* Keep your blood pressure low.  In HF(Heart failure), the release of hormones causes the blood vessels to constrict or tighten. Therefore the heart must work hard to pump blood through the constricted vessels. It is important to keep your blood pressure as low as possible, so that your heart can pump effectively without extra stress. * Monitor your own symptoms.  Check for changes in your fluid status by weighing yourself daily and checking for swelling. Call your doctor if you have unexplained weight gain (3 pounds in one day or 5 pounds in one week) or if you have increased swelling. * Maintain fluid balance.  Your doctor may ask you to keep a record of the amount of fluids you drink or eat and how often you go to the bathroom. Remember, the more fluid you carry in your blood vessels, the harder your heart must work to pump excess fluid through your body. Limiting your fluid intake to less than 2 liters per day will help decrease ...

Symptoms include: Not feeling comfort, pressure, heaviness, or pain in the chest, arm, or below the breastbone. Not feeling comfort radiating at the back, jaw, throat, or arm. Fullness, indigestion, or choking feeling (similar to heartburn). Sweating, nausea, vomiting, or dizziness. Feeling very weak,anxiety, or shortness of breath. Fast or irregular heartbeats. During a heart attack, symptoms generally last 30 minutes or longer and are not relieved by rest or taking oral medications. Early symptoms may start as a mild discomfort that increases to severe pain. Few people have a heart attack without having any symptoms, which is known as a “silent” myocardial infarction (MI). It happens more often in people with diabetes than others. If you discover you are having a heart attack, DO NOT DELAY. Call for emergency help.Fast treatment of a heart attack is very essential to lessen the amount of damage to your heart.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), over ten million individuals around the world suffer from Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). 50% of the total rate comes from U.S. The number of CHF cases has rapidly increased for the past 40 years. Based on clinical studies, men have more prevalence rate of suffering from CHF compare to women. In terms of races, the African-American people have 50% chance of getting the condition compare to Caucasians. The U.S. Center for Disease Control reported that 20% of people with CHF die within a year, another 50% will die within the next 5 years and the quality of living is significantly poor despite of the management and treatment plan reinforcements. There are two types of CHF. These are the left-sided CHF and right-sided CHF. The left-sided CHF originates at the left ventricle of the heart. Normally, the left ventricle pumps blood going to the heart and to the rest of the body. If the left ventricle is congested, there will be shor...

Aspirin is a drug used to treat myocardial infarction. It belongs to NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) which works to minimize the inflammation and pain. Recently, this drug is used to prevent and treat heart diseases. Diseases of the heart which includes CVA (Stroke), peripheral artery disease (Insufficient blood supply to the lower extremities such as leg), and MI (Heart Attack) are the leading causes of death in America. Over 900,000 deaths are recorded each year (2011 statistics – U.S. CDC) Based on the clinical research and studies,aspirin can contribute several benefits to people who have these cases: Every individual who suffered from heart attack, peripheral artery disease, and stroke. People who undergone surgical operations such as bypass graft and stents are recommended to use this medication, as well. People who suffered from angina pectoris (chest pain) are prescribed to take aspirin;  Women and men who are not manifesting any clinical...

The American Heart Association (AHA) identified four basic categories for heart diseases. Primarily, it is based on the effectiveness of the pharmaceutical and natural treatment that helps reduce or eliminate the mortality and morbidity rates of heart diseases. People with categories 1 and 2 risk factors can reduce their risk for having heart diseases through preventive measures. These precautionary measures include modification of diet (eating patterns), losing weight, managing of blood pressure (normal BP), and avoidance of addictive activities (smoking and alcohol intake). Additionally, there are the 4 categories that were established by AHA to help assess and evaluate an individual who is at risk for developing heart diseases:  Category 1 In this category, the major factors along with proper medical interventions are proven to reduce the risk of the person to suffer from heart diseases. These risk factors include: High serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL) ...

The most important way to prevent heart diseases is to monitor the type and contents of food that we eat. Checking the nutritional value of every goods we buy at the grocery store can help us to establish the best healthy diet plan. One of the most common substances that can cause the development of heart disease is fats (cholesterol). Eating too much of fats or foods with high level of cholesterol can promote coronary artery disease. High level of cholesterol in the blood will result into plaque formation. This fatty plaque goes along with the blood. The problem is when this plaque is clogged in the tiny vessels. This can prevent the proper circulation of the blood resulting to atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries). However, it doesn’t mean that we should omit fats and cholesterol in our diet. Take note that fats can also provide 4 kilocalories of energy. This simply tells everyone that there are few recommendations that require fat intake, as well. That is why w...

Only a minimal quantity of sodium occurs naturally in the foods. Most sodium is added to the processed foods through processing. To help everyone reduce their sodium intake, we will provide the following recommendations for their perusal:  Reading the labels of the goods Read the labels of the purchased goods for sodium content;  Use food products with no added salt or lesser sodium content; and  Be sensible enough to know that broth, foods, and soy sauce that are cured or pickled have higher contents of sodium.  If you are preparing or cooking foods  Instead of using salts for cooking, choose alternative condiments with low content of sodium. These include lime, spices, herbs, vinegar, cooking wines, and lemon to improve the flavor of the foods; Avoid using salt when cooking rice or pasta; Make sure to rinse the canned foods such as tuna. This will help remove some sodium from it; and Avoid using of condiments like teriyaki sauce and soy ...

The primary objective of treatment for people with coronary artery disease (CAD) is to reduce the serum low density lipoprotein (LDL – bad cholesterol) level. Current clinical studies verify that reducing the LDL also reduced the short-term susceptibility of cardiovascular disease by as much as 40%. It also brings even bigger risk reduction over the period of time. In 2012, the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III), supported by the National Cholesterol Education Program of the National Institute of Health (NIH), and declared the first major research regarding the management of cholesterol to nearly 10 years.  The ATP III advises:  More assertive cholesterol-reducing treatment scheme and appropriate evaluation of people at higher risk for heart diseases; Full lipoprotein profile as the initial diagnostic test for high level of cholesterol; Provide better emphasis on treating high level of triglycerides; Latest cutoff point wherein low level of HDL is considered...

Sedentary lifestyle is one of the risk factors that can promote the development of heart diseases. Fortunately, this specific risk factor is something that can be modified or prevented. Through lifestyle modification and management, this can reduce the risk of an individual from getting cardiovascular problem Failure to perform physical activity in a day can increase the chance of the person to develop cardiac problems. Furthermore, simple house chores can also be considered as regular exercises because it requires the body to move properly. Regular exercises and other physical activities (aerobic) can provide benefits like: Strengthening of the heart and vessels; Promotes proper blood and oxygen circulation; Reduces the clinical manifestations of heart diseases (signs and symptoms); Enhances your energy level while having intense exercises; Intensifies the level of endurance; Lowers blood pressure; Improves the cardiac muscle strength and tone; Develops the jo...

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension The recent modification to the recommended dietary program for hypertension is based on the clinical research made by the National Blood, Heart and Lung Institute. The team had investigated the effects of blood pressure to whole dietary program called Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). The research found that high blood pressure can be reduced (without controlled sodium intake or weight loss scheme) through eating based on dietary plan. This dietary plan includes low in saturated fat, cholesterol, total fat and rich in veggies, fruits and dairy products with low-fat contents. The DASH dietary plan focuses on meals around the vegetables and fruits instead of poultry meats. Also, it is high in fiber which allows about 2 – 3 times the amounts of magnesium, calcium, and potassium that most Americans can consume. It also includes an extra food groups that contain dried peas, beans, seeds, and nuts from which 4 – 5 servings...