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For many years, when it came to studying heart disease, women were a distinct afterthought. The studies have been done based on men, and never a care was given to even the idea that statistics about heart disease might be different or women.

Now, things are better. Researchers are well aware that a woman’s body is different than a man’s, and they recognize that studies will find other differences to diseases based on gender. Still, however, women make up only 25% of all participants in heart-related research studies.

When you take a look at the statistics about heart disease, you can find some interesting information, especially as it pertains to women.

How Prevalent Is Heart Disease Among Women?

What do the statistics show about heart disease among women? Studies show that there are currently about 8 million women who have heart disease. That breaks down to about 10% of women ages 45 – 64, and 25% of women 65 and older. Nearly 13% of the women that are 45 or older have already had a heart attack. 435,000 women have heart attacks each year, with the average age being 70 ½ years old.

How Dangerous Is It?

Heart disease kills 32% of American women, overall. Each year, 267,000 women die from heart attacks. Heart attacks kill six times more women than breast cancer.

Who Is Most At Risk?

There are some basic things that increase the risk of heart disease. One is smoking. Women who smoke are at greater risk of heart attack 19 years earlier than non-smokers. Another is diabetes. Women with diabetes are more likely to have heart attacks as well – at a rate of 2-3 times more likely. High blood pressure, a contributing factor to heart disease is much more common in women on oral contraceptives. Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, and statistics about heart disease show that 23% of white women, 36% of Mexican American women, and 38% of black women are obese. Directly connected, women who are sedentary and get little or no substantial physical exercise are at much greater risk, and statistics about heart disease show that a high percentage of women in all racial groups are getting very little exercise. (49% Asian/Pacific Islanders, 57% blacks, 57% Hispanics, and 39% white women)

How Do Women Compare To Men?

Women are much more likely to die within a year of the first heart attack (38% vs. 25%). More women have another heart attack within six years (35% vs. 18%), and more women than men will be disabled by heart failure within six years (an astonishing 46% vs. 22%). Women are more than twice as likely to die after bypass surgery than men.

What Can We Learn From This?

Given the information we are learning from the statistics about heart disease, it is crucial that we study heart disease as it relates to women with a greater intensity and determination. Our future as a gender may depend on it.

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As far as smoking and heart disease is concerned, it goes without saying that cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes for heart attacks and strokes as well as a number of other secondary vascular diseases. It is thus a good idea to learn more about smoking and heart disease and probably the first thing that will strike you in this regard is the fact that tobacco has over four thousand chemicals in it and many of these are actually quite poisonous.

Nicotine Means Elevated Blood Pressure

Another fact worth learning about when it concerns smoking and heart disease is that nicotine will cause your blood pressure to rise since the carbon monoxide it contains helps to make hearts beat quicker and it also replaces oxygen in the smoker’s blood. Even worse, tobacco contains tar which is a leading cause of cancer that in turn is a fatal disease.

Thus, the picture with regard to smoking and heart disease is pretty clear and alarming as well, and it can easily be concluded that regular and sustained smoking is a major reason why arteries clog up and this only makes the heart work more than it should which in turn leads to heart diseases since the much needed oxygen that the heart requires does not reach it and therefore, the risk of blood clots forming increases manifold.

In fact, as far as smoking and heart disease goes, it has also been found that people that have smoked regularly and for long periods of time are seventy percent more at risk of dying as a result of coronary heart diseases as compared to those who do not smoke.

Another interesting fact related to smoking and heart disease is that it is believed that as many as eighty percent of first time smokers are in their youth and even passive smoking has been linked to heart diseases. Thus, when it concerns passive smoking and heart disease, even those who do not smoke directly are as much at risk of contracting heart diseases as are those who actually inhale cigarette smoke directly.

Furthermore, even if you are simply living with someone that smokes, your risk vis-à-vis smoking and heart disease increases by as many as thirty percent, and inhaling smoke is especially more dangerous for yet-to-be-born babies as well as little children and it can cause a number of unwanted health problems.

Thus, with all this information clearly showing the many risks associated with smoking and heart disease, it is time for you stop smoking if you want to live longer as well as healthier. If you don’t heed the warning, you can be sure that because of smoking, you risk curtailing your life on this planet, and whatever time you do spend among the living would be no better than a living hell.

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So you’ve been told you have heart disease – now, can you reverse it? It really depends what you mean by “reverse.” Perhaps your doctor explained to you that for some kinds of heart disease, the damage is already done. The best thing may be to have surgery (like for coronary artery disease) to open or bypass blockages. In that sense, the damage or heart disease is “reversed.” For many types of heart disease, the damage already done to the heart can’t be reversed. But sometimes the damage can be slowed or stopped to the point that it can be considered to be “reversing heart disease.” So, while your heart may never be “as good as new,” it sure can be better than it is today!

One thing seems clear. There are lifestyle changes that can help with reversing heart disease. Along with stopping smoking, exercising, and taking prescription medicine to help with cholesterol levels in the blood, there are basic changes one can make to fats in the diet that will have a positive impact, and help with reversing heart disease.

The Role Fats Play In Heart Disease

For most of us, we don’t pay any attention to what we eat. Our diets are full of things that are high in fats and cholesterol, and we neglect the valuable fruits and vegetables too much. We need to change these habits if we want to have our diet help us in reversing heart disease.

What are the dos and don’ts of eating when it comes to reversing heart disease? There are many pieces to this puzzle. One of the biggest puzzle pieces is about the fats in our diets. First, avoid saturated fats. Saturated fats are those pesky things that the body can turn into LDL cholesterol, which is the “bad cholesterol” that can clog the arteries. What is high in saturated fat? Read the labels on the packages for accurate information, but a quick guide to remember is that animal products are high in saturated fat – these include milk, cheese, and meats. Other things, like baked goods that use butter, cream, or cheese will also be high in saturated fats.

Another type of fat to be aware of are “trans fats.” These are found in fast foods (particularly fried foods), many cookies and snacks, and margarine. These also increase the LDL, which helps clog your heart. Not only that, but they also lower your HDL – which is the “good cholesterol,” the kind that helps to keep your arteries running clear. If you read the labels on the foods you eat, watch for “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” – that means “trans fat.” Manufacturers must list trans fats on the labels of the products they sell.

Some kinds of fats are actually good for the body. These include monounsaturated fats. They are found in some nuts, canola oil, and olive oil. These reduce the LDL in the body and that helps with slowing heart disease. Also, polyunsaturated fats – which are in corn oil, soybean oil, and some margarines – are good in that they reduce LDL, but the rest of the cholesterol becomes more of a problem, so that’s the downside. Omega-3 fatty acids (in fatty fish like salmon, and in fish oil or flaxseed supplements) can lower cholesterol and be good for the heart.

There are other measures that can also be taken to help with reversing heart disease. Adding more fruits and vegetables into your diet will also help.

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Rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease is something that deserves to be taken very seriously, especially as the way that patients of rheumatic heart disease are treated today is a lot different from the traditional treatment methods which involved taking rest for six weeks following this form of a heart attack. In fact, because so much improvement has been achieved with regard to rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease, today when a person suffers from such an ailment, both they and their relatives need not worry so much about the health of the patient.

Fewer Complications

Today, treatments targeting rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease is a lot less complicated and even the treatments are simple and devoid of much complications. Thus, rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease can be over in just two weeks, and as early as the second day following the rheumatic heart attack, the patient can be allowed to walk near about their bed and gradually the walks can be extended to as far as even five hundred yards.

In fact, today rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease does not even require patients to take prolonged rest since it may lead to their becoming weak and they could also lose their strength as well as their efficacy. The only instance when rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease requires a patient to take prolonged rest is when complications develop or when the condition is serious enough to warrant this kind of rest.

However, rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease may also mean that patients need to exercise great caution before climbing stairs as it is recommended in the initial stages following a rheumatic heart attack to only climb stairs once in the week and the pulse rates during such climbs should not differ by more than twenty.

In fact, it is also recommended that rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease involves encouraging the patient to resume their daily work and normal routine as early as possible following the rheumatic heart attack, or as soon as they are declared as being medically fit to do so. Some amount of light work is also recommended, and in some cases, the patient may even need to be given psychological help and doing some light and regular exercising is also part of rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease.

To be sure, proper rehabilitation of rheumatic heart disease involves looking into all aspects of a patient’s welfare and it even includes their economic stage, and more importantly, the patient will only be rehabilitated satisfactorily provided he or she gets proper support from family and friends.

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Pulmonary heart disease, or cor pulmonale, is a term used to describe a change in the structure and function of the right ventricle of the heart as a result of a respiratory disorder. This disease can develop very slowly and it may e years before one notices symptoms. Most of the people with this disease are middle aged or older. Pulmonary heart disease is a major cause of death and illness and is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. Unfortunately at this time there is no cure although efforts continue to minimize the effects of pulmonary heart disease. The damage caused to your airways and lungs can not be reversed, but there are things you can do to help feel better and slow the damage.

This disease is not something you can catch from someone else, although other diseases can have a direct effect on how bad your pulmonary heart disease is. The most common cause of this disease is smoking. Pollution, chemicals, dust, or any other irritants that you are exposed to over a long period of time can cause pulmonary heart disease.

Basically what happens is that your air sacs in your lungs become damaged by the irritants you put in your body. Where they used to be springy and resistant they now have become damaged and do not expand. This causes your heart to work harder as less and less oxygen is being brought in. By working harder it increases the chance that your heart will fail and also increases the stress on the muscle.

Treatment For Pulmonary Heart Disease

The first thing if you are smoking stop. By continuing to smoke you will continue to cause more and more damage to your lungs resulting in eventually full blown pulmonary heart disease. In addition to quitting smoking avoid doing things that would stress your lungs. Working in dust filled and chemical environments will only increase the chance that you condition is going to get worse.

Also you need to try to loose weight if you are overweight to relieve the stress being placed on your heart. A well balanced low fat diet will help to lower your weight and reduce the stress on your heart. In addition exercise will help your lungs to recover somewhat and will also increase the stamina of your heart.

Take these simple steps and you should be able to mitigate as many of the symptoms of pulmonary heart disease as you can.

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As the old saying goes, “Where there’s life, there’s hope.” This is especially true for people with heart disease. Although getting the diagnosis makes you feel anything but hopeful, it is not a death sentence. There are many treatment options and changes you can do in order to still have a good quality of life for many years yet to come.

Lifestyle Changes

Another old saying is, “Change is good for the soul.” Although this writer is not an expert on souls, I do know that change is good for people with heart disease. Even taking inexpensive steps like quitting smoking, exercising regularly and eating a better diet can help change the future prognosis for people with heart disease.

People with heart disease need to talk with their doctor and physical therapist (if one is involved) about developing a light exercise program that gradually gets more challenging. Going from no exercise to running five miles a day will be just as dangerous as not exercising at all. Slow and steady is the goal. You should never exercise if your chest hurts. Walking your dog, gardening or pottery can all be exercises that help people with heart disease.

Keep Seeing Your Doctor

Heart disease does not reduce by itself, even if you suddenly quit smoking, quit drinking, become a vegetarian and work out a half hour a day. You still need to see your doctor regularly. If he or she recommend going to a specialist, if possible, go see a specialist. Although lifestyle changes can help reduce your chance of suddenly dropping dead, you still need medications.

There are a dizzying amount of medications now available for people with heart disease. Quite often, you are not on just one medication, but several. Before you are given a prescription, you need to let your doctor or specialist know about all of the medications and herbal supplements you are currently taking. This will help to avoid any bad interactions between your current drugs and herbal remedies and the new drugs.

Each person with heart disease reacts differently to any kind of medications. This is one reason you need to keep your appointments to see your doctor or heart specialist. They will need to monitor your body’s reactions to the drugs and to the dosage. When you are on these medications, don’t suddenly decide to try an alternative medical remedy or even nutritional supplements like fish oil capsules. You need to as your doctor first.

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Organic heart disease usually happens at an earlier age of life. It is acute, abrupt and takes place because of some factors which are unfortunately hard to alter. It can be divided into two categories, namely: congenital and rheumatic heart disease.

The prognosis for both types depends on a lot of factors. If the disease is detected earlier, then there could be means to fix the condition. But if the disease is discovered at a later stage, then the prognosis could be hard to tell.

Organic Heart Disease: The Congenital Type

The Congenital type of organic heart disease is further classified into two parts. First is the acyanotic heart disease which is milder in form; and the second one is the cyanotic type which is more severe. Whichever classification a person is in, congenital heart disease can only mean one thing; and that is the presence of heart defects right after birth. Some newborns can adapt to this condition; but others simply die the moment they are born. Again, the prognosis lies on how severe their conditions are. This is the very reason why pregnant mothers should be very careful while conceiving; a little mistake in one’s pregnancy could turn out be a misfortunate condition for the growing baby.

Organic Heart Disease: The Rheumatic Type

Rheumatic heart disease is a condition that is also organic in type; this is because the heart is damaged by factors which are irreparable in nature. Rheumatic heart disease most often occurs when a person is still young. This ailment is a result of untreated streptococcal infection (strep throat) and usually gets worse as time passes by. If conditions such as a simple strep throat is medically attended to right away, this disease could easily be prevented. It is always advisable for people, especially children, to get treated right away in order to prevent such conditions from happening.

Organic Heart Disease: The Cure

The cure for organic heart disease can either be through medications or through surgery. Some of the ailments under congenital type could still be cured by drugs. For example, abnormal structures in the valves of the heart can be closed with the use of medications; but if the holes are too big, then a surgical repair would be necessary. In most cases, surgical procedures are the best forms of cure for organic heart disease. The expenses would most likely be pricey; that is why, it is essential to prevent such conditions from occurring. The prognosis would also be good if medical consult and treatment is given at an earlier time.

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It’s not only fashionable to loose your extra pounds – it could save your life. One of the reasons people are encouraged to loose weight, exercise regularly and make wiser food choices is to avoid obesity. What’s so bad about being too fat? Because obesity and heart disease are inevitably linked. You also have a higher chance of getting diabetes Type 2 when you are obese.

How Fat Is Too Fat?

There are big distinctions between being too fat and being obese. There’s even a medical class of obesity called morbid obesity – that’s when you are at least 100 pounds over the weight you are supposed to be. Not only is obesity rising, but so is morbid obesity. The medical costs in America alone to treat all of the health issues surrounding obesity is about $120 billion per year. One reason for obesity’s cost is heart disease.

The medical definition of obesity is when you are more than 20% of your ideal body weight (which is determined by your height). This is dangerous, for obesity and heart disease can lead to a potentially lethal heart attack. When you are obese, you have more body area for the blood to circulate through. That means your heart has to work harder. And your heart is not designed for that.

Is It Due To Fate?

Medical experts argue just how much of our genes are responsible for obesity and heart disease. Some say it’s only 30%, while others place losing the genetic lottery at 70%. If you know that you have a family history of heart disease, angina, coronaries, high cholesterol or other cardiovascular problems, then it’s imperative that you try to keep within five to ten pounds of your ideal body weight.

Another reason that obesity and heart disease are in the news and in the minds of doctors so often is that we don’t exercise as much as we should. Obesity and heart disease proves that our species is a victim of its own success. Although we now have year-round access to a wide variety of foods instead of plowing fields and go hunting for our food, we still have the desire to stuff our faces as often as possible.

But this instinct does not doom us to becoming slugs that will die a premature death. We can train ourselves and our taste buds to eat healthier foods, to eat less food and to crave healthier foods. We can also loose a lot of weight when we stop smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages. Both smoking and drinking slows down our metabolism and puts on weight.

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There is a bit of difference between headlice and understanding how to get rid of headlice because the two are not the same, and in fact you will only succeed on how to get rid of headlice if you first of all become better acquainted with what lice are. In fact, it will also pay to dispel common myths about lice before you start finding out more about how to get rid of headlice.

Knowing What Lice Are Is Very Important

To be sure, finding out more about how to get rid of headlice is not as important as finding out what the truth about lice is because one can easily believe myths about lice and thus end up barking up the wrong tree. For example, a common myth about lice is that only unclean people get lice and also that being outdoors for too long can cause lice to enter your hair.

Only after you have got rid of such false notions can you then get down to learning about how to get rid of headlice. A common solution to the problem is using chemical based lice treatments and doing so even before the lice have actually infested your hair. If your scalp starts to itch unnecessarily, it is time to check whether it is not in fact being caused by lice, and if so, you then will need to find out as much as possible about them as well as how to get rid of headlice. To a first time sufferer of headlice the idea that one can succeed at getting rid of headlice may seem improbable and it can lead them to panic which is not the right way of reacting to the situation as it only takes a little effort to learn how to get rid of headlice and then use that knowledge to find an effective treatment option.

The best way of establishing that your hair has been infected with lice is to comb your hair with a louse comb and then look for signs of infestation. Once you have identified that lice are indeed present in your hair, you then need to learn more about lice and also how to get rid of headlice, and then use an appropriate treatment based on your knowledge of what lice is.

Proper headlice treatments often depend on a number of factors and only after these factors have been taken into account can you proceed with the appropriate head lice removal. It is also necessary to consider the health of the infected person and sometimes it is better to use combs instead of using chemically treated shampoos. Also, you should base your treatment on the severity of the condition and sometimes it is even necessary to try alternative treatments to rid headlice, especially when you find that the lice have become resistant to anti-lice shampoos.

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