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Sunday, March 13, 2011

A Healthier Heart

     Heart disease is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths every year in the United States. Many of them could be prevented by simple changes in eating habits over the years.
     A government funded survey by the National Institute of Health got the views of  193 leading heart specialists on how to live longer. Nine out of 10 of these physicians said the average person could live many years longer with a healthier heart. And they said certain diet changes could mean a healthier heart.
     The doctors found that there is a close relationship between diet and coronary heart disease. They called for three keys changes in the eating habits of the average person.
              * Eat fewer calories
              * Eat less total fat
              * Eat less saturated fat (animal)
     Dr. Robert  I. Levy,   Director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, blames the building of fat in the cardiovascular system for an alarming increase in premature deaths. He declares:
"Arteriocierosis is responsible for 84% of all cardiovascular disease, for over 850,000 deaths a year. One quarter of these deaths--over 200,000 of them-- occur before age 65."
     Artherscierosis is defined as abnormal thickening of the arterial walls. Artherscierosis is a type of arteriousciousis characterized by deposits of fatty substances on the inner layer of the arteries. Dr. Levy blames arterscierosis for a large portion of  arterscierosis deaths. Says the doctor.
"It affects primarily the larger arteries of the body. In this condition, the inner wall of the artery becomes thickened and irregular with deposits of fatty substances. Two-thirds of a coronary artery may fill with fatty deposits without symptoms. Only when more occurs do we see signs of the occlusion."
     With proper eating habits, according to Dr. Levy, many, arteriocierosis deaths could be avoided.
     The American Heart Association has also warned in an official statement that fatty over-load is a life thereafter.
"Scientists have evidence." says the association, "that a diet high in cholesterol and saturated fats is a way of  reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke."
     The association estimates that up to 43 million people may have some form of heart or blood vessel disease. As many as 1.5 million people have a heart attack in a typical year, it says, and about 550,000 of them will die.
                                             FACTS ON HEART DISEASE
     Here are the key facts on heart disease:
      * It is the leading cause of death in the United States.
      * Overweight is related to heart disease.
Eating less fat is one way to reduce your intake of calories and lenghten your life.
      * A person with a low level of blood cholesterol runs less risk of heart disease than one with a high blood cholesterol level.
The heart, like any other muscle in your body, requires a good supply of blood from your arteries. When cholesterol and other fatty substances are deposited along the inner walls of the coronary arteries, there is danger of heart disease. The more cholesterol and fats you have in your blood, the greater their tendency to build up in the arteries.
     These deposits build up over a long period of time. Eventually one of the arteries may become completely blocked, either by the build-up deposits or by a blood clot forming in the narrowed passageway. The result is a heart attack.

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