Natural
Remedy for Heart Diseases
Heart disease,
also called cardiopathy, cardiac disease or
cardiovascular disease, is
a
collective term used to refer to various
diseases that affect the heart.
It is
the number killer in the United
States,
killing one
person every 34 seconds. Heart disease
is commonly caused by narrowing or blockage
of the
coronary
arteries, the blood vessels that carry blood
to the heart itself.
There are more
than 50 different types of heart disease,
with coronary artery disease
(CAD)
being the most common. Some people
are
born with heart
disease, a condition called
congenital heart disease;
others
develop during a person's lifetime. With
so many heart disease
types,
it may be
helpful to classify them into problems
that affect the heart chambers,
heart
muscle, heart valves, coronary arteries
and coronary veins, conduction
(electrical) system and heart lining.
Heart
Disease Symptoms
As previously
mentioned, there are many conditions that
fall under the umbrella of
heart disease and the associated
symptoms are numerous.
However, there
are certain
key
symptoms that people must be aware
of.
These include chest pain or chest
discomfort, heart palpitations,
dizziness or lightheadedness, syncope, fatigue or
lethargy and
shortness of
breath. Each of these symptoms is briefly
discussed below.
There are
many
conditions that can
cause chest pain but heart disease is
the most common cause and also
the most
dangerous. Chest pain may also be quite
vague but it is generally
described as
pain, pressure, squeezing, choking,
numbness or any other discomfort.
Heart
palpitations are commonly described as
"skips" in the heartbeat or as
periods of rapid and/or irregular
heartbeats. Most people who
experience
palpitations have some type of cardiac
arrhythmia. Lightheadedness or
dizziness
can have many causes and because so many
different conditions can
produce these
symptoms, a general check up or a
consultation with a general internist
can
help identify the primary cause. Syncope
is a sudden and temporary loss
of
consciousness. The causes of syncope can
be classified into four major
types:
neurologic, metabolic, vasomotor and
cardiac. Of these, only cardiac
syncope
can be fatal. Fatigue,
lethargy or
somnolence (daytime sleepiness) are
also
very common symptoms. Again, it would be
wise to have a general medical
evaluation in order to pin down a specific
cause. Shortness of breath
is often
a symptom of heart or lung diseases. Heart
failure and coronary artery
diseases
frequently cause shortness of breath. It
is almost always a sign of a
serious
medical problem so it ought to be
evaluated by a doctor.
Heart
Disease Treatment
Treatment for heart disease
falls into two three major categories:
medications,
surgery and
certain lifestyle changes. The most commonly
used drugs include
beta-blockers,
calcium channel blockers, diuretics,
angiotensin-converting enzyme
(ACE)
inhibitors, angiotensin-2 (AT-2) receptor
antagonists, and statins.
Beta blockers
are
used to lower blood
pressure by
reducing the volume of blood pumped by
the
heart. These drugs can also reduce the risk
of having another heart
attack in
patients who already had one. Calcium
channel blockers are used to
relax the
walls of blood vessels to lower blood
pressure. Diuretics help lower blood
pressure
by causing the body to eliminate excess
fluids and sodium through
urination.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)
inhibitors expand blood vessels to
decrease
resistance. This allows blood to flow more
easily, thereby reducing the
load on
the heart. Statins are effective in lowering
bad cholesterol
levels by
working
in the liver and interrupting the formation
of cholesterol from the
blood.
As for surgery, the most commonly performed
procedures are
bypass graft surgery, heart valve surgery,
implantation of a pacemaker,
cardioverter defibrillator or left ventricular
assist device, and if
needed, a
heart transplant. There are also less invasive
procedures such as
balloon
angioplasty, enhanced external
counterpulsation, cardioversion and
valvuloplasty.
Lifestyle changes are also important both as a
preventive
measure and as part of a treatment regimen.
Cardiac patients may be
asked to
sustain some level if physical activity, stop
smoking and drinking, increase
consumption of vegetables, fresh fruits,
low-fat milk and
other dairy products, grains, fish and
poultry. Patients will also be
asked to
reduce stress, monitor their weight, cholesterol,
LDL, HDL and
triglyceride
levels.
Mangosteen
Help for Heart Disease
Heart
disease is a multi-faceted health
problem with dire consequences
when
left
unchecked. There is no single medication
that can effectively address
the
different problems associated with the
disease that’s why most cardiac
patients
are taking multiple drugs to manage the
various symptoms. The problem
with this
approach is that most of these drugs have
potential side effects and
may have
antagonistic effects to other drugs taken
by patients for other
diseases such
as diabetes,
pulmonary or renal disorders.
Mangosteen
supplements have grown in popularity among
cardiac patients and for a
good
reason. It provides a multitude of benefits for
the heart and the
cardiovascular system as a whole. contains the
most
antioxidants
available from a single source, thanks to a
group of compounds called xanthones.
These antioxidants eliminate free radicals that
cause cellular damage
that
leads to arteriosclerotic heart disease. Mangosteen
is
also a good
source of
B-vitamins and folic acid which have been proven
to lower homocysteine,
an
amino acid found in meat. High blood levels of
homocysteine are linked
to the
early development of arteriosclerosis.
Mangosteen has
potent
anti-inflammatory
properties which are beneficial for the overall
prevention of heart
disease.
Finally, t he
antimicrobial and antioxidant
effects of xanthones
can keep arteries free of plaque and remain
structurally
intact.
As mangosteen
and its precious xanthones
caught the
attention of the experts and professionals, a
lot of research and
scientific
studies have been undertaken. Here are a few
that relate to mangosteen’s
potential
to prevent and help manage heart disease. Xanthone
derivatives have
been found to possess antiarrhythmic
and antithrombotic
properties. They
have also been shown to have antiplatelet
activity and can inhibit the
oxidative
modification of human low density lipoprotein or
bad cholesterol.
Researchers
have also managed to produce synthetic xanthone
derivatives with
antihypertensive and vasorelaxing activities.
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(Online Since
October 15, 2005.)
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