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Know Your Risks For Heart Problems
There are many risk factors for developing heart disease; high LDL cholesterol is only one. Genealogy plays a significant role. If your father had heart disease or stroke prior to age 55 or your mother had cardiac arrest or heart stroke prior to 65, you have a higher risk. The same increased risk factor applies if your siblings had heart attacks or strokes in those age brackets. Hypertension, smoking cigarettes, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, being 30% or even more over your ideal body weight (as determined by your Body mass index), metabolic syndrome, resulting in a sedentary lifestyle, HDL of less than 40 mg/dL and women with premature menopause all raise your heart attack and stroke risk factors. A previous personal history of any kind of cardiac event also puts you at a higher risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
Offsetting factors
There are several positive factors which help offset risk factors. High levels of HDL or "good" cholesterol are very effective in preventing heart disease or at least offsetting risk factors. The Framingham research and others have recommended that for every single point increase in HDL, there is a corresponding drop in your risk of having a heart attack by 2%-3%. Some of us are just plain fortunate and are born with high HDL. Others are not so fortunate and find it difficult to raise their HDL and even with excessive physical exercise are helpless to increase it. HDL below 40 is considered a risk factor. HDL of over 60 is considered a positive factor for heart problems. Total cholesterol readings are not the best barometer of heart disease risk. Although high HDL levels and low LDL levels are no guarantee, your risk factors are most assuredly lowered with high HDL and further lowered with low LDL levels. Overall or total high cholesterol levels are less accurate as a predictor but most often a high total cholesterol reading is attributable to high LDL.
Physical exercise a preventive for heart disease
Constant exercise or physical activity is definitely a real and efficient way to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Cardio workout is the best way to strengthen your heart muscle, raise HDL levels and lower blood pressure. To obtain the most heart health advantage out of any exercise routine, you need to get your pulse rate elevated. If you have not exercised for an extended period of time and otherwise lead an inactive lifestyle, you should speak to your health practitioner before beginning any exercise program. Once you have been given the go ahead you still need to start slow and increase your physical effort at a rate you are comfortable with for two reasons. First is your muscles as well as your heart need time to build up. Trying to accomplish it all at one time will make you sore and may not be the smartest for your heart. The second reason is that if you hurt yourself by using muscles and tendons that are not accustomed to that type of intense use, you may end up getting injuries or be so tender that you don't feel like staying consistent with your exercise routine. Consistency is an essential aspect. You will increase your conditioning rapidly if you are regular with your newfound training session.
Methods To Reduce LDL Levels: Guide To Gain An Extended And Healthy Life
LDL or Low Density Lipoprotein is one of the most important risk factors with respect to heart disease. However, it is definitely unlike most other risk factors of heart disease as it can be managed or lowered. In order to ensure a healthy heart, the LDL levels should be definitely below 160mg/dL.
Basic Facts About Blood Cholesterol And Heart Disease
The connection between cholesterol and heart disease is especially pertinent to the issue of good health and, in order to be able to understand this connection better, there are a few other things that need to be understood first.
Preventing Heart Disease By Rethinking Diet And Lifestyle
Heart disease prevention includes taking corrective action with regard to the root of the problem. You can make a change in lifestyle and also change your diet so that the chances of heart disease are greatly minimized.
A Brief Outline Of Heart Disease
Heart disease remains one of the major causes of premature death in the world today. While this news might sound grim on the surface, the reality is that the sheer volume of premature deaths brought about by heart disease has declined significantly in recent years.
Could There Be A Heart Disease Cure?
Advances in cellular therapy hold great potential for treating damaged and diseased tissues in the body, such as heart muscle, and they can come from a variety of sources, like stem cells from bone marrow and peripheral blood.
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