Atherosclerosis Literally, hardening of the fatty stuff.

High fat diets can lead to

formation of fatty plaques lining blood vessels. These fatty areas can become calcified
and hard leading to arteriosclerosis, hardening of the arteries. When blood vessels
become less stretchable, blood pressure rises and can result in heart and kidney damage
and strokes. Double cheese bacon burger, anybody?
Myocardial infarction (MI) You know we are talking about heart muscle, right,
myocardial? An infarction is blockage of blood flow resulting in death of muscle tissue.
Laymans language for this is a heart attack. The blockage occurs in one of the arteries
of the heart muscle itself, a coronary artery. Depending upon how much tissue dies, a
victim of an MI may survive and undergo cardiac rehabilitation, strengthening the
remaining heart muscle, or may die if too much muscle tissue is destroyed. Did you
exercise at the gym this week?
Mitral prolapse, stenosis, regurgitation Blood flows through four chambers in the
heart separated by one-way valves. A major valve is the one separating the upper and
lower chambers on the left side of the heart. The left side is especially important because
freshly oxygenated blood returning from the lungs is circulated out of the heart to the rest
of the body. The left valve, called atrioventricular, for the chambers it separates, is also
called the mitral valve, because it is shaped like an upside down Bishops hat, a miter. If
the flaps of this valve tear away due to disease, the process is called prolapse, a falling
forward. This results in leakage and backward flow called regurgitation (get the
picture?). Sometimes a valve is abnormally narrow causing partial obstruction
constricting flow. Stenosis means a narrowing.
Angina pectoris Literally, pain in the chest. But, this is a special kind of pain
associated with the heart and is distinctive as crushing, vise-like, and often
accompanied by shortness of breath, fatigue and nausea. Anginal pain indicates not
enough blood is getting to the heart muscle, and the heart is protesting and begging for
more. People with a history of angina often take nitroglycerine tablets to relieve the pain
by increasing blood flow to the heart muscle.
Arrhythmia/dysrhythmia Abnormal heart rates and rhythms all have special names
like ventricular tachycardia, fibrillation, but generically are termed arrhythmias or

dysrhythmia, meaning no rhythm and abnormal rhythm. There are fine distinctions
between the two, but they are often used interchangeably.
Ischemia Sometimes the heart muscle is not getting enough blood flow, more
importantly, the oxygen the blood carries is insufficient to sustain muscle which has a
very high metabolic rate, and oxygen demand. The term loosely means not quite enough
blood. Typically, the patient suffers angina pain (see above) and they may think they are
having a heart attack. And, they may be!
Cardiac arrest-also known as cardiopulmonary arrest or circulatory arrest, is a sudden
stop in effective blood circulation due to the failure of the heart to contract effectively or
at all.[1] Medical personnel may refer to an unexpected cardiac arrest as a sudden cardiac
arrest (SCA).A cardiac arrest is different from (but may be caused by) a myocardial
infarction (also known as a heart attack), where blood flow to the muscle of the heart is
impaired such that part or all of the heart tissue dies.[2] It is different from congestive
heart failure, where circulation is substandard, but the heart is still pumping sufficient
blood to sustain life.Arrested blood circulation prevents delivery of oxygen and glucose
to the body. Lack of oxygen and glucose to the brain causes loss of consciousness, which
then results in abnormal or absent breathing. Brain injury is likely to happen if cardiac
arrest goes untreated for more than five minutes.[3][4][5] For the best chance of survival
and neurological recovery immediate treatment is important.[6] Cardiac arrest is a
medical emergency that, in certain situations, is potentially reversible if treated early.
Unexpected cardiac arrest can lead to death within minutes: this is called sudden cardiac
death (SCD).[1] The treatment for cardiac arrest is immediate defibrillation if a
"shockable" rhythm is present, while cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is used to
provide circulatory support and/or to induce a "shockable" rhythm.A number of heart
conditions and non-heart-related events can cause cardiac arrest; the most common cuase
is the coronary artery disease n
Atherosclerosis
This is an ailment connected to the arteries. The arteries are blocked by deposits of
cholesterol and fat-absorbing cells. When this happens, the blood supply to the different
parts of the body is affected. The worst comes when an artery supplying blood to the
brain is blocked because it causes stoke and may result to permanent disability or death.
Studies show that atherosclerosis is caused by a lot of factors such as cigarette smoking,
obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and lack of exercise. The bad part is that

the symptoms only become apparent when the arteries are already severely damaged.
This ailent can be prevented by avoiding the risk factors.
Anemia
This is not a very serious ailment and could be avoided by eating foods rich in iron.
Doctors often prescribe vitamins and foods rich in iron for people who are anemic. Some
of the symptoms of the ailment are paleness, shortness of breath, rapid pulse and
pounding of the heart.
Leukemia
Leukemia is one type of cancer that attacks the blood. This ailment is characterized by
abnormal production of white blood cells in the bone marrow. Some of the symptoms of
the ailment are frequent bruising, gum bleeding, and tenderness of the bones, high fever
and night sweating.
Coronary Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease is the narrowing of arteries that supply blood to the heart. When
this happens, and the heart does not receive oxygen, the heart becomes infracted which
causes a heart attack. Symptoms may not be experienced during the early stages but when
it becomes serious the patient may feel pains in the chest. Sometimes heart attack occurs
which means that the ailment is serious. Doctors oft en prescribe medicines that help
improve blood flow. The patient can also be advised to have a bypass surgery or a vein
graft so that blood can freely flow to the heart muscle.
Hypertension
is another term for high blood pressure. This ailment is caused by the narrowing of some
arteries that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood. This could be avoided by
choosing the right type of food, and avoiding the risk factors like smoking, obesity,
alcohol, salty foods and knowing how to manage stress. This ailment is hereditary so it is
always good to take precautions when your family has a history of hypertension.

Rheumatic Heart Disease

Rheumatic heart disease is caused by an inflammation of the inner lining or failure of the
heart valve to close. This causes a blood leak that produces a heart murmur. The
symptoms of the disease are shortness of breath, palpitations and irregular heartbeat. Bed
rest is needed by the patient.

Congenital Heart Disease

This is an inborn ailment. It is a defect in the structure of the heart during the
development in the wound because of some factors like the mother getting sick during
pregnancy or a kind of infection during pregnancy. Some of the symptoms are shortness
of breath and blueness in the nails because of low levels of oxygen in the blood. This
could be treated by surgery to fix the heart defect and improve the blood circulation. Rest
is also needed.
Palpitation
Palpitation is a perceived abnormality of the heartbeat characterized by awareness of
heart muscle contractions in the chest: hard beats, fast beats, irregular beats, and/or
pauses. It is both a symptom reported by the patient and a medical diagnosis. Palpitation
is frequently associated with anxiety and does not necessarily indicate a structural or
functional abnormality of the heart, but it can be a symptom arising from an objectively
rapid or irregular heartbeat. Palpitation can be intermittent and of variable frequency and
duration, or continuous. Associated symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath,
sweating, headaches, and chest pain.
Palpitation may be associated with coronary heart disease, hyperthyroidism, diseases
affecting cardiac muscle such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, diseases causing low
blood oxygen such as asthma and emphysema; kidney disease; low levels of brain
serotonin;[1] blood loss, and pain; drugs such as antidepressants, alcohol, nicotine,
caffeine, cocaine, and amphetamines; electrolyte imbalances of magnesium, potassium
and calcium; and deficiencies of nutrients such as taurine, arginine, and iron.
What can we do to have a healthy circulatory system?
Dont smoke! (As if you would) And dont hang around people who do
second hand smoke is also bad for you.
Take vitamin E to keep the arteries supple.
Eat those fresh vegetables and fruit that supply you with antioxidants very good
for your heart.
Eat fish instead of red meat much better for your heart.
Exercise well its obvious, but even gentle exercise such as a brisk walk can pep
up your circulatory system and encourage your heart to beat strongly.

Herbs to Help
Use Ginger in your food, as a tea or as a tincture. It peps up the circulation and the
Chinese use it as a blood tonic, giving a touch more fire to your blood. It is easy to use
because it is not contraindicated with other medications, can be used as a food, and is
good to taste add ginger to hot water, lemon and honey to stave off a winter cold.
Use Ginkgo biloba if the problem is more serious. It improves the delivery of blood
through the arteries, down to the extremities. Its slightly trickier to use than Ginger as it
is contraindicated with blood thinning medication such as Aspirin and Warfarin.
Crataegus (Hawthorn) is a lovely gentle herb to use for the heart, improving the force
of the heartbeat and regulating blood pressure. It takes between two and six months to
show its effect, and this slow action makes it safe to use even with blood pressure
medication, although you must inform your doctor that you are taking it so that you can
be regularly monitored as your blood pressure rebalances. Several studies have shown
that Crataegus improves the amount of exercise patients with chronic stable heart failure
could do, over a three to four month treatment period. Once the heart is working more
effectively, the rest of the circulatory system will pick up. Magnesium is a good mineral
to use for the heart. Alongside Crataegus and vitamin E, it safeguards the suppleness of
the arteries.