Healty Articles

The scientific research is done to find the connection between stress and heart diseases. The scientists are striving hard to find the answer of the question: is stress the cause of heart disease? Research at the British Heart Foundation published in health magazines say that for few people stress is the contributing cause of the coronary heart disease.

They state that evidences are growing towards depicting that stress contributes to heart related issues. The issue is that nature of stress is such that it cannot be measured so the scientists are unable to state directly that stress causes heart diseases. It seems that scientists need to do more decisive studies to reach the conclusion that how stress causes heart related issues.
Risk Factors for Heart Diseases
Today we know that risk factors of heart disease are:

• High cholesterol levels
• High blood pressure
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Family history of heart diseases
• Smoking

Till time stress is not considered the primary reason of heart disease but the research is being conducted to show the connection between the two.Facts about Heart and Stress
British heart foundation has revealed the following facts about the connection of stress and heart.

• Stress affects heart by releasing hormones. The hormones cause an increase in blood pressure and this encourages the clotting of arteries.
• Stress also increases the production of adrenaline and cortisol. These chemicals are responsible for producing the fight syndrome.
• Research is still being conducted to know the role of adrenaline and cortisol in the body. How does this hormone lead to the build-up fatty deposits that are built in arteries? How theses hormones cause the blood to clot and increase the pressure of blood? Answers are still on the way.
• Stress also plays a vital role in the attitude or state of mind of the person. In the stressful situations mostly people choose some short-term solutions of their problems and forget about the long-term impact on heart of all this. For instance a stressed person is more prone to eat less healthy meals irregularly. Drink plenty of alcohol, coffee and smoke too much. All these relieve the stress for the particular time but leaves bad impacts on the health of heart.
• Research has also depicted that stress discourages the person from performing healthy activities like physical exercise or meditation.

So the question; is stress is the contributing factor of heart disease, is still not clear. Till time there are not any decisive studies. Still research is beginning to mount; there is some connection between the two.So the better idea is not to wait for the conclusion rather best cure is prevention. Eating healthy, exercising regularly and sleeping peacefully will lead to relax the mind of the person and thus his heart too.

The heart is the most vital organ of the body that is responsible for the flow of blood to all the parts of the system and helps sustain life. It is also a very delicate organ that needs considerable care to be taken so as to safeguard it and for the individual to live a healthy and happy lifestyle. Consistent intake of the wrong foods, tobacco and unhealthy health practices can render the heart to become susceptible to an attack at any time. One of the most common myths that surround this aspect is that people believe that it only affects those above the age of forty. It is essential to know that any individuals irrespective of their age can be viable to a heart attack by practicing the wrong health habits.

There are many symptoms that an individual experiencing a heart disease will experience. These include heart strains, reduced heart beats, palpitation and excessive uneasiness. One of the most prominent symptoms that one would experience when getting a heart attack is the strain they would feel within their chest. To further accentuate this pain, one would also feel a certain level of palpitation and hyperactivity that will slowly diminish with loss of energy. In a more severe case of a heart attack, there shall be excessive segregation of fluid and saliva from the mouth and also ends up rendering the nails and eyes in the loss of color. The fingernails and pupils lose their normal color and develop a pale yellow appeal. At such times it is essential to carry out prompt first aid and get medical help immediately.

There are many people around the world that suffer from heart diseases and do not know about it. They often mistake it for indigestion or a simple heart burn. Hence, it is vital that any individual, who experiences any sort of pain in the chest, get themselves treated by a legitimate and renowned doctor. A cardiologist is mostly preferred in these cases. It is imperative that individuals do as much as they can to curb any heart ailments that come their way and begin living a healthier lifestyle.

Some experts have argued that high fat dairy products contribute to heart problems later in life, though new research out of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research might just start to improve dairy's troubled image, especially for the young.

Appearing in the July 28,2009 online issue of the journal Heart, this 65-year observational study brings us the finding that those who consumed lots of calcium and dairy products as children were more likely to avoid stroke and live longer than those with lower intakes.
The team of Australian researchers collected data on children (4,999 in all) from 1,343 families in England and Scotland, all participants in a survey of diet and health that was conducted in pre WWII Britain from 1937 to 1939.

The team was able to track the health status of 4,374 of the original children through the years 1948 and 2005, looking at two main outcomes, death from stroke or heart disease.
By 2005, 1,468 (34%) of the children had died. Of this number, 378 had succumbed to heart disease and 121 to stroke. The researchers also looked at dairy intake and mortality, as well as associations between specific dairy foods and mortality.

There was no clear evidence that the dairy foods were linked to either heart disease or stroke deaths. What was surprising was the children in the group with the highest intake of calcium (from milk and milk products) had lower overall death rates from stroke than those kids who took in less calcium as youngsters.
Other experts who didn't participate in the study point out that those children who ate the most dairy probably also had better diets overall, eating more fruits and veggies as well.

Also, income and education levels of the original families may well have played a part in the results.
While we know that a good diet in childhood is important for longevity, no one can say for sure, even after this study, that calcium is solely responsible for this effect. What's more, increased risks of prostate cancer have been linked to high dairy intake.

Low or non-fat products are a great option for young and old alike, and these were not available to the original pre-WWII populations.

If you want your kids to get more calcium, look for nutritious, low-fat or non-fat options.
So this is yet another reason to keep an eye on just what your children are eating, not only to ensure a healthy now, but perhaps a healthier later life as well.

Cholesterol is a lipid (fatty substance) which can be found in the circulatory system. It comes from two sources. The first is diet, and is primarily from animal derived sources such as meat and dairy. It can also come from liver production. The liver has the capacity to remove cholesterol from the blood stream but it also secretes it into the blood circulation in between meals, as a small amount of cholesterol is needed for the production of hormones, vitamin D and bile for digestion. However, serious health issues can arise from an excess of cholesterol.

To travel through the blood stream the cholesterol needs to bond with a protein, forming a lipoprotein. There are two different lipoproteins - High Density Lipoprotein (good cholesterol) and Low Density Lipoprotein (bad cholesterol). A high level of HDL cholesterol is desirable as it extracts cholesterol from the artery walls, which can then be eliminated by the liver. On the other hand, LDL lipoprotein causes a hard, fatty build up of cholesterol on the walls of the arteries which will eventually restrict blood flow. This causes the arteries to narrow and can lead to serious cardiovascular problems such as heart attacks.

Elevated levels of LDL cholesterol can either be caused by hereditary problems or by diet. One problem which may be inherited is low levels of LDL receptors in the liver, which diminishes the amount of 'bad' cholesterol being removed from the blood stream. Associated health problems may manifest themselves as soon as early adulthood, and this is a leading cause of heart attacks among young men and women.
Poor diet, however, has become a leading cause of high cholesterol. This increasing problem is, in part, owed to the popularity of convenience and processed food. These foods are high in bad cholesterol due to the hydrogenated and saturated fat they contain. People should aim to eat a diet high in fruit, vegetables, whole grains and fish. Use olive oil rather than vegetable oil to cook and trans-fat margarine rather than butter. The more liquid the margarine the less likely it is to contribute to the hardening of the arteries.

Another factor contributing to the build up of cholesterol in the arteries is exercise. Physical activity is very important as it elevates your level of HDL and helps break down any bad cholesterol which may have accumulated on the artery walls. Age is also an issue, as cholesterol levels tend to rise as you get older.
The American Heart Foundation recommends that people restrict their cholesterol intake to 300 milligrams a day. People with a history of heart disease should aim for an intake of less than 200 milligrams.