Heart Failure Articles

Heart disease prevention and reversal is dependent on lifestyle. So many of our body’s critical functions dependent on micronutrients for normal muscle and nerve functions. To keep the heart rhythm steady, immune system functioning, and blood sugar levels in the normal range, sufficient nutrients are needed.

Causes of Heart Disease

The most common ones are thought of as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, family history, and stress. The problem with all these things on the front burner, we are overlooking some clearly important data. Basic research shows that high cholesterol in of itself isn’t a reliable marker. There is a gap in our basic understanding to what is going on is causing untold misery.

Ischemic Heart Disease

Ischemic heart disease is a condition of recurring chest pain or discomfort that occurs when part of the heart doesn’t get oxygen and nutrients.

Ischemic heart disease is also referred to as coronary artery disease or coronary heart disease. The coronary arteries are the blood vessels that pump oxygen-rich blood to the heart. When blood flowing through the coronary arteries is blocked, completely or partially, you are develop ischemic heart disease. This blocking of the arteries leads to a lack of oxygen-rich blood to the heart, which in turn leads to chest pain, called angina, and even myocardial infarction, or heart attack.

The epidemic of ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a phenomenon of the 21st century. It isn’t that it is a new disease, but it has reached epidemic proportions. In the united States heart disease didn’t exceed tuberculosis until the early 20th century.

Standard Thinking

Ischemic heart disease can be treated successfully with lifestyle changes, medicines, and surgical procedures. Even better, you can reduce your risk of ischemic heart disease by following heart-healthy practices, such as eating a low-fat, low-sodium diet, being physically active, not smoking, and maintaining a healthy body weight.

Another View

Heart disease is a multi-dimensional pathological condition. These are some facts: stress and infections cause Cortisol to be released, and when released in excess, can suppress immunity, cause hypertension, create insulin resistance, bring on metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. cortisol is a “stress hormone,” which is responsible for many of the long-term health consequences.

Heart Disease is a Deficiency State

According to the national Institutes of Health magnesium keeps heart rhythm steady, keeps blood sugar levels in the normal range,  promotes normal blood pressure, and maintains vascular health. A healthy heart is attainable and the way to do it is to become a healthy person.

There are three forms of vitamin K that promote arterial health. Vitamin K1 is the form of vitamin K that is found in green vegetables and is tightly bound to the plant fiber. Vitamin K2 is found mostly in meats, dairy, and egg yolks. The very foods that we are told to avoid. The best source is grass fed beef and dairy. CoQ10 which is needed for heart health is found in red meat.

PQQ may be the first new vitamin to be identified in over five decades. It’s been found to have antioxidant and neuroprotective properties as well as contributing to mitochondrial health. Mitochondrial damage and depopulation is thought to be a major factor in some diseases, particularly those involving energy-intensive organs like the brain, heart, and liver.  This is found in parsley, green peppers, papaya, spinach, carrots, cabbage and apples.

Herbs

Silymarin know as milk thistle is protective for those at high risk for cardiovascular disease. In animal studies silmarin’s antioxidant properties were shown to reduce oxidation of (LDL). It also inhibits inflammation and inhibits arthrosclerotic activity. Turning research into reality is up the consumer.

Reversal of Heart Disease

Regenerative medicine is based on the deep-seated belief that the body including the heart can and is the process of creating functional tissues by repairing and replacing cells. All abnormalities afflicting previous generation never were on the grand scale of what we are facing now. Even modest vitamin or mineral deficiencies can increase the incidence of age-related diseases, which includes heart disease.

Heart Disease isn’t a shortage of statins, or any othe pharmaceutical, it is a product of both our food supply and lifestyle.

Bolstering heart health is how to combat brain aging and stop cognitive decline. The heart is a vital organ when it comes to cognitive function. We know the heart is important for physical performance, but it is also key to mental functions. The heart delivers both oxygen and nutrients to the body by its efficient pumping ability.

Cognitive Ability

Arrhythmia and electric instability of the heart which is a potentially dangerous abnormal heart rhythm effects physical and mental powers. It is of critical importance to recognize the factors than may cause memory problems.

It has been found that factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol may also be a reason for forgetting things. A study presented at the American Academy of Neurology 63th Annual Meeting shows that people with an elevated heart disease risk in middle age were more likely to have memory and cognitive problems.

Researches have found people who have a 10% higher risk of cardiovascular disease were likely to have lower cognitive function and a faster rate of cognitive decline, than those with the lowest risk of heart disease. 

Patients with heart failure and a low left ejection fraction (LVEF) show declines in memory. Cognitive function in millions of American’s is compromised due to the rising incidence of heart failure in people over the age of 60 according to Dr. Joanne Fiesta  (St Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital New York, N.Y.)

Brain Function

Your brain cells needs a constant fresh supply of oxygen. The longer the level of oxygen remains low the greater are the chances of cognitive decline. Some call this forgetfulness and brain fog, and it is a very common occurrence. Oxygen is the most important thing that brain cells need.

As you age the blood flow naturally drops and flows less efficiently. The nutrients that your brain need to nourish it are depended on how well your heart pumps.

A Framing ham Heart Study found that people whose heart pump efficiently are less likely to experience brain shrinkage.

Boost Your Memory

Now is the time to boost your memory. The way to do that is to take care of your health’s health. This will mean a more productive life in every area. This is the way to retain new information, and remember why you went to the grocery store. What everyone wants is to recall names, events, and have mental clarity and good cognitive function. Without these abilities the quality of your life diminishes.

Metabolic Syndrome

Adults with metabolic syndrome are significantly more likely to experience a decline in cognitive function over time. This is the one area where we have some control. This is a condition brought about by lifestyle.

In a study of generally healthy adults 65 years and older, those with metabolic syndrome were significantly more likely to experience a decline in cognitive function in a few years time. What is of particular interest is the the phase ”generally healthy adults with metabolic syndrome.”

This is where we are heading: health evaluations are taking a downturn, the optimal weight scale has changed and now what it means to be health has changed. Vigorous, energetic, healthy weight, good cognitive abilities, high fitness level, and emotional stability aren’t the baseline of passing the doctors idea of what is good health.

You can be a walking zombie, as long as some numbers are in the ball park, which by the way are changing yearly, you pass the physical. I wonder whose brains aren’t getting enough oxygen.

Back to the topic you are capable of slowing down memory loss and delaying the onset of dementia by following a healthy lifestyle.

BMI top concern: coping with an uncertain future. It is now realized that a BMI is connected to future health events. Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. This isn’t the only measure of a healthy weight, but it is potentially a fast and easy way to tell.

Higher BMI in the teenage years is linked to earlier occurrence of diabetes and heart disease as a young adult. This is according to a study that followed 37, 000 Israeli army personnel for 17 years. The long reach of weight in the teen years seems to influence and result in the gradually increasing atherosclerosis. This narrows the arteries with plaque build-up.

The surprising thing about this study was that the results were derived from BMI scores that were still well in the normal range. What is uncertain is the way we focus on losing weight as a way to manage future health problems. This isn’t an open and shut case to turn around any future health consequences. This study suggests that becoming a lean adult will not eliminate all risks for developing diseases. While it practically eliminates the risk of developing diabetes it still leaves one with a higher risk of developing heart disease. This means that an overweight teen will have some risk even upon becoming a lean adult.

Not a Surprising Risk

This shouldn’t be surprising since a baby has an increased risk of obesity and diseases just by what the mother eats while pregnant. This now extents to the time before conception, and includes what the father’s diet is like. 

Prevention begins way before the teen years. The bigger we get the more we will act in haste to avert disaster. We need to manage risks before we have to make tough decisions. We have to change the way we think. Reflecting on the broader implications of weight management means to nourish and nurture by means of diet.

There is a direct connection to scaling back on packaged food and reverting to whole foods. We are facing key challenges while food manufacturers flex their marketing muscle. Their products boast self space, functionality and ingenuity. What they aren’t a fresh-cut above nature. For the food industry the interest is primarily in packaging and your wallet. It seems the packaging is disposable and so is the public.

There isn’t a real second chance given by loosing the extra weight. The seeds of change start with clarifying the challenge, which may not be loosing the weight as much as not putting it on in the first place.

Prevention

An international study, led by the university of Southampton researchers has shown that a mother’s diet during pregnancy can alter the function of the child’s DNA. The study shows that this process called epigenetic change, can lead to the child tending to lay down more fat.

It is recognized fact prevention is easier than recovery. In almost all chronic conditions is recognized that prevention is the key. Well in obesity the same is true. The driving force behind optimal weight should be to in place before it’s needed.