Most of the foods that are available today are high in cholesterol. Cholesterol has been a sensitive issue for the past few decades. Understanding the impact of cholesterol in general and high cholesterol in particular is important to maintain our health as well as our quality of life.

Medical research shows that high cholesterol food is the main cause of morbid cardio-vascular conditions resulting in strokes and heart attacks. The patient’s health is aggravated further if the morbid cardio-vascular condition is accompanied by hypertension, smoking, obesity, and hereditary factors.

The thing to understand is that when we speak of cholesterol, we are actually speaking of three different things: good cholesterol (HDL), bad cholesterol (LDL), and triglycerides. Triglycerides are not really cholesterol but are very intimately associated with regular cholesterol. Now not all these things are unhealthy or disease causing. In fact the body requires cholesterol and triglycerides too. The trick is in identifying the good ones and including them in your daily diet, and simultaneously avoiding the unhealthy ones. Fish cholesterol and triglycerides is good. Omega-3 fats found in a number of fish are recommended by physicians and nutritionists for patients suffering from diseases caused by cholesterol, because Omega-3 actually helps to reduce the level of bad cholesterol.

The food containing cholesterol is not always to blame for cholesterol related problems. The way the food is cooked, the medium used to cook the food, and even the foods eaten along with basic food are all contributory factors to high levels of bad cholesterol. Ignorance of the facts about cholesterol and how they affect our health has often led to ridiculous situations about certain foods. Once upon a time eggs were a considered a must-have food for proper health; then it was discovered that eggs were rich in bad cholesterol, and thenceforth eggs were banished from the breakfast, lunch and dinner tables. Now we are advised to have the whites of the eggs but to stay away from the yolks!

These swings in favor of or against cholesterol-containing foods confuse the man on the street. Eggs are not the main culprit in raising the level of bad cholesterol. The thing to avoid is not eggs by themselves, but to say no to the large helpings of bacon, cheese and sausages on the side. Paying attention to the way in which your food is cooked will pay off more than simply concentrating on including this and excluding that food from your diet.

The way the food is cooked is just as much to blame for high cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. Even foods innocent of any trace of cholesterol, can be transformed into real dangerous dishes. If the food is fried in oil or margarine then the goodness of the food is overpowered by the saturated fats present in the cooking medium. Red meats, poultry products, and dairy products contain high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. So it’s best to stay away from fried stuff and animal products.

Apart from keeping a watch on the cholesterol in foodstuffs, you should also keep tabs on the saturated fats that you consume. Saturated fats have an effect on the way the liver produces cholesterol. Too much saturated fat causes the liver to increase production of LDL and triglycerides which coat and ultimately block the arteries.

There is no sense in banning specific food items from your diet. It makes more practical sense to maintain a moderate approach. Have everything, but in moderation. Keep a strict vigil on what you eat and how it is cooked. A fresh potato salad is good but French fries is not! Choose to grill your food rather than fry it. Have plenty of fresh vegetables. These very ordinary precautions will help to keep your heart beating perfectly for many, many years!

The initial step you should take is to get a cholesterol test an discover what your levels are. Then consume a good low cholesterol diet, and keep track of your levels by purchasing a cholesterol monitoroptical communications. Visit www.reduce-high-cholesterol.com for more info on living a heart healthy life.

Tags: congestive heart disease, heart disease treatment, ischemic heart disease

“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are,” said the French philosopher. Two hundred years later, doctors agree. If you eat unhealthy, you end up unhealthy. Here we focus on just one of many dietary villains: cholesterol, and his sidekick, triglycerides. If you want to steer clear of heart and artery disease, then you must understand the unhealthy nexus between the cholesterol- (and triglyceride-) laden food you consume and cardio-vascular disease. This understanding is crucial to making an informed decision about your choice of food, because that’s going to affect your health and your life.

Health magazines and sites warn you about the dangers of cholesterol. They say that high levels of cholesterol in your diet can and do lead to serious heart problems like strokes, heart attacks, heart disease, and artery disease. These serious ailments and conditions are further aggravated if you smoke, or suffer from hypertension and obesity, or have a hereditary condition.

When we speak of ‘cholesterol’ we are talking about three categories of cholesterol: good cholesterol (HDL), bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides. This means that not all cholesterol is bad. Foods rich in Omega-3 fats like fish are helpful in reducing LDL levels and are advised for patients suffering from cholesterol-caused diseases.

We grew up to a simple fact: Eggs are good for us! Then came the pronouncement: Eggs contain a lot of cholesterol! Immediately eggs were taken off the diet lists of almost every household. Now eggs are back without the yolk because research has shown that it is the yolk which contains the cholesterol and not the white. So chefs everywhere are dreaming up yolk-less egg delicacies! The point is that we often bad name a food without really understanding what about it is really harmful.

So now you are careful about eating eggs. You have restricted to one poached egg. But are you looking at what you’re having along with the egg? Bacon and cheese and sausages, with thick slices of white bread liberally coated with butter! The egg isn’t going to harm you, but those side helpings definitely are! Once again the point is that instead of adopting a policy of exclusion of a specific food, we should have a more holistic approach to the entire meal.

In general you should avoid greasy foods which are fried or deep fried. You take a perfectly healthy, non-cholesterol-aggravating eggplant, then you coat it in batter and deep fry it that’s a perfect recipe for a whole slew of cardio-vascular problems! Yes, there are some foods which are bad for your heart which you must avoid. All animal products like meat, poultry, dairy produce and egg yolks are known contributors to high cholesterol levels in the blood. So go easy on those red meats, for your heart’s sake!

Saturated fats are a deadly ingredient in your diet, making the liver increase production of LDL and triglycerides which leads to artery blockage and strokes.

The moral of this brief story is that you should adopt a holistic approach to your diet rather than a exclusive approach. Have everything, but in moderation. Instead of banning specific items from the dining table, it’ll be healthier if you keep a check on how the food is prepared. Boiling, grilling and baking is preferable to frying. Increase the quantum of vegetables in your diet. Follow these steps to have a hearty meal!

To stay on top of your cholesterol levels without constantly going to the doctor, you need to invest in a good cholesterol monitor. You’ll find that lowering cholesterol naturally is not as difficult as you may believe. Find out how by visiting www.reduce-high-cholesterol.com.

Tags: kidney and heart disease, coronary heart disease, prevent heart disease

Contrary to popular belief, women comprise 60% of all heart attack related deaths in the United States. This number is astounding. In addition, it is also disturbing to note that women are more likely to die from heart disease than men. One of the main reasons for this is that women tend to ignore the early warning signs of an impending attack. Why? Most of the symptoms occurring in women are vague and generally resemble other less threatening conditions. Unfortunately, this leads women to delay seeking treatment because they do not understand their risks.

The risk factors for heart disease for men and women are the same, however most women ignore their symptoms believing that heart disease is a man’s disease. Generally, women are older with higher incidence of hypertension, higher cholesterol and blood sugar levels and are less likely to be smokers. The problem is that women delay seeking treatment thinking heart disease only happens to men which than leads to dire repercussions.

Women suffering a heart attack are more likely to experience shoulder and abdominal pain, as well as nausea, shortness of breath, and fatigue. These are symptoms that women generally do not associate with having a heart attack. They tend to blame their symptoms on something else entirely, denying themselves an opportunity to survive what could be a devastating heart attack event. The longer it takes to get treatment, the more likely hood of sustaining greater damage to the heart muscle itself. Women who have had a heart attack report having symptoms in the weeks leading up to a heart attack, but never recognize its relationship to heart disease, putting themselves at risk for a second attack within five years after the first one.

It is also disturbing to note that women who enter an emergency room will probably experience a delay in validation that she is actually experiencing a heart attack. The reason? EKG testing has shown not display the ‘classic’ symptoms of a heart attack. This results in delay of being admitted to the cardiac unit and receiving life-saving thrombolytic medications as quickly as a man would. Unfortunately, this accounts for the higher mortality rate for women experiencing a heart attack.

It is a proven fact that women tend to have a higher fatality rate than men when it comes to heart disease problems. Nevertheless, many women are still relatively unclear about the danger this disease causes. Heart disease symptoms should not be ignore and women must learn to recognize them and seek treatment early.

Barb Hicks is an established writer and registered nurse who loves to share her knowledge about Human Heart Interior Anatomy with others. She has more articles including What is Heart Blockage on Clivir.com.

Tags: heart disease symptom, heart disease, reversing heart disease

What are triglycerides and does it matter if you have high triglyceride levels?

Beyond keeping track of your blood pressure and cholesterol, there’s another number to you need to know – triglycerides.

These fatty particles in your blood are very important to your heart health, but they don’t get all the attention cholesterol does.

According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control that’s just been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, it was discoverd hat approximately a third of US adults have triglyceride levels that are considered either borderline or too high.

If you’ve had an assessment you have probably been told that triglycerides at levels of 150 to 199 milligrams per deciliter are borderline high; over 200 milligrams per deciliter are considered as too high.

Note: Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood in the U.S. and some other countries, while Canada and most of Europe measures cholesterol in millimoles per liter of blood.

Very high triglyceride levels can cause inflammation of the pancreas.

Men are more likely than women, and Caucasians at greater risk than African Americans or Mexican Americans to have high triglycerides.

If you have risk factors for heart disease you need to take this risk seriously and do something about it.

This is specifically a concern if your waist measurement is over 40 inches (101.6 centimeters) if you’re a man, and more that than 35 inches (88.9 centimeters) if you’re a woman – this body shape makes you more likely to develop heart disease problems.

If you’re overweight, not active enough, drink too much or eating lots of saturated fat you likely have triglyceride levels that are higher.

Hormones then release the triglycerides to give you energy between meals. Of course if you’re eating more calories than you burn, like so many of us do, you’ll probably have high triglycerides (known technically as hypertriglyceridemia).

Cholesterol testing involves a simple blood test, known as a lipid panel, or lipid profile to check your cholesterol levels – the total number, as well as LDL and HDL cholesterol and these often sadly overlooked triglyceride levels.

The best lower high triglyceride levels is to lose the extra weight – which can only happen if you eat right and are sufficiently active.

Swapping healthy fats for unhealthy ones, especially if your triglycerides are between 155 and 500 milligrams per deciliter is a smart move.

You’ll also want to increase the amount of soluble fiber you eat.

Only when lifestyle changes aren’t enough, prescription medications like statins, fibrates, niacin and fish oil that may also be helpful – discuss these options with your doctor.

Even if you do everything right, including a good diet and sufficient exercise, it’s possible that genetics (close family members with high cholesterol or heart disease) might make you more prone to having it.

If there is a family history of high cholesterol, you may want to get a baseline cholesterol test by age 20 (or as early as you can), and follow-ups every five years.

Catching this issue nice and early gives you the best chance to manage the conditions and retain your health.

Other research linking high triglycerides to cardiovascular disease shows that high triglyceride levels are as dangerous as high cholesterol to your heart health.

If your number is higher than it should be, now is the time to make the changes to bring high triglyceride levels down.

Next – just head on over to the Daily Health Bulletin for more information on the effects of high triglyceride levels, plus for a limited time get 5 free fantastic health reports. Click here for more details on this causes of high triglycerides.

Tags: heart disease prevention, heart disease symptom, prevent heart disease

The blood which flows through your arteries carries oxygen to your heart. If the muscle does not receive a steady supply, it will starve. If that happens, the heart can become damaged and the patient’s life may be put at risk.

Over time, plaque can start to build within the arteries. Plaque is comprised of fats, cholesterol, and other elements that are found in a person’s blood. As it accumulates along the inside of the arterial wall, the passageway through which blood flows becomes restricted. If the buildup becomes too large and the passageway shrinks too far, the patient might experience a heart attack.

Doctors will normally perform a coronary angiography (CA) to check whether an artery is blocked and how far the blockage has developed. It is done by inserting a catheter into the target artery and injecting a special dye into the bloodstream. The doctor will then take x-rays to note the flow of the dye. This is one of the most efficient methods that doctors use to see what is happening inside your arteries.

When Might A Doctor Suggest The Procedure?

A physician will typically recommend a coronary angiography if a patient complains of symptoms consistent with coronary heart disease. For example, a patient might complain of pressure in his chest, or pain throughout his arms, shoulders, neck, and jaw. These are symptoms related to angina.

Also, if a person suffers sudden cardiac arrest or experiences a heart attack, a physician might perform a CA as part of an emergency procedure. If a blocked artery is causing the immediate danger, he or she might perform angioplasty to force open the blockage.

Before, During, And After The Procedure

A coronary angiography is not a serious procedure and there are rarely any problems that occur while performing it. The patient will normally be awake the entire time. Having said that, doctors will be happy to explain how a CA is performed if a person has questions or concerns.

There is rarely any discomfort or pain during a CA. The patient will lie on his or her back and the area in which the catheter is inserted will be numbed. Once the catheter is in place, the dye is injected. Then, x-rays are taken in order that the physician can study the target arteries and identify blockages.

Usually, a patient will have a small bruise in the area in which the catheter was inserted. Besides the bruise, there are few, if any, lasting effects. As a precaution, the person who underwent the CA will normally be kept at the facility for a few hours so the doctor can watch his or her blood pressure.

A coronary angiography is one of the best methods a doctor can use to quickly identify arterial blockages. The procedure is nearly always simple, painless, and trouble-free.

Find the right doctor for atrial fibrillation or maze procedure in Virginia.

Tags: congenital heart disease, kidney and heart disease, ischemic heart disease