Heart Disease

Heart Disease is a broad term used to describe a variety of different afflictions of the heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, costing about 700,000 lives per year – almost 2,000 per day.

There are many types of heart disease including:

• Congestive heart failure or heart failure
• Cardiomyopathy
• Coronary heart disease
• Congenital heart disease
• Cardiovascular disease
• Inflammatory heart disease
• Valvular heart disease

While there are times when heart disease is unavoidable, there are many steps you can take to help avoid heart disease:

• Control your cholesterol - High cholesterol is a top risk factor regarding heart disease in men and women. It is recommended that all adults have their cholesterol checked regularly. Normally, high cholesterol can be controlled with lifestyle changes such as exercise and good eating habits. High cholesterol can also be treated with medicines if needed. 
• Stop smoking - smoking has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease in women and men. Therefore, it is recommended that if you smoke, you should stop.  Studies have shown that the risk of a heart attack decreases soon after quitting smoking.
• Limit alcohol use - while there have been studied that show that drinking in moderation may reduce the odds of getting heart disease, the key word is moderation. Drinking excessively is bad for your health and increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.
• Stay Active - regular exercise helps prevent heart and cardiovascular disease. Exercising on a routine basis will help control cholesterol, diabetes, and helps control one’s weight.

Heart Disease in Women

While breast cancer seems to get the most publicity, actually heart disease is the leading cause of death of women in the United States. In fact, heart disease kills almost twice as many women in the United States than ALL types of cancer.  A recent study shows that only 57% of women realize that heart disease is the #1 cause of death among women.

More statistics - There are differences between women and men in survival after a heart attack. 42% of women who have heart attacks will die within 1 year. However, only 24% of men who have a heart attack will die within 1 year.  This may be because women usually get heart disease about 10 years later in life than men. Therefore, they will more likely have coexisting chronic conditions that come into play. Also, it is believed that women aren’t diagnosed or treated as aggressively as men are for heart disease. Additionally, a woman’s symptom for a heart attack sometimes is different than a man’s symptoms of a heart attack.

Heart disease in men and women can be controlled and helped by a proper diet, medication, and physical activity.  However, TheraVitae has developed a new adult stem cell treatment to treat heart disease. Click here for more details.