Heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes continue to be leading causes of death among older adults, based on the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (saving lives and protecting people…CDC). They also provide the following:Baby Boomers for the next 25 years equating to over 70 million people can live longer lives with them combining to double the population of older Americans in the next quarter of a century. Baby Boomers can take steps to live long and healthy lives as opposed to a lot of their parents who died much younger. Living healthier will play a positive impact on the health care system. Starting a step towards prevention or treatment (Rx) of a present disease that you can improve is a mission we Americans owe to ourselves, our young ones, and to our nation’s future.

Through healthy dieting and behaviors (Ex. activity, nutrition, staying in your therapeutic body mass index, controlling stress both physically and mentally, oral health and dealing with any disability reaching the optimal health level you can reach) you can reach a healthier way to living. If the majority of our nation lives healthier, shows progress in promoting prevention, improving the health and well-being of older adults with reducing behaviors that contribute to premature death and disability will increase a healthier population in the U.S.

Baby boomers should do the following with diet and exercise:

Get Screened

Get screened including flu vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, colorectal cancer screening, and mammography for women.

Mammography is the best available method to detect breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stage before it is big enough to feel or cause symptoms. Women aged 50 and over should get mammograms every two years.

Colorectal cancer screening tests can find precancerous polyps so that they can be removed before they turn into cancer. They can also detect colorectal cancer early, when treatment works best. Older adults should be screened for colorectal cancer by having a fecal occult blood test during the past year or a colonoscopy within 10 years.

Get Vaccinated

Flu and pneumonia is the seventh leading cause of death among adults 65 years or older, despite the availability of effective vaccines. Older adults should get the flu vaccine every year and get the pneumonia vaccine at least once.

Be Physically Active

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things older adults can do for their health. Physical activity can prevent many of the health problems that may come with age, including the risk of falls.

How Much Activity Do Older Adults Need?

2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking) every week and muscle-strengthening activities for 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups.

OR

1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., jogging or running) every week and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups.

OR

An equivalent mix of moderate and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity and muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups.

Eat Fruits and Vegetables Daily

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of some cancers and chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Quit Smoking

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. For help visit www.smokefree.gov.

Take Medication for High Blood Pressure and Diabetes

High blood pressure & Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, it’s one of the leading causes of illness and death among older adults. More than ½ of Americans don’t have their blood pressure under control. Complianceis so essential in treating HTN, Diabetes or any disease including what your M.D. feels you need as a medication, if needed. The only way to find out is by seeing your health care providers, such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, who can track their patient’s blood pressure, prescribe once-a-day medications, and give clear instructions on how to take blood pressure & diabetic medications.

Patients should take the initiative or responsibility to monitor their blood pressure and sugar levels (finger sticks) between medical visits and know what abnormal values to report to their MD. Including taking their medications as prescribed, tell their doctor about any side effects, and make lifestyle changes, such as eating a low-sodium/low-calorie diet, exercising, and stopping smoking.

Do you want a better body, or a healthier society making our country America better overall?, than go no further and click onto healthy usa.tsfl.com. that will give you the direction to reaching both a better body and society if enough do it. Healthyusa.tsfl.com provides you with information that you get to decide in choosing whether or not to use. We provide through Dr. Anderson and his book “Dr. A’s healthy habits” and even provided your own private health coach me (an RN 25 years plus). This is no donation site, no hacking website, just a site providing information on how to live a healthier life. I hope to hear from you soon.

Heart disease continues to be the number one killer; cancer, the number 2 killer, not far behind. The tragic aspect of these deadly diseases is that they could all be cured, I do believe, if we had sufficient funding.

Arlen Specter ((February 12, 1930　– October 14, 2012) was a United States Senator from Pennsylvania

A number of symptoms are associated with heart failure, but none is specific for the condition. Perhaps the best known symptom is short of breath (called dyspnea). In heart failure, this may result from excess fluid in the lungs. The breathing difficulties may occur at rest or during exercise. In some cases, congestion may be severe enough to interrupt or prevent you from sleeping.

-Fatigue or easy tiring is another common symptom. As the heart’s pumping capacity decreases, muscles and other tissues receive less oxygen and nutrition, which are carried in the blood. Without proper fuel (oxygen from the blood) provided by our engine (the heart), the body cannot perform as much work as it use to do (just like going from in shape to out of shape in time). The ending line is this will result into fatigue.

-Fluid accumulation will cause swelling in the feet, ankles, legs, and occasionally the abdomen (if the fluid building up in the body gets severe), what we medically call edema. Through gravity the blood goes backwards and our body allows water to transfer in the skin to allow the fluid to go somewhere other than the bloodstream to decrease fluid overload to the heart by compensating. It body compensates since the blood is going backwards from the heart causing fluid back up. Excess fluid retained by the body will result into weight gain, which sometimes occurs fairly quickly (if you have CHF already you should always call your M.D. if you weight gain is 3lbs or more in a week, odds are high this is due to fluid building up).

-Persistent coughing is another common sign, especially coughing that regularly produces mucus or pink, blood-tinged sputum. Some people develop raspy breathing or wheezing.

-Heart failure usually goes through a slow development process, the symptoms may not appear until the condition has progressed over the years. This happens because the heart first compensates by making adjustments with the heart that delay or slow down but do not prevent, the eventual loss in pumping capacity. In time failure happens, just like a car in when it gets older over several years is starts showing one problem after another and is exchanged for a newer car; same principle with the heart in that you show signs and symptoms as your heart starts to slow down to failure and its either treat the problem or get a transplant of the organ (which is unlikely to happen). The heart first hides the underlying process but compensates by doing this to your heart:

1- Enlargement to the muscle of the heart (causing “dilatation”) which allows more blood into the heart.

2- Thickening of muscle fibers (causing “hypertrophy”) to strengthen the heart muscle, which allows the heart to contract more forcefully and pump more blood.

3- More frequent contraction, which increases circulation.

By making these adjustments, or compensating, the heart can temporarily make up for losses in pumping ability, sometimes for years. However, compensation of the organ can only last so long, not forever (like anything in life the living thing or an object will go through a ending life process to termination). Eventually the heart cannot offset the lost ability to pump blood, and the signs of heart failure appear.

DIAGNOSIS

In many cases, physicians diagnose heart failure during a simple physical examination. Readily identifiable signs are shortness of breath, fatigue, and swollen ankles and feet. The physician also will check for the presence of risk factors, such as hypertension, obesity and a history of heart problems.

Using a stethoscope, the physician can listen to a patient breathe and identify the sounds of lung congestion. The stethoscope also picks up the abnormal heart sounds indicative of heart failure.

If one or not both symptoms or the patient’s history point to a clear cut diagnosis, the physician may recommend any of a variety of laboratory tests, including, initially, an electrocardiogram (EKG), which uses recording devices placed on the chest to evaluate the electrical activity of a patient’s heartbeat which will be affected by CHF.

Echocardiography is another means of evaluating heart function from outside the body. This works through sound waves that bounce off the heart are recorded and translated into images. The pictures can reveal abnormal heart sizes, shape, and movement. Echocardiography also can be used to calculate a patient’s ejection fraction which is a measurement of the amount of blood pumped when the heart contracts.

Another possible test is the chest x-ray, which also determines the heart’s size and shape, as well as the presence of congestion in the lungs.

Tests help rule out other possible causes of symptoms. The symptoms of heart failure can result when the heart is made to work too hard, instead of from damaged muscle (like in a heart attack). Conditions that overload the heart occur rarely and include severe anemia and thyrotoxicosis (a disease resulting from an overactive thyroid gland).

Prevention of CHF:

-If not diagnosed yet your already possibly ahead. Without this diagnosis you can get started on making yourself further away from being diagnosed with this disease. How to reach this goal is through living a routine life through healthy habits practiced, healthy dieting over all, and balancing rest with exercise during the week 30-40 minutes a day or 1 hour to 1.5 hours 3 times a week and not being obese. They all would benefit the heart in not stressing it out making the heart’s function harder in doing its function. When the heart stresses out it is at risk for lacking oxygen putting it at potential for angina (heart pain) to a heart attack with over time leading toward failure of the heart. Need to learn more about what is and how to get your weight in therapeutic body mass index range through dieting of all 4 food groups, balancing exercise/rest, and knowing how the body works with all ingredients in foods including portion sizes (fats, calories, starches, carbohydrates, proteins with vitamins and minerals) to understanding how all this information takes effect in how your metabolism operates in being beneficial or against you? Well than go to healthyusa.tsfl.com and take a peek at what we offer at such a reasonable price and more of a reachable goal with having Dr. Anderson through access of his book “Dr. A’s healthy habits” with me as your personal coach and if you want foods to eat in helping you lose weight if needed I’m there to help you with any questions you may have and even for support. To take a peek go to healthyusa.tsfl.com and see what we offer for no price and with no hacking. Join me and so many others in attempting to reach this goal. So far I have lost 22lbs. and hope to lose more.

“I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results.”

Florence Nightingale

The definition of heart failure, it occurs when the heart loses its ability to pump enough blood through the body. Usually, the loss in pumping action is a symptom of an underlying heart problem, such as hypertension and CAD = coronary artery disease. The term heart failure suggests a sudden and complete stop of heart activity but actually the heart does not suddenly or abruptly stop. Instead the way it works is heart failure usually develops over time, years. The heart first compensates with the disease or illness the individual has but, just like a car, after wear and tear the heart goes into decompensating to heart failure due to the heart decline. How serious is this condition? It varies from person to person depending on factors like an individual with obesity & unhealthy versus a person in healthier condition. All people diagnosed or not diagnosed with heart failure lose a pumping capacity of the heart happens as they age but diagnosed with heart failure makes the engine of the body a challenge in doing its function properly. The pump loss is more significant in the person with heart failure and often results from a heart attack (actual scaring to the tissue=death to that tissue area) or from other diseases that can damage the heart. The severity of the condition determines the impact it has on a person’s life. At the other end, extremes, treatment often helps people lead full lives if the person follows the meds ordered by the doctor including the diet and activity/exercise the doctor orders to the patient with heart failure (compliance so important). There are different levels of heart failure but even the mildest form is a serious health problem, which must be treated. If not the pump (the heart) will just get worse in doing its function properly. To improve the chance of living longer in an individual with heart failure, patients must take care of themselves, see their physician (cardiologist) on a regular basis, and closely follow treatments (as ordered) with knowing what heart failure actually to understanding how the disease works (is the failure on the right side or left side? Which in time will effect the other side in time). In knowing what side the failure is on will make you understand what signs and symptoms to expect.

Types of Heart Failure

The term congestive heart failure (CHF) is often used to describe all patients with heart failure. In reality, congestion=the buildup of fluids in the heart for not pumping correctly, just like pipes in a home not working properly=back up of water in the pipes, happens with CHF also to the fluids (blood) backing up in the lungs. This is just one feature of the condition and does not occur in all patients. There are two main categories of heart failure although within each category, symptoms and effects may differ from patient to patient. The two categories are: 1-Systolic heart failure (systolic is the top number of your blood pressure=the heart at work). This occurs when the heart’s (muscle-myocardium) ability to contract (pump=being active) decreases, particularly starting on the L side of the heart where the muscle of the heart is greatest (myocardium=heart muscle). The heart cannot pump blood with enough force to push a sufficient amount out of the heart into the circulation through the aorta. The aorta is a artery (vessel) that leaves the L lower chamber of the heart (left side of the heart=highly oxygenated rich blood). Due to the heart not using enough force pushing the blood forward in the aorta this causes the blood to back up and cause it to go back up into the L lower to the L upper chamber that goes further back up into the pulmonary vein into the lungs=congestion in the lungs due to the heart failure.

2-Diastolic heart failure (diastolic is the bottom number of your blood pressure which is the pressure when the heart is at rest). This failure occurs when the heart has a problem relaxing. The heart cannot properly fill with blood because the muscle of the heart due to trying so hard to compensate over a long period of time with disease (ex. High B/P, Obesity, etc…) strains the heart in doing its function that failure finally starts that the muscle of the heart (myocardium) becomes stiff. This causes the heart to lose its ability to relax to allow proper filling of the heart in upper and lower chambers=back up of the blood. This failure starts on the right side of the heart causing the blood to back up away from the heart and may lead this blood that is highly concentrated with carbon dioxide to accumulation especially in the feet, ankles and legs. Some patients may have lung congestion.

Causes of Heart Failure:

As stated, the heart loses some of its blood pumping ability as a natural consequence of aging. How- ever, a number of other factors can lead to a potentially life-threatening loss of pumping activity.

As a symptom of underlying heart disease, heart failure is closely associated with the major risk factors for coronary heart disease: smoking, high cholesterol levels, hypertension (persistent high blood pressure), diabetes= abnormal blood sugar levels, and obesity. A person can change or eliminate those risk factors and thus lower their risk of developing or aggravating their heart disease and heart failure through healthy habits performed routinely, proper dieting, and balancing rest with exercise.

Among prominent risk factors, hypertension-HTN (high blood pressure) and diabetes are PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT. Uncontrolled HTN increases the risk of heart failure by 200 %, compared to those who do not have hypertension. Moreover, the degree of risk appears directly related to the severity of the high blood pressure.

Persons with diabetes have about a two to eight fold greater risk of heart failure than those without diabetes. Women with diabetes have a greater risk of heart failure than men with diabetes. Part of the risk comes from the diabetes association with other risk factors for heart disease such as high cholesterol or obesity or other risk factors. However, the disease process of diabetes also damages the heart muscle.

The presence of coronary disease is among the greatest risks for heart failure. Muscle damage and scarring caused by a heart attack greatly increase the risk of heart failure. Cardiac arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, also raise heart failure risk. Any disorder that causes abnormal swelling or thickening of the heart sets the stage for heart failure.

In some people, heart failure arises from problems with heart valves, the flap-like structures that help regulate blood flow through the heart. Infections in the heart are another source of increased risk for heart failure.

A single risk factor may be sufficient to cause heart failure, but a combination of factors dramatically increases the risk. Advanced age adds to the potential impact of any heart failure risk.

Finally, genetic abnormalities contribute to the risk for certain types of heart disease, which in turn may lead to heart failure. However, in most instances, a specific genetic link to heart failure has not been identified.

SO LIVE AS HEALTHY AS POSSIBLE IN YOUR ROUTINE HABITS, YOUR DIETING OF THE 4 FOOD GROUPS, MAINTAINING YOUR WEIGHT IN A THEREPEUTIC RANGE (look as calculating BMI online for free to find out what your weight range for your height is), and BALANCING REST WITH EXERCISE TO HELP DECREASE THE CHANCE OF GETTING HEART FAILURE. Go to healthyusa.tsfl.com to learn what Dr. Anderson through his book of “Dr. A.’s Healthy Habits” and me as your health coach could provide you within a reachable cost. To just view what can be offered to you for no price with no hacking go to healthyusa.tsfl.com and take a peek;)

CHF part 2 tomorrow and learn what the signs and symptoms with how its diagnosed, how its treated with tips on the disease (most importantly prevention).

“Cholesterol helps your body build new cells, insulate nerves, and produce hormones. Normally, the liver makes all the cholesterol the body needs. But cholesterol also enters your body from food, such as animal-based foods like milk, eggs, and meat. Too much cholesterol in your body is a risk factor for heart disease.  When there is too much cholesterol in your blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries, causing a process called atherosclerosis, a form of heart disease.”

WEB MD

What is heart disease?

Heart disease occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart are clogged. Deposits of fat and cholesterol prevent the blood from flowing as it should. If the blood supply is completely blocked, you are in danger of having a heart attack.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol forms in the liver. It is a waxy substance that has many important functions in the body. It is part of various hormones, the makeup of the walls of your body’s cells, a component of bile, and many other purposes. How the body processes it is very complex. It joins with a protein and forms a package called lipoprotein. These lipoproteins carry cholesterol through the blood.

Foods of animal origin contain cholesterol. These foods include eggs, dairy products, shellfish, and meat. Foods of plant origin-fruits, grains, and cereals—do not contain cholesterol.

How is cholesterol measured?

Cholesterol is measured in metric system units. The LDL’s (low density lipoproteins) have the bad cholesterol. LDL’s are the main source of blockage in the arteries. HDL’s (high density lipoproteins) have the good cholesterol. HDL’s help keep cholesterol from building up in the wall of the arteries.

A total cholesterol level less than 200mg/dl is considered good. It represents the least risk of heart disease. Above that, your level is borderline high. If you are above 200 your level of cholesterol is high.

Why is my cholesterol so high?

Some cholesterol is essential to many body processes. However, problems can develop when there is too much cholesterol.

Your cholesterol level is high because of the amount of cholesterol and fat in the food you eat. It’s also affected by how quickly your body makes LDL cholesterol and disposes of it. The following factors determine whether your LDL level is high or low:

-Heredity –Your Diet –Your weight –Your exercise program –Your age & sex –Other medical conditions you may have, such as diabetes.

How can I control these factors?

1-You can’t do much about heredity, age, sex (non-modifiable factors – meaning you have no control on these factors to keep cholesterol low).

2-You can do a lot through diet. To lower cholesterol, limit your daily calories from fat to 30 percent should be saturated fat and not more than one third from polyunsaturated fat. At least one third of the total fat calories should be from mono-saturated fat. Weight loss helps to lower LDL’s and raise HDL’s.

3-Physical Exercise can also do a lot in lowering cholesterol. It can help in lowering LDL’s and raise the HDL’s.

4-Some women find that estrogen replacement following menopause lowers cholesterol.

5-You should take care of other medical problems like diabetes as best as you can.

6-Medications are a very important part of treating high cholesterol. Studies have shown that your life span can be improved by taking mediations if you have high cholesterol.

What else can you do?

You should lower a high LDL cholesterol level whether you have heart disease or not. Our doctor may prescribe medication to help you do this. He or she can provide information about low fat food plans. You can also get specific food listings for fat and cholesterol.

You must do most of te work, though. For the same number of calories, you can develop a food plan that includes enough food with lower fat and cholesterol. This type of plan will satisfy your hunger and be enjoyable, as well.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

P.O. Box 30105

Bethesda, MD 20824-0105

“First excessive insulin raises the level of bad cholesterol in the blood – the LDL version. At the same time it decreases the level of “good” cholesterol – the HDL variety. “

www.diabetes-information-network.com/heart–disease.htm

There are several stages involved in the development of heart disease. Unfortunately having too much insulin in your blood is involved in each and every stage.

Stage 1: First excessive insulin raises the level of bad cholesterol in the blood – the LDL version. At the same time it decreases the level of “good” cholesterol – the HDL variety.

Then it goes on to increase the level of triglycerides in the blood – yet another risk factor for heart disease. Excessive insulin also causes your blood to clot more quickly which increases your risk of stroke.

Though your kidneys are not insulin sensitive, when your insulin level is elevated it indirectly causes your kidneys to retain salt and fluid which further increases your blood pressure.

Stage 2:In this stage excessive insulin increases cellular proliferation which damages the lining of your blood vessels. This increases the blood vessels vulnerability and sets the stage for even more blood vessel damage.　　

Stage 3: In this third stage insulin plays a different role. There are two very different kinds of LDL cholesterol. “Pattern A” LDL cholesterol is light, floats on water and represents no particular threat to the human body. But “Pattern B” LDL is a smaller particle, much more dense form that’s intimately involved in the heart disease process. That’s because it’s this denser form that attaches itself to the blood vessel lining to form artery-clogging plaques. Excessive insulin increases this more dangerous form of LDL. It’s this kind of LDL that forms the “fatty streak” plaques that are the hallmark of early heart disease.　

Stage 4: Excessive insulin promotes the conversion of specialized cells called microphages in your blood into foam cells which further promotes the formation of dangerous plaques.　

Stage 5: Before the plaque becomes dangerous it must be oxidized by free radicals. Once again insulin plays a role by increasing the level of dangerous tissue-damaging free radicals in your blood. The smaller dense LDL particles that excessive insulin promotes are more subject to free radical oxidation.　

Stage 6: This damage to your blood vessel lining triggers an inflammatory response which contributes to the vicious cycle. Excessive insulin boosts inflammation throughout the body including within the lining of blood vessels. Many medical researchers feel that inflammation plays a major role in heart disease and excessive insulin plays a major role in generating it. In addition, studies have shown that this increased level of inflammation can directly damage brain neurons. (The C-reactive blood test measures the level of inflammation in your body. Today more and more doctors are using the test in recognition of the key role inflammation plays in so many different diseases.)　

Stage 7: As the plaque builds over the years, it eventually restricts the flow of blood causing either chest pain or other symptoms in other parts of your body. If the blood vessels feeding the brain become restricted, your brain function will inevitably be affected.

In numerous studies where insulin was injected into the blood vessels of lab animals, it was found that thick artery clogging plaques accumulated just downstream from the injection sites.

Stage 8: Excessive insulin also directly stimulates the central nervous system raising blood pressure which further increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke. At this stage you may experience TIAs (transient　 ischemic attacks) which are small strokes that damage small areas of your brain. Damage caused by TIAs are commonly found in the brains of deceased Alzheimer’s patients.

Stage 9: Excessive insulin causes the body to increase it’s excretion of magnesium which causes a magnesium deficiency which can then trigger arterial spasms that can directly cause a heart attack. If a heart attack doesn’t get you, remember that excessive insulin has already increased the blood’s tendency to clot. A blood clot can easily form at the site of the spasm and travel to other areas of the body such as the lungs where it can cause a fatal embolism.　

Stage 10: You’re officially diagnosed as having heart disease and if that isn’t bad enough this diagnosis dramatically increases your risk of dementia and premature death.

After reading the above it should come as no shock that studies have found that fatal heart attacks are three times more likely after a high carbohydrate meal than after a high fat/protein meal!