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What Causes a Heart Attack

Each year at least 5 million persons inside the United States visit emergency rooms due to chest pain. Chest pain may be due to partial blockage of blood circulation or complete obstruction of blood supply to the heart muscle resulting in extensive heart muscle damage. High cholesterol is one of the most important predictive risk factors of coronary artery disease. It leads to plaque formation in heart blood vessels that blocks circulation. This is known as a heart attack.

The main cause for a heart attack is plaque rupture with clot formation, restricting the blood flow to the heart. Some of the known factors leading to plaque rupture contain thin fibrous cap, large lipid-rich core, and inflammatory cells. Two-thirds of those with acute heart attack have blockage of less than 50 percent. There is less than 75 percent blockage in more than 90 percent of heart attack cases, suggesting plaque rupture leads to heart attacks.

Recent studies have shown that inflammation of the inner layer of blood vessels leads to vessel injury and plaque vulnerability. During autopsies multiple layers of atherosclerotic plaque is observed frequently, suggesting an ongoing process of rupturing and healing as one mechanism of atherosclerosis progression. As these plaques age, calcification forms over like multiple eggshell layers which are resistant to rupture. Cardiovascular events usually occur as a consequence of disruption of a vulnerable plaque. High cholesterol and cigarette smoking have been shown to be directly associated with plaque instability and disruption. Lowering cholesterol stabilizes plaque.

Several medical therapies have proven to be beneficial. Aspirin, in doses ranging from 162 - 325 mg, reduces the incidence of death or heart attack by 30-50 percent. Another important class of drugs called thrombolytic agents-or clot busters--plays an important role in treating blocked vessels. Giving clot busters within six hours of an acute heart attack is very crucial and has revolutionized the medical management of patients. But, despite the important beneficial effects, there are many deficiencies. Only 33 percent of acute heart attack patients receive this therapy and only 60 percent of patients have full restoration of coronary blood flow, whereas 20-30 percent still have reduced flow.

Interventions in acute heart attack are an alternative to clot busting therapy. Balloon angioplasty has been introduced in addition to clot busting therapy or as a stand-alone procedure. Full restoration of normal coronary blood flow is achieved in 85-95 percent after angioplasty and in only 65-75 percent after clot busting therapy. Angioplasty has changed cardiac treatment by restoring blood flow in narrowed or blocked coronary vessels, improving heart function and survival.

Stents have become a regular addition to angioplasty to treat unfavorable angioplasty results and to lower re-narrowing rates. The coronary artery after placement of a stent is much smoother and larger than after angioplasty alone, due to stretching and expansion of the coronary artery wall. Stent placement may lead to enhanced squeezing of plaque material. Newer techniques such as hydrodynamic clot busting devices (example angiojet) rely on aspiration of clot and debris in coronary circulation and improve the success of angioplasty even more.

Coronary artery disease includes both the narrowing and dysfunction of the blood vessel inner layer lining, leading to chest pains. These events can be ongoing, repetitive or periodical. Aggressive risk factor modification, including smoking cessation, cholesterol control and exercise, play an important role in stabilization of the plaque and in preventing acute heart attacks.

Finding safely and effectively cholesterol control supplement

An increasing amount of persons are looking to buy cholesterol control supplement these days and who can blame them? After all you just have to look at some of the side effects from statins and it is no wonder that citizens want to shy away from them: severe muscle pain, digestive problems, memory complications and heart attacks are all doable side effects. In addition to that you also have to query why so many of them are prescribed, it cannot be for the fact that patients are on them for life and they are essentially the most profitable drug ever created, can it?

The truth is statins will work, nevertheless so will organic supplements, and the good news is that natural supplements can do the job just as effectively devoid of the side effects. Even so before rushing out to get cholesterol control supplement, there is a certain criteria that your supplement should match for it to be truly effective. That criteria is it should:-

1. Lower cholesterol manufacturing
2. Reduce the amount of cholesterol absorbed into the gastrointestinal tract
3. Decrease the amount of cholesterol particles within the blood
4. Boost the amount of cholesterol that may be turned into bile salts (this is the form it needs to be in to be excreted from the body)
5. Lower oxidization of cholesterol

The problem with most supplements is that they will only target a few of the listed criteria not all of it, this being the case when you are picking your supplement you prefer to ensure that it has some specific ingredients in it which will do everything that is mentioned; these form of supplements are known as naturally blended and are the most competent at controlling cholesterol. The key ingredients they should include are:-

* Policosanol - This reduces the amount of cholesterol the body produces.
* Theaflavins - Reduces oxidization of cholesterol
* Lecitihin - Decreases amount of cholesterol inside the blood
* Phytosterols - Reduces amount of cholesterol absorbed into gastrointestinal tract
* Rice Bran Oil - Raises amount of cholesterol turned into bile salts

If you stick to this criteria and obtain cholesterol control supplements containing the ingredients mentioned, then you will go a long way to controlling your cholesterol without the use of statins.

Diet Way to Lower Your High Cholesterol

Should you have been to see a physician regarding your cholesterol levels, hopefully they have advised you to lower your big cholesterol due to diet, if not and they have recommended you start taking statins, you may want to consider trying to lower your high cholesterol by means of diet first anyway before agreeing to get a lifetime prescription of these drugs. Don't get me wrong, statins will certainly help you lower your cholesterol levels, but some of the side effects that come with them appear to be just as bad. So, that said, let's have a look at how to lower your good cholesterol through diet.

1. Get rid of foods containing trans fats. Trans fats are a man made fat and are known to raise LDL levels, in fact they are so bad for you they are banned in certain states in the US plus two countries in Europe. You can normally spot these kinds of fats in foods such cookies, pastries and ready made meals as they help to extend their shelf life; look on the packaging to see if it contains hydrogenated or part hydrogenated oils/fats as these are what trans fats are listed as. Also be wary of fast foods as they are normally deep fried in trans fats.
2. Improve the amount of foods you eat good in omega3, particularly oily fish. Oily fish such as salmon, tuna (steaks not the canned stuff) and mackerel have essential fats in their omega 3's that are well known to help combat good cholesterol. In addition to that one of the effects of high cholesterol is plaque within the blood and these particular types of essential fats help to counteract that.
3. Eat extra plant based food. The reason for this is that they contain phytosterols and these are very similar in cell structure to cholesterol. By having more of these in your diet means that they will be competing to the same space as the cholesterol for places in the gastrointestinal tract and so less cholesterol will be absorbed into the bloodstream.

These 3 tips should help you lower your big cholesterol by diet, however in addition to that you may want to consider including the use of a naturally blended supplement. These are supplements that have a combination of key nutrients which help not only lower LDL levels but raise HDL and get rid of excess cholesterol too; some of these supplements have been found to be as effective as statins but without the dangerous side effects.

maintain your healthy diet - Reduce Your Cholesterol Level

Cholesterol exists as the killer that clogs the blood vessels and also the arteries to affect the blood flow to your heart, brain and etc. Normally, the cholesterol is often a substance that can be found in animal tissues and in foods. Organ meats for instance kidneys or liver and also egg yolks contribute the most dietary cholesterol. That's why people with big cholesterol level at all times avoid for egg yolks and organ meats at their daily meal. The cholesterol appears in two different forms, wherever it named as LDL - Low Density Lipoprotein and HDL - High Density Lipoprotein. LDL is bad cholesterol where it transports via the blood stream and clogs the arteries and vessels with the drop off LDL throughout the journey. On the other hand, HDL is fine cholesterol that able to remove the LDL cholesterol from the blood circulation system and bring it to the liver for filtering out from the body.

For that reason, those people with big cholesterol with LDL must manage either from their daily diet or their lifestyle. There are several techniques can reduce the level of LDL. Exercise is essentially the most popular method to lower your LDL level and also minimize the risk of other diseases and illnesses. It does not take a lot of time to do exercise; just 30 minutes of exercise and constantly for 3 to 4 instances weekly can make your life changed significantly. When our body needs further energy for the exercise, it\'ll burn all of the sugars, fats and proteins. If all the sugars and proteins are burned, then it will turn towards the fat storage and burn it to provide more energy for the body. Consequently, the liver shall boost the output of HDL that able to circulate around the blood stream and try to pick up further LDL cholesterol and convert it to energy for exercise. Recommendation is provided to those high LDL cholesterol patients to do even more exercise or just get some walk to minimize their LDL level.

Your daily diet also becomes one of the important factors to contribute to raise the bad cholesterol level. You shall control in your meal to moderate the saturated fat that originated from animal or plant to maintain your healthful level of LDL. Soluble fiber also plays a very important role in our daily diet especially from fruits and vegetables. It takes the responsibility to bind with the cholesterol and remove it from our body. Numerous medicines to manage the cholesterol are made of red yeast rice. If you get it in its natural state, it\'ll be greater to manage well for your cholesterol levels by limit the production of cholesterol.

Some other minor emotions also can affect your cholesterol level. When you continually work or reside under stress, it will bring up your cholesterol level while you have a low cholesterol diet. Smoking is for instance bad habit that could possibly boost the level of LDL cholesterol and also increase the risk of other diseases. The plaque while in the arteries will build up due for the improve of smoking and boost your cholesterol level.

Do not wait to practice and maintain your good diet just like eat more vegetables and fruits, meanwhile exercise more and continually de-stress yourself toward the wholesome lifestyle and lower your bad cholesterol level. Get away yourself from the smoking activity and you will be healthful and fit while in the future. It is not hard to practice it but is tough to maintain it.

High Cholesterol Symptoms

The worrying thing is that there are no real symptoms of high cholesterol that you can look for, because high cholesterol is not a ailment. What is worrying about there being no symptoms of high cholesterol is that cholesterol causes atherosclerosis which is usually a narrowing on the arteries which can lead to heart ailment.

Fortunately, if we are vigilant we can spot the warning signs that occur when there is atherosclerosis and take action ASAP. Those warning signs are:-

* Angina
* Pain within the legs during exercise
* Blood clots
* Yellowish deposits on the eyelids caused by cholesterol

Obviously if you feel in any way shape or form that you have any of these symptoms then you need to see a physician straight away. And even though there are no early symptoms of high cholesterol there are certain steps we can take to prevent it from getting to the stage where atherosclerosis is occurring.

The first thing you should do if you have concerns is get your cholesterol levels measured by a doctor. When you get them measured do not just settle for the total cholesterol reading though, make sure you get the breakdown of your LDL, HDL and triglycerides; this will give you a much better idea of where your health is at.

In addition to that, there are some lifestyle changes you may want to take on board which are known to help keep cholesterol levels in check. The first of these is if you are a smoker then you really need to kick the habit, and also if you drink a lot of alcohol you should cut back on that as it can raise triglyceride levels. Foodwise you want to cut back on foods such as pastries, cookies and ready made meals as these can often contain trans fats (also known as hydrogenated fats) and these are known to increase our LDL cholesterol levels (Denmark and Switzerland have already banned these fats and some states inside the USA are now doing the same).

And cutting out the items listed, there are also some things we want to include. The first of which is exercise. Exercise does not have to be some form of strenuous torture though, all you are looking to do is something as simple as walking briskly or even cycling for 30 minutes a day, as long as you are raising your pulse a bit then it will help; and of course as you get fitter you can increase it if you wish. Also you want to increase the amount of foods containing omega 3 in your diet. The kind of foods you could consider are nuts such as walnuts, flaxseeds and oily fish like salmon. The oily fish will be particularly helpful in preventing heart disease and is even recommended by the American Heart Association.

So even though there are no symptoms of high cholesterol for you to spot, if you have concerns make sure you get your levels tested and then take actions to prevent it leading to atherosclerosis. If, when you are given the results by the physician you are told you need to go on statins think long and hard about agreeing to it as the steps mentioned could be just as effective, as could using a naturally blended supplement, neither of which have the dangerous side effects that statins have.

increase high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol for Heart Healthy

HDL stands for high density lipoprotein and also is known in the realm of heart along with artery health as good cholesterol. You may recognize LDL out of one of those crime shows. He is the bad guy that gives most citizens he befriends a heart attack or stroke. We can't afford to obtain too many friends like LDL.

All humor aside, one of the the majority of significant components of any cholesterol management software is to raise the level of HDL despite the fact that lowering the LDL levels. You can think of HDL's as scavenger molecules that remove cholesterol coming from the arteries. Having a lot of HDLs reduces your risk of heart attack regardless of your total cholesterol levels. In fact, research has confirmed that people that raise their good cholesterol through a mix of exercise, eliminating exposure to first plus secondhand smoke, and diet modification besides reduce the cholesterol in the arteries but additionally remove the dangerous plaque accumulations, thus opening arteries and reducing heart attack and also stroke risks. Let me repeat that last though. Making heart healthy choices that raise HDL cholesterol actually repeal artery disease caused by arterial cholesterol deposits.

Exercise and avoiding cigarette smoke pretty much speak for themselves, for the other hand foods that raise HDL require a more detailed explanation.

Apples as well as Pomegranates: Apples and even pomegranates contain what are called soluble pectins that form a gel in your stomach plus collect cholesterol like a magnet in a neighborhood of paperclips. This gets rid of the bad cholesterol through stool. Soluble pectins also raise HDL cholesterol levels as well.

Fish, Fish Oil, and also Flax Seed Oil: If you are cholesterol you might not want to date any one of these three high omega 3 bruisers. Omega 3 fatty acid is plentiful in these three. This healthful substance has been shown to lower overall fat in the blood, reduce the amount of arterial plaque by raising HDL, along with enhance the overall health of the arterial lining.

There are many other heart healthy foods including oat bran, olive oil, and walnuts that are beneficial in the battle against cholesterol but they haven't been shown to consistently raise HDL levels.

What Next? Lowering cholesterol, in the majority of cases, is about changing old habits, adopting different better habits, and enlisting the assist of organic cholesterol reducing cures if needed. Put simply, this essentially indicates uncovering techniques to increase raise HDL cholesterol and decrease LDL through making smart choices.

foods contained trans fats - lower cholesterol naturally

A study published within the Journal belonging to the American Dietetic Association found that a good number of American's know they need to avoid trans fats, but only 20% actually knew which foods contained trans fats.

Trans fatty acids are a processed fat, produced as a by-product when hydrogen is added to make a substance more solid at room temperature. For example, margarine is hydrogenated vegetable oil - hydrogen was added and also the by-product trans fat is produced. Although, it should be noted that numerous margarine's contain changed production procedures so the trans fatty acid by-product is not produced. Trans fatty acids are just as bad for heart health (if not worse) than saturated fats. The fats increase LDL (bad) cholesterol levels along with lower HDL ("good") cholesterol.

Trans fats, also identified as hydrogenated oils, are artificially produced while in the laboratory by adding extra hydrogen atoms to unsaturated vegetable oils. They acquire long been a favorite belonging to the food industry for their increased shelf living over conventional oils. Unlike natural fats, on the other hand, these fats have no nutritional worth and even drastically increase the risk of cardiovascular ailment and even death. Like saturated fats, they increase the body's levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol, but unlike those fats they additionally lower its levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol.

Many processed foods contain these hydrogenated oils, such as baked and also fried foods, so read the food labels. As of January 2006, most manufacturers are required to list trans fatty acid content for the food label. Additionally, determine the ingredient list to the words "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" as a sign that the product contains trans fat.

cardiovascular exercise can lower the bad cholesterol

We all know that doing cardiovascular exercise is critical if we seek to lose fat and keep it off, but many important features of this exercise are often overlooked, most importantly is coronary artery ailment. This debilitating and deadly disease might be prevented with a rigorous and typical aerobic exercise regimen.

The number one killer of Americans now is coronary artery ailment. This disease is mostly a manifestation of plaque build-up within the arteries that supply the heart muscle with oxygen. There are two fundamental things we should do to prevent this, one is proper diet low in saturated and trans fats, as well as the other is often a regular exercise software consisting of a structured cardiovascular regimen. The frequency of aerobic exercise for protection on the heart must be approximately twenty minutes or more, for at least four days out on the week. This regimen can lower your risk of developing heart diseases, and lower your risk of developing other circulatory challenges throughout the body.

Another important benefit of cardiovascular exercise is it's results on lower the bad cholesterol in the body, known as LDL. While it also increases the level of the fine cholesterol, known as HDL, lowering the LDL is our primary goal for keeping the arteries clean and clear.

Keep your diet as low in saturated fats as possible, avoid trans fats altogether, and include a normal exercise routine into your schedule, and you will decrease your risk of developing the deadly coronary artery disease.

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