Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are also known as heart diseases and they revolve around the heart, the veins, and the arteries. Most of the cardiovascular diseases are arterial and they are treated by cardiologists, vascular surgeons, neurologists, thoracis surgeons, and interventional radiologists. Hearts diseases are the number one killer all over the world. Many of these heart diseases manifest themselves during adulthood and this necessitates prevention early enough.

Cardiovascular diseases advance over the years and by the time they are discovered, they may have progressed making treatment difficult. The prevention measures for heart diseases include exercise, quitting smoking and eating a healthy diet. Four common types of cardiovascular disease include stroke, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and high blood pressure. Coronary heart disease occurs as a result of a blocked heart thereby stopping blood from getting into it. The major cause of heart attacks is blood clots. This condition is very serious since when blood flow stops, the heart muscles dies and this is what gives people heart attacks.

Heart failure is a condition whereby the heart fails to pump blood as usual. This makes the body get inadequate blood and oxygen. People with heart failure will have swollen feet, legs, and ankles. They will also feel fatigued, a condition known as pulmonary congestion, which results from a build up of fluids in the lungs. High blood pressure is also known as hypertension and this means an increased pressure in the arteries. Blood pressure is a dangerous condition as it is hard for people to tell they have it. This kind of pressure often leads to heart attacks, hardened arteries, stroke, and heart failure.

Stroke results from a blocked blood vessel that supplies the brain with oxygen. As a result, that part of the brain stops functioning and this means that the body functions controlled by this part of the brain will stop. A ruptured blood vessel will also result into a stroke. Some of the most common symptoms of cardiovascular diseases include sudden numbness that affects the arms and the face. People may also experience chest pain, pelvis pain and pain in the legs. There will be instances of shortness of breath, faster heartbeats, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and abnormal heartbeats. Most of these symptoms will occur in the brain and in the heart as well.

It is important to consult a physician who will diagnose what heart defect a person has. Treatment of cardiovascular diseases is varied depending on the type of illness people have. The physician may advise the unblocking of the vessel that is not supplying blood through a surgical operation. This will open up the blood flow and the heart will function as usual. Most of the time, the heart vessels are clogged with fat and this is what is removed to unblock them. Some of the techniques used include atherectomy whereby a knife and a catheter are used to remove the accumulated fats. A coronary artery bypass surgery may also be used to treat a cardiovascular occlusion.

Diseases of the colon and how to prevent them

The colon is part of your digestive system; as a matter of fact, it's the last part of the digestive system. It's also known as the large intestine, and its primary job is to remove water and salt from the waste that passes through it on the way to the rectum and, eventually, the toilet.

The reality of genetic diseases

Who are we ? That is determined by our genes. Everything from our hair and eye color, to our temper, to our hand-eye coordination, to our height and weight and sexual preference is in our genes. Also, you'll find our propensity toward genetic diseases written there as well.

It's important to understand that genetic diseases doesn't just mean something simple like "My father had rheumatoid arthritis, so there's a good chance I'll develop it as well." Thought that is a part of it, as I know from experience. Both my father and my biological grandfather suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, and by the age of nine I was diagnosed with it as well. This is a clear case of genetic diseases being passed down from generation to generation, and it's a simple fact of life.

But there are other type of genetic diseases, more likely genetic predispositions, that have to be accounted for as well. My father, for example, suffered his first heart attack before he turned forty years old. So did his father. So did my uncle on my father's side. All of them, one way or another, developed heart disease at a young age. All of them were predisposed to it because of genetics. Two of them - my father and grandfather - died at age sixty five or young.

So when it comes to genetic diseases, that's the type of thing you have to be aware of. Your family history can clue you in as to what to expect of your own health and well-being over the years, and if you're more likely tol develop an inflammatory disease (heart disease, diabetes, arthritis) than not.

Cancer also plays a role in your family history of diseases. My paternal grandmother, for example, developed and eventually died from colon cancer. While the other stuff (heart disease) scares me, the prospect of developing colon-rectal cancer absolutely terrifies me. I doubt there's a worse way to die than that, and as a result of my predisposition toward these genetic diseases, I've adjusted my diet and exercise routines accordingly.

For example, I now eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. This has multiple benefits, from releasing anti-imflammatory enzymes into the bloodstream (therefore alleviating my arthritis) to cleansing out my digestive tract, making me much less likely to develop colo-rectal cancer. You need fresh fruits and vegetables, and tons of fiber when you're predisposed to these kinds of things.