The heart is a smooth muscle and an
involuntary muscle. Unlike blinking or moving your arms, you have no conscious
control over whether your heart beats or not. The beat is controlled by
electrical impulses that tell the heart when to pump.
What Is Heart or Cardiovascular
Disease?
Since the heart is such an important
organ, if it begins to fail and you have heart disease, you may have
significant problems with your overall health — not just your heart health.
However, heart disease isn’t one particular problem, but a group of diseases.
Some common types of heart disease
include:
- Angina (chest pain caused by too little blood and oxygen)
- Arrhythmia (abnormal heart beat)
- Congestive heart failure (the heart doesn’t pump as effectively as it should and fluid can back up into the lungs)
- Heart attack (blood supply is cut off from a part of the heart)
Sadly, heart health problems aren't
uncommon. According to statistics, 2,400 Americans die of heart disease each
day. That comes out to an average of one death every 37 seconds.
Treatment for Heart Disease
Treatment for health disease depends entirely on the type of heart disease you
have. It can range from lifestyle changes (stopping smoking, losing weight,
exercising more) to taking medications or having surgery.
There are many medications available
to treat certain types of heart diseases. Not all treatments help everyone,
however, and you may need to try a few different medications before you and
your doctor find one that’s best for you.
Surgery is usually the last resort
when it comes to treating heart disease. Surgery itself always has risks, and
heart surgery can be especially risky. Heart surgery procedures can range from
the minimally invasive, such as angioplasty (using a catheter to reach the
heart in order to insert balloons which can widen arteries), to open heart
surgery and heart transplants.
Heart Disease Prevention
Treatment of health disease can be
difficult. That’s why it's better to try to prevent these health conditions,
particularly in people with known cardiovascular disease risks. But how do you
prevent heart disease? How do you maintain good heart health?
It may seem simple, but for the most
part, lifestyle plays a huge role in keeping the heart healthy and reducing
cardiovascular disease risks. Many of these suggestions are probably familiar
to most people. They include:
- Managing your stress levels
- Eating fruits, vegetables, and foods low in fat and cholesterol — maintaining a mostly plant-based diet
- Becoming active (at least 30 minutes per day) and either maintaining your current weight or losing weight if you are overweight.
- Monitoring your blood pressure. If it’s high, get it under control following your doctor’s guidelines.
- Screening your cholesterol and blood sugar levels. If your numbers have increased, you may be able to reverse the trend.
- Following treatment guidelines if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes
Eat right, exercise, don’t smoke,
and talk to your doctor about any health concerns you have or any symptoms you
notice. The earlier heart problems are detected, the better the chance you can
begin treatment before any long-term damage has occurred.