Cardiovascular Disease
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Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular disease claims the lives of more than half a million women every year according to American Heart Association. Besides providing oxygen and other nutrients to all tissues of the body, the heart must supply itself with oxygen. Coronary heart disease is the result of the blood vessels becoming more and more inelastic and clogged cutting off the flow of blood to the heart. Heart attack is sometimes the result of one or more of the coronary arteries being blocked by fatty substances. African- American women are more likely to die from CHD than Caucasian women due to their higher incidence of high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes, which are both conditions that increase risk of heart disease. There are many risk factors for heart disease including: inactivity, high blood lipid level, smoking, elevated triglycerides, obesity and inactivity, stress, family history, race. Some of the heart problems experienced by women are Angina pectoris (chest pains), Silent ischemia, Heart attack, Coronary syndrome X, and Cardiac arrhythmias. The high risk factors for heart attack and stroke are cigarette smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure (hypertension), high levels of homocysteine, and C - reactive protein (CRP).
The heart is a topic that has always grabbed my interest. How can something so small do so much has always been a question of mine?..