Preventative screening for heart disease is vital if we hope to curb the potential complications and death from heart disease.

Heart disease is a growing problem in a world where stress is common and people don’t get enough rest, good nutrition and exercise.  Fortunately there are heart prevention screening tests that will indicate when there is a higher risk of developing heart disease and how to avoid that risk.

There are several aspects to heart prevention screening tests.  Each criteria indicates another aspect of your health that you may have the ability to change and therefore impact your own health and wellness.

The first heart prevention screening test your doctor may perform is a cholesterol test.  Testing your cholesterol involves a small blood sample that can be drawn in the doctor’s office or laboratory.  To get the most accurate results the patient shouldn’t have anything to eat or drink for 8-12 hours before the test.  This ensures that the test will not be influenced by the body’s hormonal (insulin) reaction to food or drink.

There are four cholesterol numbers that are important.  The first is the Total Cholesterol, which should be below 200 mg/dL.  The Low Density Lipoproteins (LDL) Cholesterol is the bad cholesterol and it should be as low as you can get it.  The goals for this number vary depending upon variables that you can discuss with your doctor.  The High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) Cholesterol should be 40 mg/dL or higher for men and 50 mg/dL or higher for women.  The last number is the Triglycerides and that should be less than 150 mg/dL.  You cholesterol levels will give you an estimation of what your risk is for developing clots from fat lodged in your arteries.  Reducing the amount of saturated and trans fat that you eat will help to reduce this risk.

Another heart prevention screening test is your blood pressure.  People with high blood pressure have an increased risk of stroke and heart attack because the high blood pressure places an increased workload on the heart and high blood pressure is an increased risk factor for stroke and clots.  Taking your blood pressure is a simple procedure that is done using an inflatable cuff while listening using a stethescope.

Your blood pressure has two numbers.  The top number is the systolic and the bottom number is the diastolic.  Simply put the cuff is inflated until it cuts off the arterial blood supply over the arm or leg.  Using a stethescope the practitioner can hear when the blood first begins to get through the pressure and when the blood flows through without being impeded by the cuff at all.  The most important number is the bottom number, which indicates to the doctor how much pressure your cardiovascular system is operating under.  The higher the pressure the higher your risk of developing further heart disease.

Weight is another criteria in heart prevention screening tests.  You physician will determine your body mass index – or the relationship between your height and your weight.  Research has found that people who carry too much weight are at greater risk for heart disease and stroke.  Obesity has been linked with many different diseases and conditions.  Fortunately, weight is also one of the factors that is controllable with some help.

Another important criteria in heart prevention screening tests is the amount of exercise and motion that you experience each day.  Research has shown that people who exercise have a decreased risk of heart disease and stroke.  Your body requires exercise to function properly – and it’s easy to get 30 minutes of blood pumping exercise each day.  Remember you aren’t training for the Olympics, just moving your blood around your body.

There are other lifestyle changes that can affect your risk for heart disease.  These lifestyle changes include limiting alcohol and to stop smoking.  Both of these criteria will affect your body’s ability to cope with stress, a major factor in the development of heart disease.

New guidelines have been proposed by SHAPE (Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education) task force that they believe will prevent 90,000 sudden cardiac deaths and save 21 billions dollars annually.  The guidelines call for non-invasive screening of asymptomatic men between 45-75 and women between 55-75 to assess for coronary plaque or carotid wall thickness.

SHAPE Task Force has developed the first national guidelines for screening subclinical coronary heart disease.  Heart attacks and strokes account for more disability and death than all cancers combined.  These new screening guidelines are designed to find people at high risk early so that lifestyle changes and medications might decrease their risk and therefore the number of deaths suffered.

SHAPE Task Force estimates that nearly half of the people who suffer heart attacks or sudden death don’t even know they have heart disease until they suffer a cardiac event.

Heart prevention screenings are designed to evaluate risk for patients and help people to avoid heart disease or to decrease their risk of heart attack.  You can find heart prevention screenings at health fairs or they can be done at your doctor’s office.  Make it your goal to have one done this week.  It just may save your life.

Your risk of developing heart disease should begin with focussing on diet and exercise.

How to prevent heart disease with diet and exercise means more than dragging out your old running shoes and changing from ice cream to vegetables.  Too many times life catches up with us.  You may have been a runner or volleyball player before you were married and had kids but now, with the added stress of work and family life exercise has taken a back burner.

Something may have triggered your desire to exercise and prevent heart disease – it could have been an article, a friend who had a heart attack or a recent diagnosis of a chronic disease.  What ever the reason there are steps to take before you begin.

Your first step should be a medical examination with your doctor.  Only your doctor can determine if you already have a degree of heart disease or coronary artery blockage that will kill you within weeks of beginning a vigorous exercise program.  Depending upon your history, your health issues and your family history he will do specific tests to look for a coronary artery blockage.  This preventative screening may just save your life.

Cardiovascular disease will kill 950,000 Americans every year but as many as 2/3 are preventable.  Preventing heart disease with diet and exercise is your next step to a healthier you.  A heart healthy lifestyle consists of 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables each day, plenty of water, limited caffeine and alcohol and at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous amounts of exercise each day.

Preventing heart disease with diet and exercise begins with dietary changes. There are several easy and quick changes that can make a big difference in the long run.  First change to olive oil.  You can use light extra virgin olive oil when you don’t want the heavy flavor of olive oil or a heavier version when you are looking for the extra flavor (like in whole wheat pasta).  Olive oil is cold pressed and not heat-treated which makes a difference in the way your body processes the oil.

Next using the broiler or baking for your foods instead of sautéing or frying.  Frying and sautéing adds extra fats and oils to the foods that you don’t need and only clog your arteries.  If you like cheese make it hard cheese like parmesan or Romano.  The harder the cheese the less fat is in it.  Velveeta and softer cheese are higher in fat and processing, which adds to your risk of heart disease.

What is important with your dietary and exercise changes are that they should be consistent.  Eating foods rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low fat dairy products will help to protect your heart.  Including fish, legumes and other low fat types of proteins will also help to reduce your risk.

After including certain foods you must also limit others such as saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and trans fats.  All of these fats will increase your risk of heart disease and raise your blood cholesterol.  Major sources of these fats are beef, butter, cheeses, milk, coconut and palm oils as well as deep fat fried foods, baked products and packaged snack foods.

Preventing heart disease with diet and exercise also means getting 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise 5 days each week.  You aren’t training for the local triathlon or the Olympics – you are getting your heart rate elevated and your breathing deeper for 30 minutes each day.  You can use a trampoline in the house, an exercise ball, walking, jogging, jump rope or sports such as basketball, soccer, tennis or racquet ball.  You don’t have to do the same thing each day.  Vary your activities and keep them interesting.

Again, the intent isn’t to exercise for one week and then stop but to make life changes that will improve your chances of living a long and healthy life.  This is true for dietary changes as well.  Preventing heart disease with diet and exercise is a commitment to long-term changes that will decrease your risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack.

What factors increase the risk of coronary heart disease

Coronary heart disease literally means disease in the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen.  When a person experiences coronary heart disease they may have several signs and symptoms.  But before those symptoms occur other risk factors have to be in place.

What factors increase the risk of coronary heart disease have been the topic of research studies for many years.  As we become more knowledgeable about the risk factors we can decrease the risk of heart disease and discover ways to more adequately treat it.

Some extensive clinical studies have found what factors increase the risk of coronary heart disease and heart attack.  There are major risk factors and others, which have some significance and prevalence but aren’t as strongly linked to the development of heart disease.

There are some causes or risk factors that can’t be changed such as your gender, increasing age or your race.  Over 83 percent of people who die of coronary heart disease are over the age of 65.  Men have a greater risk than women and have attacks earlier in life.  People of African American descent have more severe high blood pressure and are at higher risk of heart disease than Caucasians.  Heart disease is also higher risk in Mexican Americans, American Indians, native Hawaiians and some Asian populations.

What factors increase the risk of coronary heart disease besides factors that can’t be changed?  There are major risk factors that you can modify or control by changing your lifestyle.  Tobacco smoke is a large risk factor that can be eliminated when you quit smoking.  Smokers have a 2-4 times greater risk of developing heart disease than non-smokers.

Another risk factor that can be controlled or modified is high blood cholesterol.  As your cholesterol rises so does your risk of coronary heart disease.  Although your cholesterol is affected by age, sex and heredity it can be controlled with diet and exercise.

Your blood pressure will increase your heart’s workload and cause the heart muscle to become thicker and stiffer.  It increases your risk of heart attack, congestive failure and heart attack.

What factors increase the risk of coronary heart disease that can also be modified?  Your physical activity level is a great predictor of your risk of developing heart disease.  Inactivity will increase your risk while moderate to vigorous activity will prevent heart and vessel disease.  Physical activity will also help to control your weight, cholesterol, diabetes and lower blood pressure.

Although Diabetes mellitus isn’t completely preventable it is completely controllable.  People with diabetes have a much higher risk of developing coronary heart disease and stroke, especially if the blood sugar isn’t controlled.  Diabetes can be well controlled with exercise and balanced nutrition.

Stress is another contributing factor to coronary heart disease.  The link has been made and is conclusive.  However, the reason why this link exists isn’t clear.  It may be that people under a great deal of stress also overeat, smoke and drink alcohol or it may be that the stress causes arterial damage itself.  The reasons may not be clear but doctors are certain that by decreasing your stress levels you will also decrease your risk for heart disease.

There are other factors that may contribute to the question “What factors increase the risk of coronary heart disease?” and scientists continue to research those factors.  At this time researchers are studying the effects that C-reactive protein, homocysteine, fibrinogen and lipoprotein (a) have on the development of heart disease.  Breakthroughs in research lead to better prevention and better treatment options for patients who already suffer from coronary heart disease.

Heart disease kills more people each year than all of the cancers combined.  While science may know the causes of some cancers they can only point to most preventative measures that you can take to be sure you don’t experience cancer.  Scientists can pinpoint most of the risk factors for heart disease and therefore information on what causes heart disease will help you to decrease your risks.

There are both lifestyle changes, avoidable risks and familial factors that will increase your risks of heart disease.  Most family factors, such as a history of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and poor coping methods for stress all have their roots in both behavioral conditions and lifestyle.

For instance, parents who cope poorly with stress often pass those coping mechanisms down to their children through modeling.  It is also well documented that children will eat what their parents provide and continue to follow those habits into adulthood.

Most risk factors for heart disease are avoidable, although some will have you believe that your future is just out of your hands.  Drug companies want you to take their pills, and then another set of pills to take care of the side effects of the first pills.  But most of the factors that increase your risk of heart disease is under your control.

Researchers understand the strong link between smoking and heart disease.  In fact more recent research has pointed to the increased risk factors of breathing second hand smoke and heart disease.  Second hand smoke contains at least 50 chemicals known to cause cancer.  Non-smokers who are exposed at home or work increase their risk of heart disease by 25% and people who have heart disease are at even greater risk.

Doctors spend hours educating families and patients with information on what causes heart disease when they educated patients on how to prevent heart disease.  If you smoke, stop.  You are killing yourself, your family, your co-workers and your children.  Unfortunately, smoking isn’t like over eating where you are affecting only your own health.  Smoking affects the health of everyone around you.

Know your blood pressure.  People with high blood pressure don’t usually have symptoms so it’s important to have your blood pressure monitored at least yearly.  Even when your blood pressure has always been within normal limits as your body ages things can change.  High blood pressure puts a greater workload on this 10-ounce pump that delivers over 10,000 beats each day to send oxygenated blood around your body.

Get tested for diabetes.  People who suffer from high blood sugar (diabetes) may have no symptoms but this condition will drastically raise your chances of getting heart disease.  Your doctor will be able to help you manage this condition so your risk of heart disease decreases.

Controlling your cholesterol and triglyceride levels are another way you can help to prevent heart disease.  High blood cholesterol can clog your arteries and keep heart from getting the blood and oxygen that it needs.  People with high cholesterol or triglycerides usually have no symptoms at all.  You can almost always lower your levels by eating a balanced diet and getting appropriate exercise.  If you don’t want to change your diet you may have to resort to using medication to help lower your cholesterol.  These types of medication have some significant side effects that can sometimes be as bad as the heart disease.

More information on what causes heart disease is usually incorporated into weight loss programs because maintaining a healthy weight will also decrease your risk of heart disease.  Eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly will help you to maintain a healthy weight.

The final factors on information on what causes heart disease includes the use of alcohol and handling stress.  Alcohol affects the efficiency and effectiveness of the heart muscle on a long-term basis.  Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink will also limit your risks of heart disease.  Coping with stress in a healthy fashion will also help to decrease your risk of heart disease.  Researchers have found that stress in linked to heart disease and stroke.

Fortunately the information on what causes heart disease is no longer a mystery.  And while heart disease continues to rise the factors that increase your risk are preventable with education and some minor lifestyle changes.

Articles about stress and heart disease abound since information in the media and from physicians has been clear that these two situations are linked.  Stress kills.  Stress, however, is normal part of everyday life.  The stress that kills is the unmanaged, out of control stress that leads to emotional, psychological and physical problems.

Common illnesses that can be attributed to stress are coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and immune mediated illnesses such as lupus, arthritis and gastrointestinal disorders.  However, articles about stress and heart disease can’t conclusively pinpoint exactly how stress increases the risk of heart disease, only that it does.  Researchers aren’t sure if stress is the risk factor or if it is the high levels of stress that make other risk factors even worse.

But, it doesn’t matter which came first, the chicken or the egg.  The real concern is that stress has been conclusively linked to heart disease.  The conclusion is that is you want to prevent heart disease or if you want to improve your current condition then you must reduce the level of stress that your body experiences.

People respond in different ways to situations.  One person may let the situation ‘roll off their back’ while another will obsess over the situation and mull it over for hours.  Some people react in ways that make a bad situation even worse by displaying anger, anxiety or moodiness.  Others seem to face life with ease and grace.

Things that make you feel stress are also different from person to person.  Both major and minor life changes are considered risk factors.  Most importantly you should try to identify the stressors in your life, or the things that make you feel tension, anger, anxiety, and frustration.

There are some common stressors that affect people at all stages of life.  They can include illness that is personal or a close family member, death of a friend or loved one (including a pet), personal relational problems or work overload.  Included in this list are also situational conditions such as crowds and closed in spaces.  People who are starting a new job, getting married, unemployed, retiring, or pregnant are also facing life changes that are commonly considered stressful even though some are positive changes.

Your body gives you warning signals when you are experiencing enough stress to cause physical or emotional problems.  The warning signs are pretty straight forward.  However, there may be times when you are under chronic stress that your body accommodates to.  Normally accommodation is good but under these circumstances when you accommodate to stress you won’t notice the warning signs as well, even though the stress continues to cause problems.

These warning signs of stress include physical signs like sweaty palms, consistent tiredness, ringing ears, difficulty sleeping, racing hear or weight loss/gain.  Mental signs of increased stress in your life may include constantly worrying, unable to concentrate, poor memory, forgetfulness and loss of sense of humor.  When people are under stress they also find they get angry more easily, become anxious, cry, feel powerless or revert to negative thinking.

There are two things you must do.  You must identify the stressors in your life and then find ways to cope with them.  There are different techniques that you might use to manage stress.  Some techniques that you can use to prepare your body to cope with added stress is to drink enough water and eat a balanced diet.  We really are what we eat and without enough of the right food and water our bodies don’t cope well with stress, either physical or emotional.  Another coping mechanism is to change lifestyle habits that contribute to added stress such as smoking, alcohol, and recreational drugs.

Psychologist have found that exercise will increase the amount of endorphins your body produces which help you to cope with stress.  Be sure the exercise is non-competitive so it doesn’t add to your stress level, is consistent and raises your heart rate for about 30 minutes each day.

Try to reduce the cause of your stresses.  There are some that can’t be avoided, such as pregnancy, death, illness or retirement.  There are other causes of stress that can be reduced such as commitments, relational problems or work overload.  Saying ‘no’ to a new commitment may be difficult but when weighed against your health you may be able to say the word.

Many articles about stress and heart disease will cover goal setting and expectations.  It’s important when you are deciding what stays and what goes in your life that you have realistic expectations of your abilities.  You can’t be 100% successful in everything you do and the sooner you realize that fact the sooner your stress will be reduced.

Most importantly you should try to keep a positive attitude and good self-esteem.  These are your best defenses against stress because you’ll see your stressor as a challenge instead of a problem.   One trick is to look the stressor square in the face, so to speak, and acknowledge how much importance it holds in your life.  Next, ask yourself if this same thing will be important to you in 5 years or if it would have been 5 years ago.  Chances are it wouldn’t have been and won’t be in 5 years.  Remember that when you are coping with the situation and trying to remain calm.