Heart disease continues to be the number one killer; cancer, the number 2 killer, not far behind. The tragic aspect of these deadly diseases is that they could all be cured, I do believe, if we had sufficient funding.

Arlen Specter ((February 12, 1930　– October 14, 2012) was a United States Senator from Pennsylvania

A number of symptoms are associated with heart failure, but none is specific for the condition.  Perhaps the best known symptom is short of breath (called dyspnea).  In heart failure, this may result from excess fluid in the lungs.  The breathing difficulties may occur at rest or during exercise.  In some cases, congestion may be severe enough to interrupt or prevent you from sleeping.

-Fatigue or easy tiring is another common symptom.  As the heart’s pumping capacity decreases, muscles and other tissues receive less oxygen and nutrition, which are carried in the blood.  Without proper fuel (oxygen from the blood) provided by our engine (the heart), the body cannot perform as much work as it use to do (just like going from in shape to out of shape in time).  The ending line is this will result into fatigue.

-Fluid accumulation will cause swelling in the feet, ankles, legs, and occasionally the abdomen (if the fluid building up in the body gets severe), what we medically call edema.   Through gravity the blood goes backwards and our body allows water to transfer in the skin to allow the fluid to go somewhere other than the bloodstream to decrease fluid overload to the heart by compensating.  It body compensates since the blood is going backwards from the heart causing fluid back up.  Excess fluid retained by the body will result into weight gain, which sometimes occurs fairly quickly (if you have CHF already you should always call your M.D. if you weight gain is 3lbs or more in a week, odds are high this is due to fluid building up).

-Persistent coughing is another common sign, especially coughing that regularly produces mucus or pink, blood-tinged sputum.  Some people develop raspy breathing or wheezing.

-Heart failure usually goes through a slow development process, the symptoms may not appear until the condition has progressed over the years.  This happens because the heart first compensates by making adjustments with the heart that delay or slow down but do not prevent, the eventual loss in pumping capacity.  In time failure happens, just like a car in when it gets older over several years is starts showing one problem after another and is exchanged for a newer car; same principle with the heart in that you show signs and symptoms as your heart starts to slow down to failure and its either treat the problem or get a transplant of the organ (which is unlikely to happen).   The heart first hides the underlying process but compensates by doing this to your heart:

1- Enlargement to the muscle of the heart (causing “dilatation”) which allows more blood into the heart.

2- Thickening of muscle fibers (causing “hypertrophy”) to strengthen the heart muscle, which allows the heart to contract more forcefully and pump more blood.

3- More frequent contraction, which increases circulation.

By making these adjustments, or compensating, the heart can temporarily make up for losses in pumping ability, sometimes for years.  However, compensation of the organ can only last so long, not forever (like anything in life the living thing or an object will go through a ending life process to termination).  Eventually the heart cannot offset the lost ability to pump blood, and the signs of heart failure appear.

The definition of heart failure, it occurs when the heart loses its ability to pump enough blood through the body.  Usually, the loss in pumping action is a symptom of an underlying heart problem, such as hypertension and CAD = coronary artery disease.  The term heart failure suggests a sudden and complete stop of heart activity but actually the heart does not suddenly or abruptly stop.  Instead the way it works is heart failure usually develops over time, years. The heart first compensates with the disease or illness the individual has but, just like a car, after wear and tear the heart goes into decompensating to heart failure due to the heart decline.  How serious is this condition?  It varies from person to person depending on factors like an individual with obesity & unhealthy versus a person in healthier condition.  All people diagnosed or not diagnosed with heart failure lose a pumping capacity of the heart happens as they age but diagnosed with heart failure makes the engine of the body a challenge in doing its function properly.  The pump loss is more significant in the person with heart failure and often results from a heart attack (actual scaring to the tissue=death to that tissue area) or from other diseases that can damage the heart.  The severity of the condition determines the impact it has on a person’s life.   At the other end, extremes, treatment often helps people lead full lives if the person follows the meds ordered by the doctor including the diet and activity/exercise the doctor orders to the patient with heart failure (compliance so important).  There are different levels of heart failure but even the mildest form is a serious health problem, which must be treated.  If not the pump (the heart) will just get worse in doing its function properly.  To improve the chance of living longer in an individual with heart failure, patients must take care of themselves, see their physician (cardiologist) on a regular basis, and closely follow treatments (as ordered) with knowing what heart failure actually to understanding how the disease works (is the failure on the right side or left side? Which in time will effect the other side in time).  In knowing what side the failure is on will make you understand what signs and symptoms to expect.

Baby boomers should do the following with diet and exercise:

Get Screened

Get screened including flu vaccine, pneumonia vaccine, colorectal cancer screening, and mammography for women.

Mammography is the best available method to detect breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stage before it is big enough to feel or cause symptoms. Women aged 50 and over should get mammograms every two years.

Colorectal cancer screening tests can find precancerous polyps so that they can be removed before they turn into cancer. They can also detect colorectal cancer early, when treatment works best. Older adults should be screened for colorectal cancer by having a fecal occult blood test during the past year or a colonoscopy within 10 years.

Get Vaccinated

Flu and pneumonia is the seventh leading cause of death among adults 65 years or older, despite the availability of effective vaccines. Older adults should get the flu vaccine every year and get the pneumonia vaccine at least once.

Be Physically Active

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things older adults can do for their health. Physical activity can prevent many of the health problems that may come with age, including the risk of falls.

How Much Activity Do Older Adults Need?

2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking) every week and muscle-strengthening activities for 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups.

OR

1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., jogging or running) every week and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups.

OR

An equivalent mix of moderate and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity and muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups.

Eat Fruits and Vegetables Daily

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of some cancers and chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Quit Smoking

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. For help visit

www.smokefree.gov.

Take Medication for High Blood Pressure and Diabetes

High blood pressure & Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, it’s one of the leading causes of illness and death among older adults. More than ½ of Americans don’t have their blood pressure under control.  Complianceis so essential in treating HTN, Diabetes or any disease including what your M.D. feels you need as a medication, if needed.  The only way to find out is by seeing your health care providers, such as doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, who can track their patient’s blood pressure, prescribe once-a-day medications, and give clear instructions on how to take blood pressure & diabetic medications.

Patients should take the initiative or responsibility to monitor their blood pressure and sugar levels (finger sticks) between medical visits and know what abnormal values to report to their MD.  Including taking their medications as prescribed, tell their doctor about any side effects, and make lifestyle changes, such as eating a low-sodium/low-calorie diet, exercising, and stopping smoking.

Do you want a better body, or a healthier society making our country America better overall?, than go no further and click onto healthy usa.tsfl.com. that will give you the direction to reaching both a better body and society if enough do it.   Healthyusa.tsfl.com provides you with information that you get to decide in choosing whether or not to use.  We provide through Dr. Anderson and his book “Dr. A’s healthy habits” and even provided your own private health coach me (an RN 25 years plus).  This is no donation site, no hacking website, just a site providing information on how to live a healthier life.  I, hope you take the move in making your health better!  Hope I hear from you.

“There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.“

P. J. O’Rourke (American political satirist and author)

Heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes continue to be leading causes of death among older adults, based on the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (saving lives and protecting people…CDC).

They also provide the following: 

Baby Boomers for the next 25 years equating to over 70 million people can live longer lives with them combining to double the population of older Americans in the next quarter of a century.  Baby Boomers can take steps to live long and healthy lives as opposed to a lot of their parents who died much younger.   Living healthier will play a positive impact on the health care system.  Starting a step towards prevention or treatment (Rx) of a present disease that you can improve is a mission we Americans owe to ourselves, our young ones, and to our nation’s future.

Through healthy dieting and behaviors (Ex. activity, nutrition, staying in your therapeutic body mass index, controlling stress both physically and mentally, oral health and dealing with any disability reaching the optimal health level you can reach) you can reach a healthier way to living.  If the majority of our nation lives healthier, shows progress in promoting prevention, improving the health and well-being of older adults with reducing behaviors that contribute to premature death and disability will increase a healthier population in the U.S.

In the United States, the most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD), which leads many to heart attacks. You can greatly reduce your risk for CAD through lifestyle changes and, in some cases, medication. CAD consists of cholesterol and placque build up, even tar if a smoker,  that can be deadly in time with blocking the arteries called atherosclerosis.  This in time left untreated can lead to a heart attack or even silent heart attack.  CAD also is the brittling of the arteries causing narrowing of the arteries called arteriosclerosis.  Here it is the ending result is the blood supply is affected in not getting enough oxygen to the tissue, in particular the heart for CAD.

It is still the number one killer even greater than cancer in both men and women today.  This disease should be rare do to a lot of cardiac disease is inflicted upon humans through being overweight through just bad healthy habits practiced.  Obesity can cause diabetes II, heart disease, high blood pressure, and more.  High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because it often has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people don’t realize they have it. That’s why it’s important to get your blood pressure checked regularly.  The good news is that you can take steps to prevent high blood pressure, or to treat it if it is already high.

What we can do is make some changes in our living.  We westerners create an increase in diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.  AMERICA WE NEED TO WAKE UP AND MAKE A CHANGE.  TO THE MAIN CULPRITES we are talking about sugars and fat (OUR DIET).  GLUCOSE and LIPIDS!.  The typical American diet is consisted and loaded with sugar and fats.  Lack of exercise and stress doesn’t help the situation.  Get peace of mind through again making changes in your life if you are striving to become healthier.  Let’s look at cholesterol = 2 types HDL and LDL.  LDL is the bad cholesterol.  Know if your LDL is type A or type B.  If you have a high HDL level and a low LDL that is good but ask your doctor to see if you can get a blood test checking both type A and type B of your cholesterol that will give you the knowledge if you need to take an action.  Go to CDC.org to see the different number ranges of both men and women on their levels and more.  Just knowing your cholesterol level isn’t enough but does give the doctor some direction.  Knowing if your type A or type B LDL helps even more with knowing your risk of heart disease.

Cholesterol only becomes a problem if the LDL gets too high with high pattern type B which is worse with stress and smoking and processed foods in high amounts eaten. Particles called lipoproteins carry cholesterol in the blood. There are two kinds of lipoproteins you need to know about: LDL and HDL. The plasma lipoprotein particles classified under

high-density (HDL) and low-density (LDL) lipoproteins enable fats to be carried in the blood stream. 

-Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) cholesterol

make up the majority of the body’s cholesterol. LDL is known as “bad” cholesterol because having high levels can lead to a buildup in the arteries and result in heart disease.

-High-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol

absorb cholesterol and carry it back to the liver, which flushes it from the body. High levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Apolipoprotein A1 (apoA1) is the major protein of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and apoB is among the major proteins of very low-, low- (LDL), and intermediate-density lipoproteins. Because of their associations with the respective lipoproteins, apoA1 is inversely and apoB is positively associated with cardiovascular risk (2). In fact, evidence suggests that apoA1 and apoB are better predictors of heart disease risk than are HDL and LDL cholesterol levels (3-5). Apolipoproteins may also offer advantages over lipoprotein cholesterol measurements because they are direct measurements, whereas LDL, for example, is calculated from other lipoproteins from a fasting blood sample.

You can take several steps to maintain a normal cholesterol level.

Get a blood test.

Eat a healthy diet.

Maintain a healthy weight.

Exercise regularly.

Don’t smoke.

Treat high cholesterol.