Cardiovascular Health

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Cardiovascular Health
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Risk Factors for Heart Disease

• Things you cannot change
• Age
• Family history
• Your past

• Things you can do something about
• Abnormal cholesterol levels
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Being overweight
• Having a sedentary lifestyle
• Smoking
• Stress
• In essence
• your future!

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Cholesterol

• Blood cholesterol levels are strongly associated
  with the intake of saturated fats and cholesterol
  in our diets.
• Some cholesterol is needed to maintain healthy
  body tissues, but blood cholesterol levels that
  are too high (greater than 200 mg/dl) are
  associated with heart disease.
• Cholesterol contributes to atherosclerosis, which
  is a build-up of fatty material within the blood
  vessles. This causes the vessels to become
  weakened and narrowed, placing increased pumping
  stress on the heart.

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Lipid Streaks
Lipid streaks are the first visible signs of
atherosclerosis. They appear pale yellow in this
picture of an aorta.
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Atherosclerosis
This picture shows cross sections of a coronary
artery with marked atherosclerosis.
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Aortic Aneurysms

• Atherosclerosis can weaken blood vessel
  wallspressure from within the vessel can then
  cause these areas to bulge out, forming
  aneurysms.
• Aortic aneurysms usually occur below the kidneys.
• When aneurysms get big, they often rupture,
  causing massive bleeding which can be fatal!

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Cholesterol

• Overall blood cholesterol levels are important,
  but NOT as important as the TYPES of cholesterol
  that comprise your total level
• LDL the BAD cholesterol
• Levels should be less than 130 mg/dl
• HDL the GOOD cholesterol
• Levels should be greater than 35 mg/dl

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Cholesterol and Diet

• Cholesterol is found only in foods from animal
  sources, not in plant foods.
• Some foods with high amounts of cholesterol
  include high fat meat and dairy products, egg
  yolks.
• Cholesterol intake should be 300 mg per day or
  less.

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Cholesterol and Diet

• Foods high in saturated fats (high fat dairy and
  meat products, hydrogenated vegetable oils ) have
  been shown to raise blood cholesterol levels.
• Polyunsaturated fats (corn, canola, and soybean
  oils, fish), on the other hand, lower blood
  cholesterol levels.
• Monounsaturated fats (olive oil, nuts, avocadoes)
  lower LDL levels but do not lower HDL levels!
• No more than 30-35 of total calories each day
  should come from fat, and no more than 10 from
  saturated fats.

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Homocysteine

• The association between blood homocysteine levels
  and heart disease has been the subject of many
  recent news reports.
• Homocysteine is an amino acid that is made by our
  bodies. Large amounts can damage blood vessels,
  leading to increased atherosclerosis and heart
  disease.
• The B vitamin folate removes homocysteine from
  the blood.
• Since most processed foods have lost their B
  vitamins, eating lots of folate-rich fruits and
  vegetables is a great way to reduce risk!

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Type 2 Diabetes

• Diabetes can contribute to other risk factors
  associated with heart disease, like high
  cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and an
  increased tendency towards forming blood clots.
• These mechanisms can also damage nerves, which
  can lead to the misinterpretation of important
  pain signals, like chest pain.
• Action Weight control and exercise helps to
  prevent and to control diabetes.

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High Blood Pressure

• High blood pressure is known as the silent
  killer because it can cause damage to your
  heart, blood vessels, brain, and kidneys that
  gives you no symptoms until it is too late!
• The increased pumping load that high blood
  pressure places on the heart can eventually
  damage it. The heart may become stretched out
  and weakened, or may become so muscular that it
  can no longer fill properly.
• Action Achieve a healthy weight, quit smoking,
  and cut down on salt and caffeine. If these
  dont do the trick, a prescription may be
  necessary.

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Blood Pressure What is normal and what is too
high?
 
Blood pressure(mm Hg)
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Stroke
High blood pressure can cause blood vessels in
the brain to burst, resulting in hemorrhage and a
stroke.
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Ventricular Hypertrophy
High blood pressure can place extra stress on the
left ventricle of the heart, causing its walls to
thicken and enlarge (hypertrophy).
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Overweight

• People with excess body fat, especially carried
  in the waist area, are more likely to develop
  heart disease and stroke even if they have no
  other risk factors.
• Excess weight increases the strain on the heart,
  and raises blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
  It can also make diabetes more likely to
  develop.
• HOWEVER, the latest research shows that even if
  you are very overweight, a loss of as little as
  10-15 lbs can reduce your risk of developing
  heart disease!

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Sedentary Lifestyle

• An inactive lifestyle is a risk factor for heart
  disease
• Approximately 12 of all deaths each year in the
  US are primarily attributable to a lack of
  regular physical activity.
• Less active people have a 30-50 greater risk of
  developing high blood pressure than more active
  people.
• However, it is a myth that exercise must be
  strenuous in order to lower risk. Even moderate
  exercise several times each week (for example,
  brisk walking) is helpful in lowering risk.

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Alcohol

• Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can cause
  irregular heartbeats.
• Heavy drinking can also cause the heart to swell
  and increase in size, leading to feelings of
  fatigue, angina pain, and difficulty breathing.
• It can also cause high blood pressure. In fact,
  it is the third largest cause of high blood
  pressure in this country!

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Smoking

• Heavy smokers are twice as likely as nonsmokers
  to have a heart attack!
• Smokers are also 60 more likely to suffer from
  advanced coronary artery disease than nonsmokers.
• Quitting smoking is one of the most important
  lifestyle changes that you can make to decrease
  your risk of heart disease.

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Heart Attack
This picture shows the interventricular septum of
the heart after a heart attack. The paler,
tan-yellow portions represent dead tissue.
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Heart Attack

• The left ventricle pictured previously suffered a
  heart attack.
• The upper half of the ventricle was not effected,
  and consists of normal heart tissue.
• The lower half of the ventricle was effected,
  however, and now consists of thin, fibrous scar
  tissue that can no longer contract.
• This defect impairs the ability of the heart to
  pump blood effectively, and stresses the rest of
  the heart.

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FOR WOMEN ONLY

• For most women, using oral contraceptives (the
  pill) is perfectly safe.
• However, if you both smoke and take oral
  contraceptives, your risk of suffering a heart
  attack increases 39 times!
• If you use the pill and smoke, consider talking
  to your doctor about other methods of birth
  control or about quitting smoking.

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Stress

• Stress activates the autonomic nervous system,
  whose role it is to generate unconscious
  responses to factors in our environment.
• The autonomic nervous system responds to stress
  by increasing the production of stress hormones
  (cortisol, epinephrine) which increase heart rate
  and raise blood pressure.
• This mechanism helps the body to cope effectively
  with short-term stressful situations, but if it
  is activated continually for long periods of time
  it can eventually damage the heart and blood
  vessels.

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Stress

• Some ideas to help manage stress
• Exercise is a proven way to reduce stress.
• No matter how busy you are, dont turn your back
  on your own needsset aside some time each day
  for yourself to do an activity that you enjoy.
• Empower yourself by working actively to change
  the things you can, while letting go of worrying
  about the things you cannot change.

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Heart Attack Warning Signs

• According to the American Heart Association,
  heart attack victims may suffer any or none of
  the following symptoms
• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or
  pain in the center of the chest lasting more than
  a few minutes.
• Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms.
• Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting,
  sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
• Palpitations, cold sweat, paleness, or fatigue.

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Stroke Warning Signs

• According to the American Stroke Association,
  victims of a stroke may suffer any or none of the
  following symptoms
• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or
  leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or
  understanding.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of
  balance or coordination.
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

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• Not everything that is faced can be changed, but
  nothing can be changed until it is faced.
• James Baldwin