mens health > heart > heart disease

Heart Disease

Being told you have heart disease can be a scary experience. Hell, anytime you think or find out that there may be problems with your heart it can be scary. After all, your heart is what keeps the show running right?

Heart Disease Types

There are several types of heart disease. There is atherosclerosis, coronary, rheumatic, congenital, myocarditis, angina and arrhythmia heart disease.

Heart disease can be caused by defects, high blood pressure, infection, narrowing of coronary arteries and other disturbances.

When you get heart disease the first thing that happens are that cracks and lesions form on blood vessel walls normally near the heart because that is where the most pressure occurs. Your body then produces fatty substances used to fill the cracks (the bodies very own super glue) and if the body doesn’t receive enough vitamin C to stop the cracking, these fatty deposits can block the blood vessels and cause you to have a heart attack or stroke.

Most of the heart diseases mentioned above don’t have any tell tale signs at the beginning. You could go quite a while before realizing that you have heart disease. However, most of the signs that you might have heart disease are the same as those of a heart attack. Basically, if you experience a shortness of breath, chest pains, weakness or fatigue, light-headedness or your heart feels like it’s beating to quickly, then it is a good idea to see your doctor immediately and get it checked out.

Heart disease can be prevented in some cases by exercising consistently, maintaining a healthy diet, losing a few pounds and quit smoking. Like most things, heart disease can be prevented by making sure your body stays healthy. No big secret there.

Having a diet that is rich in vitamin C is one of the best ways to make sure that you don’t develop heart disease.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. It is important that you learn how to take care of, and maintain your heart. Too many people float through life eating, drinking and smoking whatever they like and never consider that they are harming their hearts.

Some types of heart disease can’t be prevented. For instance, congenital heart disease is found in eight out of every thousand newborns born in the United States. These babies may not feel any effects of their heart disease until early childhood and sometimes not until they are adults.

Women seem to be more susceptible to heart disease, but men are by no means off the hook. One out of every five women in the US has some form of cardiovascular disease. In sixty four percent of women who died of coronary heart disease there were no previous symptoms. Those are some scary statistics, and they should be taken very seriously.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above, go see your doctor immediately. It’s also a good idea to maintain a healthy diet, get a lot of exercise and see your doctor for a check up on a regular basis. Don’t take chances with heart disease ... you'll loose every time.

Jim Shaw