Cardiovascular disease-or most commonly called heart disease-is the leading cause of death of women in our country today.

Heart disease is the general term attributed to a variety of diseases and conditions-both serious and moderately serious-that affect the heart, blood vessels, and all vital functions of the heart. Below, we take a look at common symptoms of heart disease, health risk factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease, lifestyle recommendations to eliminate your risk, as well as treatment options to help you better understand heart and cardiovascular disease.

Understanding the Olfaction Process

There are many risk factors that contribute to the onset of heart or cardiovascular disease in women.

High Cholesterol
One of the leading causes of heart or cardiovascular disease is high cholesterol. There are two different kinds of cholesterol, one considered healthy for your body and the other considered not. The first-the good kind of cholesterol- is called HDL cholesterol, and the second-the bad-is called LDL. Having high levels of LDL has been shown to have strong links to the development of heart problems, which result in heart or cardiovascular disease.

High Homocysteine Levels
Homocysteines are basically amino acids found in your blood, and linked to a diet high in unhealthy fats. When high homocysteine levels are present in your blood, you have more of a likelihood of developing heart or cardiovascular disease.

High Triglyceride Levels
Triglycerides are fats stored and found in your blood. Having high triglyceride levels in your blood is also linked to a high fat diet, and means that there is more fat getting at your heart and clogging up its basic function: to pump blood in and out. This is another proven contributing factor to the risk of heart or cardiovascular disease.

Hardening of the Arteries or Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is the most common reason for constriction of your blood vessels, and can take shape in a heart attack. Typically, hardening of the arteries occurs alongside high LDL cholesterol, though Atherosclerosis takes years to develop.

High Blood Pressure or Hypertension
Having high blood pressure levels can be caused by a variety of factors-stress is one the most common-and basically means your heart has to work harder to do its job. Having chronic hypertension is another significant risk factor contributing time and again to cardiovascular and heart disease.

Excess Weight
Another common denominator in being at risk for heart disease is being overweight. Moreover, if your fat stores have accumulated more in the belly area rather than other areas of your body, you have a higher risk of heart disease.

Symptoms

What are some common symptoms of heart of cardiovascular disease for women?

If symptoms are apparent, they will manifest themselves as one or many of the following. If you experience more than one of the following, consult your physician as soon as possible:

Difficulty breathing

Dizziness/fainting

Chest pain (in women especially, chest pain is most times not even apparent)

Excessive fatigue

Feelings of confusion

Memory problems or difficulty concentrating

Enlarged abdomen

Fluttering/pounding sensation in heart

Ankle swelling

Depression

Diet Recommendations

Though many of the risk factors above can't always be eliminated-depending on severity and progression-many can be lessened, if not eliminated altogether.

Here are the best ways to combat potentially negative heart risk factors through better diet choices:

Limit overall caloric intake if overweight.

Limit consumption of alcohol. Moderate use of alcohol has actually been studied to thwart onset of heart disease, but overindulgence is linked to serious heart conditions.

Limit if not eliminate all trans-fats and saturated fats from diet.

Incorporate more carotenoids into diet. This means the colorful fruits and veggies. Add more fruits, veggies, and fiber-soluble foods into your diet for better heart health.

Add good fat proteins such as low-mercury level fish for added protection against heart disease.

Lifestyle Recommendations

Necessary to a healthy heart is also ensuring that your lifestyle choices are healthy as well.

Again, though many of previously mentioned can't always be fixed due to genetic predisposition or severity of heart condition, many can. Here are the best recommendations for lifestyle change in order to avoid heart and cardiovascular disease:

Involve yourself in a regular exercise routine. Low to moderate sessions of exercise will help you to get your heart pumping blood in an efficient manner, and make it all the stronger for fighting off heart complications and disease. It is recommended that at least 3-4 intervals of exercise of at least 30 minutes each, each week is necessary to keep a healthy heart.

Quit smoking. Both first hand and second hand smoke has been necessarily linked to serious health concerns-and heart and cardiovascular disease is another.

Medical Treatment

In many cases, revising diet and lifestyle choices for the sake of protection against heart disease if you are a woman, doesn't always prove effective.

It may be due to genetics or because a healthy lifestyle is taken on too late. In either case, there are a number of common medical treatments used in efforts to treat the seriousness of heart or cardiovascular disease. These are the most common:

Heart transplant

Angioplasty

Heart valve replacement

Pacemaker inclusion

Heart bypass operation

Learn More

High Blood Pressure

High Cholesterol

How you can have a Healthier Heart

Sports Performance

How to Achieve Healthier Aging

This article is exclusive to and copyright ©   The Vitamin Creek LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of The Vitamin Creek is prohibited.