The heart is the center of the cardiovascular system. Through the body's blood vessels, the heart pumps blood to all of the body's cells. The blood carries oxygen, which the cells need. Cardiovascular disease is a group of problems that occur when the heart and blood vessels aren't working the way they should.
Cardiovascular disease is caused by disorders of the heart and blood vessels, and include coronary heart disease (heart attacks), cerebrovascular disease (cerebrovascular disease), raised blood pressure (hypertension), peripheral artery disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease and heart failure. The major causes of cardiovascular disease are tobacco use, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet.
Risk factors of cardiovascular disease :
* smoking * high blood pressure * high cholesterol * physical inactivity * obesity * diabetes
Here are some of the problems that go along with cardiovascular disease :
Heart attack
A heart attack is an injury to the heart muscle caused by a loss of blood supply. The medical term for heart attack is "myocardial infarction," often abbreviated MI. A heart attack usually occurs when a blood clot blocks the flow of blood through a coronary artery -- a blood vessel that feeds blood to a part of the heart muscle. Interrupted blood flow to your heart can damage or destroy a part of the heart muscle.
Aneurysm
An aneurysm is a bulge or weakness in a blood vessel (artery or vein) wall. Aneurysms usually get bigger over time. Because of that, they have the potential to rupture and cause life-threatening bleeding. Aneurysms can occur in arteries in any location in your body. The most common sites include the abdominal aorta and the arteries at the base of the brain.
Abnormal Heart Rhythms
The heart is an amazing organ. It beats in a steady, even rhythm; about 60 to 100 times each minute (that's about 100,000 times each day!). But, sometimes your heart gets out of rhythm. An irregular or abnormal heartbeat is called an arrhythmia. An arrhythmia (also called a dysrhythmia) can involve a change in the rhythm, producing an uneven heartbeat, or a change in the rate, causing a very slow or very fast heartbeat.
High Blood Pressure (hypertension) often results from this excess fat or plaque buildup because of the extra effort it takes to circulate blood. Even though the heart works harder, blockages still shortchange the needed blood supply to all areas of the body. The body's amazing survival systems will mask the subtle damage that is occurring from this extra wear and tear, but not forever. High blood pressure is called "The Silent Killer" because the first warning sign is an angina attack or a deadly heart attack or a stroke.
Alternative therapies for cardiovascular disease focus on ways of reversing heart troubles while avoiding potentially dangerous and invasive therapies. While emphasizing lifestyle changes of good nutrition, exercise and stress management, new alternative treatments are emerging that may be effective in treating cardiovascular disease without putting the patient at risk. These include chelation therapy, oxygen therapy.
by Peter sams
