10 Ways to Protect Your Cardiovascular Health

An average of 600,000 people die each year from cardiovascular disease; either a heart attack or stroke. Cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States for decades and remains so now, well into the 21st century.

Despite these distressing facts, there is clear and compelling good news in our impact on cardiovascular disease: The medical advances made in the diagnosis and treatment of heart attacks and strokes within the last 50 years are nothing short of spectacular. Death rates from heart attacks and strokes have dropped by 60 % in the last 50 years. Not all that long ago, sudden occlusion of one of the coronary arteries supplying the heart with blood resulted in sudden death with frightening certainty. One of the giants of medicine of the last century, William Osler wrote in his Textbook of Medicine that an occlusion of one of the coronary arteries supplying the heart with blood would result in certain death. But the medical, surgical advances in revascularization beginning in the seventies via surgical coronary arterial bypass, angioplasty and use of thrombolysis or 'clot busting ' agents like have resulted in a stunning reversal of what had been a death sentence a mere fifty years ago.

Early and aggressive medical and surgical management of strokes including the use of thrombolytic agents beginning in the late seventies have contributed to a drop of over 40% in deaths from strokes. Not all that long ago, high blood pressure was considered a normal response to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) by the medical profession. Dr. Paul Dudley White, was considered the top cardiologist at Harvard Medical School and its teaching hospital Massachusetts General. Dr. White wrote that hypertension was a compensatory response to atherosclerosis and 'should not be tampered with.' Historians have commented about the possible changes in world history had President Roosevelt's malignant hypertension received the aggressive management we now know was critical.

At the infamous post World War 11 meeting in 1945 at Yalta, Roosevelt's blood pressure was 260/150 mm Hg. Predictably, the President was dead within two months of a massive stroke. Had Roosevelt not been suffering the massive headache, weakness, foggy thinking, fatigue and sleeplessness of malignant hypertension, he may have been able to defend the interests of post war Europe against Stalin's aggression.

The Framingham Heart Study, the longest running population study of persons at risk for developing heart disease has provided over 50 years of data considered reliable enough to create an 'absolute risk score'. The Framingham data has galvanized the development of more specific risk scores which are currently being used across the world and contributing to understanding the risk factors and ways they can be managed both medically and with changes in dietary habits and life styles. The extensive medical and public education about the critical importance of managing the major risk factors of high blood pressure, smoking, presence of diabetes, and consumption of saturated fats have had substantial effects on the reduction of deaths from heart disease.

Unfortunately, there are three factors which seriously compromise the good news of recent successes in the war against heart disease and are increasingly bad news for the health of Americans:

1. An increasingly elderly population.

2. The epidemic of Type 11 Diabetes among American adults and children.

3. A corollary and causal epidemic of obesity among American children and adults.

In 2013, 14.1% of Americans were over 65. By 2050, the number of Americans over 65 is expected to increase to 78.3 million or potentially 20% of the population.

Why is this a factor in managing heart disease?

Because heart disease is increasingly seen in the older population; specifically men over 65. As age increases, the mortality rate from heart disease more than doubles. As baby boomers continue to become seniors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease is expected to increase by more than 50%.

One in three adults in this country is obese and 10 percent of children are obese. One in five children under 12 is a type 11 Diabetic, a condition rarely seen prior to the nineties. Of the 30 million Americans with Diabetes, one out of three will develop cardiovascular disease. Of the 10 percent of obese children, significant numbers already possess markers for the development of cardiovascular disease.

Despite the facts that the data regarding increased incidence of type 11 Diabetes and obesity in American adults and children are redoubtable; dreadful, the very good news is that the answers to these appalling numbers resides squarely in the hands of non-medical health practitioners and is very much in the control of the individual.

Ten Ways You Can Protect Your Cardiovascular Health:

1. If you smoke or use any tobacco products, stop. The data are fairly incontrovertible: Smoking is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

2. If overweight, decide to lose weight by changing what, when, why and how you eat. There are many non-medical experts to help you do this; you can safely assume that you are overweight because you need to change your dietary habits.

3. Exercise consistently most days of the week for a minimum of thirty minutes; sixty minutes is better.

4. Sleep seven to eight hours each night. Insomnia is very common for all of us and seems to increase with age; thought to be simply annoying, lack of sleep is extremely stressful on us physically; the cellular regeneration that occurs naturally with deep sleep is essential for the health of our bodies.

5. Consider cutting out sugar from your diet. When we're young, we can safely eat those pastries, ice cream sundaes so long as we work off the excess calories. As we age, however, our metabolism changes and we must work to keep fat from accumulating.

6. Cut down on carbs- breads, pastas, and the like-consider eliminating them; to our bodies, those whole wheat bagels and breads work exactly like sugar and can turn very quickly to fat.

7. Stop thinking of your age as a diagnosis.

8. Avail yourself of the experts in order to become an expert on your own health: There are many excellent sources of great information; among my favorites are: http://www.mercola.com; http://www.foundmyfitness.com/about-dr-rhonda-patrick

9. Develop a consistent prayer or meditation time.

10. Decide to partner with your doctor regarding your health: Understand that what he or she prescribes may not be in your best interest but is rather a standard guideline and that medical training teaches doctors about disease, not health. If your doctor is uncomfortable with the idea of partnering with you, consider finding another doctor.

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Ebola Virus Disease: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

Ebola Virus disease (EVD) is a life threatening and contagious disease which is contracted by human beings as well as primates. It is a hemorrhagic fever; caused by ebolaviruses also known as "filoviruses" (they are from the virus family "filivoridae"). There are five viruses that are included in ebolaviruses, four of which infect human beings while the fifth infects other animals.

Two simultaneous outbreaks in 1976 marked the first appearance of this disease. One of those outbreaks was in Sudan, while the Democratic Republic of Congo was the other country to be affected. The first case that appeared in the Democratic Republic of Congo was near the Ebola River, and so the disease got named after this river.

The viruses that cause Ebola are initially transmitted to human beings by contact with an infected animal (the virus mostly affects fruit bats, monkeys and apes) after which the disease spreads from one individual to the other. Physical contact as well as exposure to the bodily fluids of an infected person can cause the disease to spread.

After eight to ten days of being infected by the virus some early signs and symptoms that may indicate the onset of the disease are fever, severe headache, muscular pain, chills, exhaustion and weakness. These symptoms are likely to become more pronounced over time. Other indicators which help diagnose Ebola are red and inflamed eyes (eyes may even bleed), raised rash, chest pain and cough, stomach aches, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, noticeable weight loss, and internal bleeding.

Since these symptoms are pretty similar to those of typhoid and malaria, it is not easy for a medical practitioner to diagnose EVD. Once a doctor is of the opinion that a patient has contracted this virus, two blood tests can confirm if the individual is infected or not, these are known as Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Medical specialists have thus far been unable to develop any vaccine or anti-viral drug for this fatal disease, but the World Health Organization is actively seeking a cure. In the mean time, healthcare providers are using some basic intervention methods in an attempt to save the lives of infected individuals. These include injecting intravenous fluids (IV), providing body salts (balancing electrolytes), ensuring constant oxygen supply and keeping blood pressure normal as well as stable. Immediate treatment should be given if the patient develops any other infections.

Preventive methods that can limit the disease from spreading are to isolate those who are infected, and ensure that medical care is given in a private ward so as keep other patients from contracting Ebola. Furthermore healthcare specialists should be very careful while disposing syringes and needles. They should wear gloves and face masks, and they should make sure that they themselves are not at risk by avoiding direct contact with the bodily fluids (e.g. blood) of an Ebola patient. Furthermore, the disease is also known to spread even after the death of the infected individual, so family and friends who are mourning the death of a loved one who had Ebola should avoid physical contact with the deceased, particularly his/her bodily fluids.

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5 Things You Should Know If You Want To Get A Flat Stomach

The reason why you have excess belly fat on your body is due to the fact that the amount of calories that you are consuming is greater in number than the number of calories that you are burning. You have to turn this the other way round if you want to get a flat stomach. In other words, increase the number of calories burnt than have been consumed. Here are 5 top tips to help you get a flat belly.

1. Build Muscle.

Muscles burn more calories, even while they are at rest. Lifting weights or resistance training helps to build and tone muscle but it will not turn you into a bulky bodybuilder. Body builders use a very particular exercise regimen and usually take muscle enhancing supplements to get their bulky body shape. Your resistance training routine to get a flat stomach should focus on training the largest muscle groups of the body like the legs, back, and chest.

2. Eat Less, But Frequently.

According to nutrition experts, consuming around five smaller and healthy meals everyday is a lot more effective to burn calories. This is because, every time you eat, your digestive system will burn food and in the process calories will also be burnt.

3. Cardio Workout.

You do need to include some cardiovascular activity to increase your heart rate, condition your lungs and stay healthy. But if you spend hours on the treadmill or stationery bike at the same continual pace, it is not going help you get a flat stomach so that those abs muscles start to showing. To burn fat but to get the maximum results from your cardio exercises, use interval training where you alternate between high intensity exercise with low intensity recovery periods.

4. Eat Foods That Help You To Burn Fat.

There are certain foods that do help you to burn fat. Foods like spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, watermelon, berries and apples are high in water and fibre but low in calories. Cruciferous vegetables, like brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips and watercress actually contain nutrients that help fight elements that cause the body to deposit fat in the stomach area..

5. Drink More Water.

When you want to get a flat stomach, what you drink is just as important as what you eat. Water has no preservatives, no sodium, and no calories. You can drink plenty of water without adding to your caloric intake. If you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water first because the sensation of hunger and thirst are very similar. Drinking water can help you to feel fewer hunger pangs, so you'll eat less and that will help you to get a flat stomach more easily.

Do you want to learn more ways to lose weight and get fit? Are you confused about healthy eating? Do you want to know the best workout techniques to get the results you want? Claim your FREE eBook with over 100 tips to lose belly fat.

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