baby may be a just a little underweight. But even those with congenital heart disease have chances of completely normal births.

If your heart disease lets you strain in keeping a healthy blood oxygen level, then the chances are that your unborn baby is also straining with it and may be born with some sort of retardation due to the lack of oxygen. In some cases, miscarriage could occur, as well as premature birth or even spontaneous abortion.

There is also a small chance that the babies could be born congenital heart disease or other heart disease. It is quite common that the baby will end up with the same heart disease as the mother suffering from it.

Generally, while heart disease patients have higher heart disease risk factors, it is still possible to have normal births. Heart disease may, although, determine what heart disease your unborn baby could have during pregnancy.

Exercise for a Healthy Heart

Heart disease is the biggest killer known in the United States of America today and this is sad because heart disease cannot be prevented. With proper exercise and a proper diet, however, heart disease never would have occurred in the first place. With this in mind, if the diagnosis says you have heart disease, you can still get advantages by exercising daily and opting for a better diet. Some things must be taken into consideration, however, to make sure that you don’t exercise your way to a heart attack.

A lot of heart disease patients seem to collect fat in their abdomen, waist, and hips. The majority of doctors measure the body mass index and skin folds of a person to see the heart disease risk factors of a person. These researches have shown that exercise can lessen the fat in the abdomen, though these cannot always be seen.

Studies have shown that adding resistance training and aerobic exercise can greatly lessen one’s body fat, although it is not entirely noticeable in the beginning since the fat deep inside is burned before the surface of the abdomen. Both resistance training and aerobic exercise must work hand in hand, however, in order to lose muscle mass; strength training does not seem to melt as much belly fat as required. Together, though, they do very well in reducing heart disease risk factors.

If a doctor has already diagnosed you with heart disease, you should know that your health is already entirely compromised at the moment. Because of this, you must diligently follow an exercise routine, preferably with some supervision in order to make sure you don’t go over the top. It is still feasible to work things out through a personal trainer without the use of drug therapy, but your trainer must know your complete medical history on heart disease.

If you are already medicated, however, you will have to join an exercise program that is medically supervised. These can be found in clinics or hospitals, especially for those who suffer from heart disease. Medical supervision is always recommended, no matter what kind of heart disease you suffer from.

Once you have been diagnosed with heart disease and a diet and exercise routine has been implemented, you may not need medical supervision at all. Just ask about your limitations and what exercises would be ideal for your health, taking your heart disease and capabilities into consideration.

You will be given exercise guidelines that you should really adhere to once given. Take time to stretch and warm up properly when doing the exercises and cool your way back down the right way at all times.

Keep in sync with your body. If you realize you are losing breath while exercising, take a break and make a mental note of it. If you start experiencing any symptoms of heart disease whatsoever, such as chest pain, nausea, or dizziness, stop and look for medical attention. If you work out safely, then you can definitely reverse your heart disease.

Drink Red Wine; Avoid Heart Disease

A lot of experts have wondered whether a glass of red wine can keep heart disease at bay. This question came to mind since the French, who love to drink red wine, have much lower heart disease risk factors than any other people. Although alcohol is supposedly bad for you, red wine, in moderation, can actually do you good.

A glass of red wine a day for relaxation is still acceptable in today’s society, no matter how much doctors try to discourage this habit. Really, the only thing they fear is that encouragement might lead to an actual drinking problem; so simply know your limits.

Until recently, there was no proof that red wine was beneficial to alleviating the risk of heart disease, but now we have an answer. Red wine contains resveratrol, which comes from the skin and seeds of grapes that is used to produce wine. Also, the alcohol itself that is made during fermentation has also come with special components good for alleviating the risk of heart disease.

Actually, there are several kinds of alcohol that can alleviate the risk of heart disease by hindering blood clot creation. They also heighten the level of good cholesterol and prevent the damages done by bad cholesterol.

Although several studies come with conflicting results, it can be concluded that red wine and some other alcoholic beverages are beneficial when it comes in giving tips to prevent heart disease. Mostly, though, research shows that a glass of red wine daily is most beneficial in preventing heart disease and for the best blood flow possible.

Red wine is mostly beneficial in preventing heart disease due to its antioxidants called polyphenols. These can be broken down into flavonoids and non-flavonoids. Flavonoids can also be found in beer, as well as various foods like chocolate, apples, oranges, onions, and tea. Non-flavonoids are the ones that can be found in the skin and seeds of grapes used to produce wine.

Several tests done on animals have shown that reservatrol helps protect the animals from obesity and diabetes, as well as other heart disease risk factors. Although this has not yet been tested on humans, it is certified to have the same results. Apparently, resveratrol’s antioxidants are essential in protecting the blood vessels of the body and preventing blood clots, while reducing LDL cholesterol.

If you enjoy drinking alcohol, then embrace the fact that red wine is beneficial in preventing heart disease. If you do not drink alcohol, however, you can opt for eating peanuts, cranberries, or blueberries instead for your daily dose of resveratrol. Avoid taking supplements that claim to offer resveratrol, as it probably will not have the same effect.

Do You Have a Healthy Heart?

One huge life-changing thing that could hold enormous important in your life is heart disease. Not only will it lessen your entire span of life and cause you pain, but it will do the same for the loved ones that you may leave behind. This does not have to happen, though. Lots of times, heart disease is entirely preventable with simple changes in your lifestyle. In order to have a healthy heart, you should know about its different aspects and tips to prevent heart disease or even completely stop its progression or reverse the effects of heart disease altogether.

Your diet can greatly impact how heart disease impacts your life, if it ever does. Congenital defects could lead to heart disease, as could the consumption of foods rich in fats, cholesterol, salt, and sugars – bad foods that could greatly lead to heart disease. Try to add food rich in fiber to your diet, such as beans, peas, and whole grains. Some foods, such as celery, garlic, onions, and celery even have the ability to completely cleanse your arteries that are clogged with fat. They also help lower bad cholesterol levels and stop the formation of blood clots and its build up in narrow arteries. Some foods, like citrus foods, fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates all have components like antioxidants that could also help in fighting oxidizing agents that harm the body and lead to heart disease.

Another option is chelation therapy; although it is not a new invention, it is hardly taken into consideration when it comes to heart disease, for some reason. A main factor that contributes to heart disease is the accumulation of certain minerals in the arteries and inside the heart. To reduce the minerals, chelation therapy is used to break them down to restore the body’s balance. This is mostly effective when a certain man-made amino acid is injected into a person’s bloodstream to take out the extra minerals that are then flushed out of the body by the kidneys.

In order to completely stop or reverse the effects of heart disease, it would help to know the fats in food by heart. Certain meats may contain both saturated and trans-fats, so it is best to opt for lean cuts only. Margarine, butter, shortening, and other things used to fry foods usually contain the worst forms of fat.

There are some good fats out there, however, such as mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats, which help lower one’s cholesterol levels; as well as triglycerides, which lower one’s blood pressure – more factors that could eventually end up in heart disease. These good fats can be found in abundance in vegetable oils, nuts, natural peanut butter, avocadoes, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and seafood. Omega-3 and omega-6 are other essential fatty acids that are important to prevent heart disease and help your heart become healthier, as well.

But even though someone is very conscious about food intake, it is sometimes still not possible to get all the nutrients you need to properly fight or prevent heart disease effectively. In this case, there are some pill or capsule supplements that can be taken, such as magnesium. Magnesium if important for the heart’s health to prevent heart disease and can be consumed through food, as well To strengthen blood vessel walls and protect them from damage, there are some antioxidants you can take, as well, in the form of vitamins C and E. Oxygenation is very important, in order to have good cell health.

There are many things that could help prevent heart disease, but just as many that could lead to it. Some methods may work better than others, so you should experiment to find out what’s best for you. Generally, clean living will lead to good heart health and help you prevent heart disease.

Can Stress Lead to Heart Disease

A lot of people believe that stress leads to heart disease, but is there any truth to this belief? If stress does increase heart disease risk factors, what kind of stress are we talking about? For regular people, stress is often seen as emotional problems at work or at home. However, medical professionals say that stress has to do with physical health factors.

Physical stress is actually seen as something good since it is measurable. Exercise, for example, raises the heart rate and can be measured by counting your daily steps. But if you lead an inactive life, the introduction of physical stress isn’t exactly great. In fact, it can become one of the heart disease risk factors.

As long as you are healthy, physical stress is good. But with a lazy lifestyle, doctors will need to introduce you to exercise in order to prevent heart disease.

If heart disease is in your genes or remains undetected, intense exercise will be detrimental for your well-being. Physical stress may cause chest pain, dizziness or fainting, if your heart does not get enough oxygen to work properly. As long as you are in good health, however, exercising and other physical activities should be fine.

When people talk about stress, they oftentimes refer to emotional things, such as a problem at work, a death of a loved one, etc. But how does this affect the heart physically, if it even does? Although emotional stress is definitely harmful, there are still no links to whether this is one of the heart disease risk factors.

Most of the time, heart disease is only incidental when related to emotional stress. Unexpected and huge life changes where emotions go into frenzy may lead to heart disease, but most experts believe that this is predisposed. Does it directly have anything to do with heart disease, though?

Emotional stress is unavoidable but is not necessarily bad. Emotional stress usually leads to a learning experience, most of all when released in a healthy way. Those who have severe emotional angst, however, are more likely to suffer from heart disease.

Stress needs to be released, not kept in; otherwise this could lead to overeating, smoking and drinking, and eventually heart disease. Plus, the ups and downs of adrenaline could work the heart muscle and cause blood clotting that could also lead to heart disease.

Stress does not necessarily lead to heart disease, per se, but it could lead to lifestyle choices that could affect the outcome of heart disease. It is recommended to find exercise programs to help release stress or find someone to talk to, as this could help prevent heart disease in the long run.

Diet Supplements to Combat Heart Disease

All around the world, heart disease has become a huge health issue because it kills the most people compared to other diseases combined. What is sad is that most heart disease cases could easily have been prevented. Heart disease shortens your years of life and ruins your lifestyle, but it is controllable. Simply by eating right and working out, heart disease can be prevented or reduced.

It is important to be completely strict when it comes to your diet to fight heart disease properly. Being strict may not be enough to fight heart disease, though; in fact, the majority of people find it almost impossible to really follow a proper diet for a healthy heart since they do not find the food within appetizing. For help in getting the right amount of minerals, vitamins and nutrients, you need to create a healthy body atmosphere.

If you do not have heart disease at the moment, it is still recommended to take some supplements to keep heart disease at bay. Before taking anything, though, it is advised to ask your doctor which supplements would benefit you as a unique individual.

Homocysteine is an amino acid that builds up the blood and the plaque in the arteries. BY taking vitamin B supplements of B6, B12 and folic acid, you can keep yourself safe from this occurrence. Another B vitamin is niacin that could help combat heart disease by lowering your cholesterol and improving blood circulation. Niacin also improves your HDL cholesterol, while lowering your levels of triglyceride.

To get rid of cholesterol oxidation that could ultimately protect your blood vessels, it is advised to take some vitamins C and A, which is important to prevent heart disease.

Fish and flaxseed are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that could combat heart disease in various ways, like lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Its Q10 co-enzyme also helps maintain the heart’s health.

Herbs can also be used and have been used for thousands of years now to prevent heart disease and the symptoms of heart disease. Garlic can prevent the clotting of blood platelets and the sticking of them to fatty deposits in the artery walls. Garlic also lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Gingko Biloba is known to boost blood oxygenation and circulation while ginseng reduces the heart’s resistance to insulin to battle heart disease.

If you do have heart disease and are already medicated, you should ask your doctor what you can or cannot eat and what herbs you can or cannot take. Grapefruit, for example, may stop medicine from being properly absorbed by the body and may cancel its effects entirely. Be sure you know that there are a lot of ways to prevent heart disease and that it can still be reversed with the right supplements and diet.

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