The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease

April 17, 2015

The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease: Smoking as a Risk factor

The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease must be addressed in good time even as we look towards investigating the unknown

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not any disease that one would even wish for his worst enemy. The disease comes in various ways including all the diseases of the heart and circulation including coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, congenital heart disease and stroke. It’s also known as heart and circulatory disease. The known dangers of cardiovascular disease are not anything to be happy about but one that needs all our combine effort to eradicate from our societies by all means says doctor Dalal Akoury. Your heart is a very sensitive organ and must not be protected in the best way possible.

The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease: How are cardiovascular diseases linked?

This is a very interesting question one which must be addressed with a lot of openness. Coronary heart disease (angina and heart attack) and stroke may be caused by the same problem which in many cases would be atherosclerosis. This is when your arteries become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty material (also known as atheroma) within their walls. In time, your arteries may become so narrow that they cannot deliver enough oxygen rich blood to your heart. This can cause angina a pain or discomfort in your chest.

If a piece of the atheroma in your arteries breaks away it may cause a blood clot to form. If the blood clot blocks your coronary artery and cuts off the supply of oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle, your heart muscle may become permanently damaged a condition which is known as a heart attack. When a blood clot blocks an artery that carries blood to your brain, it can cut off the blood supply to part of your brain and this will result in a condition known as stroke.

The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease: What are the risk factors of cardiovascular disease?

Before we get into the discussion of risk factors, doctor Akoury explains what risk factors really are. She says that a risk factor is something that increases your vulnerability of getting a disease. Doctor Dalal Akoury says that there are several risk factors for CVD, including:

Smoking
High blood pressure
High blood cholesterol
Being physically inactive
Being overweight or obese
Diabetes
Family history of heart disease
Ethnic background
Sex – men are more likely to develop CVD at an earlier age than women.
Age – the older you are, the more likely you are to develop CVD.

Besides these she says that how you deal with stress, the amount of alcohol you drink, and the type of job you do may also influence your risk of developing CVD. It is however very important that you get to note that the more risk factors you have, the higher your risk of developing CVD. And even though you can’t change all your risk factors, there is plenty you can do to reduce your risk and help to protect your heart. And for us to understand better these factors, we are going to be looking at them (the risk factors) one by one and find possible solutions of avoiding them so that we may be safe from all the attacks of CVD. In this article, we are going to look at smoking as a factor in this condition while the others we will discuss in our subsequent articles. So you need to keep glued on the link to get the best of health information you need to keep healthy for generations to come.

The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease: Smoking

Of all the factors that cause cardiovascular diseases, cigarette smoking is one which contributes the most in the complications of the heart. Therefore if you are struggling with any heart condition and at the same time you are addicted to smoking, the best gift you can give to yourself is quitting smoking. This sing act will reduce the complication significantly and improve on your heart health almost instantly. The health of your heart is pegged on you quitting smoking and living a much healthier lifestyle thereafter says doctor Akoury. By quitting you’ll be improving your own health by dramatically reducing your risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and a variety of cancers. You’ll feel better, and have more money to spend on other things that you enjoy in other words there will be savings in the sense that the resources you ought to have spent in the treatment of heart diseases will now be channeled to other worthy investments.

The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease: How does smoking damage your heart?

Smoking increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, which includes coronary heart disease and stroke.
Smoking damages the lining of your arteries, leading to a buildup of fatty material (atheroma) which narrows the artery. This can cause angina, a heart attack or a stroke.
The carbon monoxide in tobacco smoke reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood. This means your heart has to pump harder to supply the body with the oxygen it needs.
The nicotine in cigarettes stimulates your body to produce adrenaline, which makes your heart beat faster and raises your blood pressure, making your heart work harder.
Your blood is more likely to clot, which increases your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease: Second hand smoke

When non-smokers breathe in second-hand smoke which is also known as passive smoking, it can be harmful. Research shows that exposure to second hand tobacco smoke is a cause of heart disease in non-smokers, which means you could be harming the health of your children, partner and friends.

The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease: The dangers of chewing tobacco

Chewing tobacco is not a healthier alternative to smoking; it can increase your risk of mouth cancer, throat cancer and cancer of the esophagus (food pipe). It can also make your teeth more vulnerable to tooth decay and can cause tooth loss. Finally we all appreciate that cigarette smoking is very addictive and quitting may not be easy. That is why doctor Dalal Akoury made a decision to create a medical center (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering individuals to find their own inner healing power. This is what we want to help you achieve and progressively you will not have problem quitting. Remember that Dr. Akoury’s practice focuses on personalized medicine through healthy lifestyle choices that deal with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of patching up symptoms. We care for you and all you need to do is to schedule for an appointment with the experts at this facility and you will not regret it all the days of your life.

The Known Dangers of Cardiovascular disease: Smoking as a Risk factor

The risks causes and prevention of Obesity

March 7, 2015

The risks causes and prevention of Obesity: Why Obesity is still a threat

The risks causes and prevention of obesity are very realistic. Obesity can be prevented and weight loss is also very possible.

This are not new thing to you about obesity. We have made effort to talk about the risks causes and prevention of obesity nearly in all the weight related articles we have posted in this link. And despite the efforts we are making together with many other weight concern institutions, the reported statistics is very worrying. American being one of the biggest casualties several reports have indicated that overweight and obesity are becoming epidemic. Not once but may times we have posted useful information that being overweight or obese puts you at risk for various chronic diseases including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, and respiratory disorders. I believe that at the mention of these diseases your eye brows rises in amazement. I can tell that am being honest with you on this because the risk of developing these diseases is even higher when weight is concentrated near and around the waist line (the belly fat). If this describes your situation, I want to encourage you to talk to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center and doctor Dalal Akoury who is also the MD and founder of the facility, will be able to address all your concerns diligently and professionally.

In the meantime let me take a moment to draw to your attention to some of the available statistics about obesity and more so in America. Obesity is a growing problem. In view of the National Institutes of Health report, 60% of American adults are overweight and 35% are considered obese, while about 25% of American children are overweight or obese. The sad news is that the escalation of the problem is on a fast high way late at an abnormal high speed. There is great fear that if current trends continue, more than half of American adult population are likely to be confirmed obese inside the next 15 years. We appreciate that taking weight off and keeping it off, is difficult and despite the difficulties, many people who have made effort to lose weight, later relapse and gain it back either in small portion or in its entirety.

Despite continuing research on obesity, there are no medications, herbs, or supplements that can help you lose a significant amount of weight, and all have some side effects. The only way to lose weight is to reduce the amount of calories you eat and increase your activity level. These actions improve your health in many ways in addition to helping you lose weight.

The risks causes and prevention of Obesity: Signs and Symptoms

The most immediate indicator of the presence of obesity is usually determined by body mass index, or BMI. If your BMI is 25 or 30 or 40 then you are overweight, obese and extremely obese respectively. Doctor Akoury states that a high waist-to-hip ratio increases the risk for developing serious, even life threatening conditions associated with obesity. Some of the conditions that may accompany obesity include:

High cholesterol
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Heart disease
Stroke
Sleep apnea
Osteoarthritis
Gallstones
Cognitive dysfunction
Depression
Cancer
Asthma

The risks causes and prevention of Obesity: What Causes It?

Researchers know that obesity is the result of eating more calories than we burn off through activity, but a number of factors contribute to obesity some of which are listed below:

Diet and good nutrition – I will pose this question to you, what do you eat? If your food is rich in high-fat, high-calorie foods causes weight gain.
Living an inactive life without exercise – I would say that don’t try this at home because it has been established that sedentary people don’t burn as many calories as active people.
Genetics and relationships – Your genes may influence how much fat your body stores and where it is stored. However this alone may not mean that you will be obese.
Age particularly the old age – As we get closer to our sunset days, our rate of being active in life goes down gradually because at this stage, we often ignore physical activities and eventually lose muscle mass.
Psychological issues – Food is very interesting and how people behave with it. Did you know that some people overeat when they are upset or stressed? And you can imagine the consequences of stress and over eating put together.
Medications – Some drugs, such as corticosteroids, blood pressure medication, and tricyclic antidepressants, can cause you to gain weight.
Medical problems – Hardly will you find that people are becoming overweight or obese and in the contrary obesity is as a result of a medical conditions like Cushing syndrome (where the adrenal glands produce too much hormone) or hypothyroidism (where the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough hormone). Conditions such as osteoarthritis cause people to be less active, which can lead to weight gain.
Prenatal environmental factors – Several studies show that adult men and women who were born small for their gestational age are more likely to be overweight or obese than those who were of normal size at birth. Maternal smoking and excess weight gain is also associated with offspring obesity.

The risks causes and prevention of Obesity: Risk Factors

The kind of lifestyle we live can impact on us either positively or negatively. For us to be on the safe side of life free from all weight related issues, we all have a duty to shun away from the following factors may increase your risk for becoming obese:

Living in an industrialized country, especially the United States where natural activities like walking has been taken over by escalators and high locomotives among many others
Genetically having family members who are overweight or obese
Not being physically active
Overeating
Eating a high-fat diet
Taking certain prescription medications
Having a hormone disorder, such as Cushing syndrome or hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
Being emotionally stressed (from the death of a loved one, for example), which may cause overeating
Prenatal exposures, such as smoking
Low-income individuals the most inexpensive foods tend to be high in fat and sugar
Early sexual or physical abuse

The risks causes and prevention of Obesity: Preventive Care

The best way to prevent weight gain is to eat a healthy diet and exercise daily. Keeping a food and exercise journal, where you record what you eat and how long you exercise, is an excellent way to get started. This is one of the best preventive measures we can easily adapt. And of course this will go hand in hand with good nutrition and a well-balanced diet. We advocate for prevention because it is easier to prevent than to treat the weight related complications. Therefore we would want to encourage you to schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for more professional insight.

The risks causes and prevention of Obesity: Why Obesity is still a threat

Diseases which are associated with obesity

February 4, 2015

Diseases which are associated with Obesity: They are Chronic in nature

Diseases which are associated with obesity can be very chronic and prevention should be the best medicine for them

When we mention the conditions associated with weight gain people often think of being lazy or just being less concern with the good healthy nutrition. What many are not aware of is that there are several diseases which are associated with obesity and weight gain. In a series of different articles we are going to be discussing some of these chronic health conditions which we can easily put to control if we get the right information. To help us understand the clear picture or the magnitude of the conditions, we are going to be talking to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s care. Therefore doctor Akoury is going to be responding to some of the concerns that we want to bring to you with a view of changing lives for the better. The following are just but a few of the diseases which are associated with obesity:

Diabetes mellitus
Hypertension
Dyslipidaemia
Heart disease
Cerebrovascular disease
Respiratory disease
Cancer
Gynaecological and obstetric complications
Surgical and anaesthetic complications
Chronic kidney disease

Diseases which are associated with obesity: Diabetes mellitus

This one such health conditions that is strongly associated with overweight and being obese. The most frustrating point with this condition is that is very difficult to treat and once affected, it can only be managed. Obesity is linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus and this cut across both genders and irrespective of where you’re coming from. And in fact the relationship between obesity and diabetes is such intertwined that the connection has been nick named ‘diabesity’. The flow from obesity to diabetes is due to a progressive defect in insulin emission together with a steady rise in insulin resistance. The fact that insulin resistance and improper emission of insulin are happening very prematurely in obese individuals is worsening towards diabetes. An increase in overall fatness, preferentially of visceral as well as ectopic fat depots, is specifically associated with insulin resistance. The accumulation of intramyocellular lipids may be due to reduced lipid oxidation capacity. Therefore the ability to lose weight is related to the capacity to oxidize fat. Thus, a relative defect in fat oxidation capacity is responsible for energy economy and hampered weight loss.

Diseases which are associated with obesity: Hypertension

The relationship between obesity and hypertension has been investigated in a large number of cross-sectional population studies and a smaller number of prospective, observational studies. The results indicate that in most populations, blood pressure increases linearly with increasing relative body weight or body mass index. The relationship is present across all subgroups, although the magnitude of the association appears greater in whites than blacks and greater in younger than older persons. It is estimated that as much as one-third of all hypertension may be attributable to obesity in populations where hypertension and obesity are widely prevalent. Evidence from prospective studies and clinical trials suggests that hypertension in obese patients increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and that drug treatment of hypertension reduces the risk.

However, it is uncertain whether the risks associated with hypertension and the benefits of treatment are as great in obese hypertensives as they are in lean hypertensives. The effects of weight reduction on blood pressure have been investigated in a small number of randomized, controlled trials involving a total of about 600 participants. Overall, the results of the trials indicate that weight reduction lowers blood pressure over intervals of up to one year. The magnitude of the blood pressure response appears to be directly proportional to the amount of weight loss achieved. However, the latter is inversely related to the length of follow-up. Adequate maintenance of weight loss remains a major problem for the much-needed, long-term trials of the effects of weight reduction on blood pressure and the cardiovascular complications of hypertension.

Diseases which are associated with obesity: Heart disease

Obesity is reaching epidemic levels in most parts of the world but the greatest concern is the trail of destruction this condition is leaving on the complications of the heart. How does this happen? Doctor Akoury explains:

Diseases which are associated with obesity: Obesity Leads to Blockage in the Arteries

Let us start by explaining what insulin is, this is a hormone that helps the body metabolize blood sugar, or glucose. When one is obese the insulin resistance goes up causing the body to be less effective in digesting glucose. The result of this is high blood sugar which facilitates the formation of pre-diabetes or diabetes. As we had said above, this is a serious risk factor for heart disease. And due to the ineffectiveness of insulin operations in the liver, triglycerides (fats) increases in the blood causing the bad cholesterol, or LDL to go up and good cholesterol or HDL to come down.

Remember that cholesterol is a chemical which is very vital to a number of functions in the body. However, too much level of cholesterol in the body can be harmful. LDL transport cholesterol from the liver and intestines to various parts of the body. During this transportation process, if there we have excess cholesterol the excess will build up in the walls of arteries throughout the body, including those in the heart and brain. HDL takes cholesterol from the walls of the arteries and carries it back to the liver and intestines where it can be excreted. When there is too little HDL to carry away the excess LDL, it leads to atherosclerosis, which is hardening and narrowing of the arteries. This is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Just to further on the relationship between obesity and heart diseases, obesity is also associated with increased risks of:

Coronary artery disease
Heart failure
Atrial fibrillation

Diseases which are associated with obesity: Coronary artery disease

Various studies have shown that an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the overweight is real and realistic. This is because while studying some 300 000 adults for 7 years, it was established that about 9% increase in ischaemic-heart disease events for each unit change in BMI.46 moreover, obesity was associated with both fatty streaks and raised atherosclerotic lesions in the right coronary and left anterior descending coronary arteries specifically in young men. Nonetheless as for those individuals with pre-existing heart conditions the link between obesity and cardiovascular mortality is not very strong.

Diseases which are associated with obesity: Heart failure

Doctor Akoury explains that the relationship between obesity and heart failure is complex. According to the Framingham Study where some 6000 individuals with no heart failure records in the past but of age 55 were followed keenly for some14 years. Up on concluding the study, it was established that, the risk of developing heart failure was two-fold higher in obese individuals, in comparison with subjects with a normal body-mass index. On multivariate analysis adjusting for risk factors including hypertension, coronary artery disease and left ventricular hypertrophy, there was an excess risk of 5% in men and 7% in women for each 1 point increase in BMI. It was estimated that 11% of the cases of heart failure in men and 14% in women could be attributed to obesity alone. These complications can be very chronic and the sooner you tackle them the better. To help you get lasting solutions of all these, you will need to call doctor Akoury for an appointment to commence treatment.

Diseases which are associated with obesity – They are Chronic in nature

Tag Archives: Heart diseases