60 hot topic(s) found with the query "High blood pressure"
CKD Risk Factors
CDC, June 2023
(Posted: Jul 01, 2023 4PM)
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the more common causes of CKD in most adults. Other risk factors include heart disease, obesity, a family history of CKD, inherited kidney disorders, past damage to the kidneys, and older age.
Family history can help identify health risks, but many Latino people know little about theirs
L Medrano, American Heart News, June 2023
(Posted: Jun 30, 2023 10AM)
At the doctor's office, questions about a person's family health history often can help health care professionals determine the risk of developing chronic conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. But among many Latino people, especially immigrants, talking about and recording family health history is rare. The reasons are not well understood, but studies suggest that cultural influences – family dynamics, stigma, fear and secrecy – can create barriers.
Does Moderate Drinking Protect Your Heart? A Genetic Study Offers a New Answer.
G Kolata, NY Times, March 29, 2022
(Posted: Mar 30, 2022 6AM)
By studying the relationship between gene variants and alcohol consumption, scientists found no real cardiac benefit to drinking, even modestly. Researchers have found genetic variants that predispose a person to heavier or lighter drinking. Because the variants are distributed randomly in a population, they can serve in a study as the equivalent of randomly assigning people to abstain or to drink at varying levels. Researchers can ask if those with variants that are linked to greater alcohol consumption have more heart disease and high blood pressure than those with variants linked to lower consumption.
Chronic Kidney Disease Basics
CDC, March 2022
(Posted: Mar 15, 2022 7AM)
Kidney diseases are a leading cause of death in the United States. About 37 million US adults are estimated to have CKD, and most are undiagnosed. 40% of people with severely reduced kidney function (not on dialysis) are not aware of having CKD. Talk to your doctor about getting tested if you have any of these risk factors: Diabetes, High blood pressure, Heart disease, Family history of CKD, Obesity.
A blood test to predict pre‑eclampsia
K O'Leary, Nature Medicine, January 2022
(Posted: Jan 27, 2022 10AM)
Pre-eclampsia is characterized by the onset of maternal high blood pressure in the later stages of pregnancy, and is a major driver of maternal morbidity and mortality — but clinicians have no reliable way to predict (and thereby prevent) its onset. Circulating cell-free RNA (cfRNA) in maternal blood can provide information on fetal gene expression (and therefore development) during pregnancy. A new study identified a cfRNA signature that predicted pre-eclampsia several weeks before the onset of symptoms, with a positive predictive value of 32% (compared with <5% for current methods) and 75% sensitivity.
American Heart Month 2021- Feeling the pressure? We can help.
CDC, February 2021
(Posted: Feb 02, 2021 11AM)
February is American Heart Month, a time when all people can focus on their cardiovascular health.
The CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention is shining a light on hypertension (high blood pressure), a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
CDC, May 2020
(Posted: May 20, 2020 8AM)
You are more at risk for preeclampsia if: This is the first time you have given birth; You had preeclampsia during a previous pregnancy; You have chronic (long-term) high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, or both; You have a history of thrombophilia (a condition that increases risk of blood clots); You have a family history of preeclampsia.
Recovering From a Stroke Can Be a Long Road, But Don’t Give Up
CDC Information, 2019
(Posted: Aug 28, 2019 7AM)
Clark ate healthy and was in good physical condition before the stroke, but he also had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which may have been a part of his family history; his grandmother passed away from a stroke.
NIH scientists link genetics to risk of high blood pressure among blacks
NIH News Release, July 3, 2019
(Posted: Jul 05, 2019 11AM)
The researchers identified 17 variants of ARMC5 that were associated with blood pressure among blacks. One variant, called rs116201073, was ?protective? and associated with lower blood pressure. Because the gene is linked to primary aldosteronism, ARMC5 may be involved in how the adrenal glands function and with the hormones that are important for regulating blood pressure.
Measuring Blood Pressure
CDC, 2019
(Posted: Jun 17, 2019 9AM)
High Blood Pressure During Childhood and Adolescence
CDC, 2019
(Posted: Mar 03, 2019 10AM)
High Blood Pressure & Kidney Disease
NIDDK
(Posted: Mar 13, 2018 9AM)
Genetic Predisposition to High Blood Pressure and Lifestyle Factors: Associations with Midlife Blood Pressure Levels and Cardiovascular Events.
Pazoki Raha et al. Circulation 2017 Dec
(Posted: Feb 13, 2018 3PM)
Family history of high blood pressure focuses trainerÂ’s mission on heart health
American Heart Association News, May 31, 2017
(Posted: Jun 03, 2017 8PM)
The genetics of blood pressure regulation and its target organs
GB Ehret et al, Nature Genetics, Sept 12, 2016
(Posted: Sep 12, 2016 3PM)
5 Surprising Facts About High Blood Pressure
(Posted: May 30, 2016 5PM)
Undiagnosed Hypertension
(Posted: Apr 07, 2016 0PM)
Information on Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
About 1 of 3 U.S. adults?or about 70 million people?have high blood pressure. Only about half of these people have their high blood pressure under control
(Posted: Jan 19, 2016 2PM)
Trans-ancestry genome-wide association study identifies 12 genetic loci influencing blood pressure and implicates a role for DNA methylation
N. Kato et al. Nature Genetics, September 28, 2015
(Posted: Sep 28, 2015 11AM)
Genetics of Resistant Hypertension: a Novel Pharmacogenomics Phenotype.
El Rouby Nihal et al. Curr. Hypertens. Rep. 2015 Sep (9) 583
(Posted: Aug 24, 2015 11AM)
Heritability of ambulatory and office blood pressure in the Swiss population.
Alwan Heba et al. J. Hypertens. 2015 Jul 22.
(Posted: Aug 24, 2015 11AM)
The relation between ACE D/I and CYP11B2 C-344T polymorphisms and parameters of arterial stiffness in the context of renal sodium handling.
Cwynar Marcin et al. Blood Press. 2015 Jul 29. 1-11
(Posted: Aug 24, 2015 11AM)
Associations Between Genetic Variants of the Natriuretic Peptide System and Blood Pressure Response to Dietary Sodium Intervention: The GenSalt Study.
Chen Shufeng et al. Am. J. Hypertens. 2015 Jul 29.
(Posted: Aug 24, 2015 11AM)
Pharmacogenomics of Hypertension and Heart Disease.
Arwood Meghan J et al. Curr. Hypertens. Rep. 2015 Sep (9) 586
(Posted: Aug 24, 2015 11AM)
Mechanisms of Salt-Sensitive Hypertension.
Luzardo Leonella et al. Curr Hypertens Rev 2015 (1) 14-21
(Posted: Jul 06, 2015 8AM)
Fetal programming and epigenetic mechanisms in arterial hypertension.
Scherrer Urs et al. Curr. Opin. Cardiol. 2015 Jul (4) 393-7
(Posted: Jul 06, 2015 8AM)
The blood pressure response to acute and chronic aerobic exercise: A meta-analysis of candidate gene association studies.
Bruneau Michael L et al. J Sci Med Sport 2015 Jun 5.
(Posted: Jul 06, 2015 8AM)
CYP17A1 and Blood Pressure Reactivity to Stress in Adolescence.
Van Woudenberg Mariel et al. Int J Hypertens 2015 734586
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
Mutation of SH2B3 (LNK), a Genome-Wide Association Study Candidate for Hypertension, Attenuates Dahl Salt-Sensitive Hypertension via Inflammatory Modulation.
Rudemiller Nathan P et al. Hypertension 2015 May (5) 1111-7
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
A meta-analysis of gene expression signatures of blood pressure and hypertension.
Huan Tianxiao et al. PLoS Genet. 2015 Mar (3) e1005035
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
Association of genetic variants with hypertension in a longitudinal population-based genetic epidemiological study.
Yamada Yoshiji et al. Int. J. Mol. Med. 2015 May (5) 1189-98
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
The ACE2/Apelin Signaling, MicroRNAs, and Hypertension.
Chen Lai-Jiang et al. Int J Hypertens 2015 896861
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
Genomic Research in Postmenopausal Hypertension.
Thomopoulos Costas et al. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2015 Mar 31.
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
Non-coding RNAs and Hypertension-Unveiling Unexpected Mechanisms of Hypertension by the Dark Matter of the Genome.
Murakami Kazuo et al. Curr Hypertens Rev 2015 Mar 31.
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
The impact of angiotensin receptor blockers on arterial stiffness: a meta-analysis.
Peng Feng et al. Hypertens. Res. 2015 Apr 9.
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
Integrative network analysis reveals molecular mechanisms of blood pressure regulation.
Huan Tianxiao et al. Mol. Syst. Biol. 2015 799
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
Association of adiponectin with type 2 diabetes and hypertension in African American men and women: the Jackson Heart Study.
Davis Sharon K et al. BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2015 (1) 13
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
PCSK9 variation and association with blood pressure in African Americans: preliminary findings from the HyperGEN and REGARDS studies.
Tran Ngan T et al. Front Genet 2015 136
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
Recurrent gain of function mutation in calcium channel CACNA1H causes early-onset hypertension with primary aldosteronism.
Scholl Ute I et al. Elife 2015
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
Are there genetic paths common to obesity, cardiovascular disease outcomes, and cardiovascular risk factors?
Rankinen Tuomo et al. Circ. Res. 2015 Feb 27. (5) 909-22
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
The importance of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 4 (GRK4) in pathogenesis of salt sensitivity, salt sensitive hypertension and response to antihypertensive treatment.
Rayner Brian et al. Int J Mol Sci 2015 (3) 5741-9
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
Genetic and molecular aspects of hypertension.
Padmanabhan Sandosh et al. Circ. Res. 2015 Mar 13. (6) 937-59
(Posted: May 06, 2015 0PM)
CDC Information: Nearly 1 of 3 American adults are prehypertensive
Blood pressure numbers are higher than normal, but not yet in the high blood pressure range
(Posted: Feb 25, 2015 0PM)
CDC Information: Roll Up Your Sleeves for National High Blood Pressure Education Month
(Posted: Feb 25, 2015 0PM)
Sodium Intake Among U.S. Adults - 26 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 2013
MMWR, July 2, 2015
(Posted: Feb 25, 2015 0PM)
CDC Information: Million Hearts launches annual blood pressure control challenge
(Posted: Feb 25, 2015 0PM)
Vital Signs: High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
(Posted: Feb 25, 2015 0PM)
Coronary Microvascular Disease
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 11, 2014 11AM)
What Is
Coronary microvascular disease (MVD) is heart disease that affects the tiny coronary (heart) arteries. In coronary MVD, the walls of the heart's tiny arteries are damaged or diseased.
Coronary MVD is different from traditional coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease. In CHD, a waxy substance called plaque (plak) builds up in the large coronary arteries.
Plaque narrows the heart's large arteries and reduces the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle. The buildup of plaque also makes it more likely that blood clots will form in your arteries. Blood clots can mostly or completely block blood flow through a coronary artery.
In coronary MVD, however, the heart's tiny arteries are affected. Plaque doesn't create blockages in these vessels as it does in the heart's large arteries.
Coronary Microvascular Disease
Figure A shows the small coronary artery network (microvasculature), containing a normal artery and an artery with coronary MVD.
Figure A shows the small coronary artery network (microvasculature), containing a normal artery and an artery with coronary MVD. Figure B shows a large coronary artery with plaque buildup.
Overview
Both men and women who have coronary microvascular disease often have diabetes or high blood pressure. Some people who have coronary microvascular disease may have inherited heart muscle diseases.
Diagnosing coronary microvascular disease has been a challenge for doctors. Standard tests used to diagnose coronary heart disease aren?t designed to detect coronary microvascular disease. More research is needed to find the best diagnostic tests and treatments for the disease.
Outlook
Most of what is known about coronary MVD comes from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Wise study (Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation).
The WISE study started in 1996. The goal of the study was to learn more about how heart disease develops in women.
Currently, research is ongoing to learn more about the role of hormones in heart disease and to find better ways to diagnose coronary MVD.
Studies also are under way to learn more about the causes of coronary MVD, how to treat the disease, and the expected health outcomes for people with coronary MVD.
Other Names
?Cardiac syndrome X
?Nonobstructive coronary heart disease
Diabetic Heart Disease
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
What Is
The term "diabetic heart disease" (DHD) refers to heart disease that develops in people who have diabetes. Compared with people who don't have diabetes, people who have diabetes:
?Are at higher risk for heart disease
?Have additional causes of heart disease
?May develop heart disease at a younger age
?May have more severe heart disease
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which the body's blood glucose (sugar) level is too high. Normally, the body breaks down food into glucose and carries it to cells throughout the body. The cells use a hormone called insulin to turn the glucose into energy.
The two main types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. In type 1 diabetes, the body doesn't make enough insulin. This causes the body's blood sugar level to rise.
In type 2 diabetes, the body's cells don't use insulin properly (a condition called insulin resistance). At first, the body reacts by making more insulin. Over time, though, the body can't make enough insulin to control its blood sugar level.
For more information about diabetes, go to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases' Introduction to Diabetes Web page.
What Heart Diseases Are Involved in Diabetic Heart Disease?
DHD may include coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure, and/or diabetic cardiomyopathy (KAR-de-o-mi-OP-ah-thee).
Coronary Heart Disease
In CHD, a waxy substance called plaque (plak) builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply your heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood.
Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called atherosclerosis (ATH-er-o-skler-O-sis).
Plaque narrows the coronary arteries and reduces blood flow to your heart muscle. The buildup of plaque also makes it more likely that blood clots will form in your arteries. Blood clots can partially or completely block blood flow.
CHD can lead to chest pain or discomfort called angina (an-JI-nuh or AN-juh-nuh), irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs), a heart attack, or even death.
Heart Failure
Heart failure is a condition in which your heart can't pump enough blood to meet your body's needs. The term ?heart failure? doesn't mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. However, heart failure is a serious condition that requires medical care.
If you have heart failure, you may tire easily and have to limit your activities. CHD can lead to heart failure by weakening the heart muscle over time.
Diabetic Cardiomyopathy
Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a disease that damages the structure and function of the heart. This disease can lead to heart failure and arrhythmias, even in people who have diabetes but don't have CHD.
Overview
People who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes can develop DHD. The higher a person's blood sugar level is, the higher his or her risk of DHD.
Diabetes affects heart disease risk in three major ways.
First, diabetes alone is a very serious risk factor for heart disease, just like smoking, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol. In fact, people who have type 2 diabetes have the same risk of heart attack and dying from heart disease as people who already have had heart attacks.
Second, when combined with other risk factors, diabetes further raises the risk of heart disease. Although research is ongoing, it's clear that diabetes and other conditions?such as overweight and obesity and metabolic syndrome?interact to cause harmful physical changes to the heart.
Third, diabetes raises the risk of earlier and more severe heart problems. Also, people who have DHD tend to have less success with some heart disease treatments, such as coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous coronary intervention, also known as coronary angioplasty.
Outlook
If you have diabetes, you can lower your risk of DHD. Making lifestyle changes and taking prescribed medicines can help you prevent or control many risk factors.
Taking action to manage multiple risk factors helps improve your outlook. The good news is that many lifestyle changes help control multiple risk factors. For example, physical activity can lower your blood pressure, help control your blood sugar level and your weight, and reduce stress.
It's also very important to follow your treatment plan for diabetes and see your doctor for ongoing care.
If you already have DHD, follow your treatment plan as your doctors advises. This may help you avoid or delay serious problems, such as a heart attack or heart failure.
Heart Disease
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
What is Heart Disease?
Coronary heart disease?often simply called heart disease?is the main form of heart disease. It is a disorder of the blood vessels of the heart that can lead to heart attack. A heart attack happens when an artery becomes blocked, preventing oxygen and nutrients from getting to the heart. Heart disease is one of several cardiovascular diseases, which are diseases of the heart and blood vessel system. Other cardiovascular diseases include stroke, high blood pressure, angina (chest pain), and rheumatic heart disease.
One reason some women aren't too concerned about heart disease is that they think it can be "cured" with surgery or medication. This is a myth. Heart disease is a lifelong condition?once you get it, you'll always have it. True, procedures such as bypass surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention can help blood and oxygen flow to the heart more easily. But the arteries remain damaged, which means you are more likely to have a heart attack. What's more, the condition of your blood vessels will steadily worsen unless you make changes in your daily habits. Many women die of complications from heart disease, or become permanently disabled. That's why it is so vital to take action to prevent and control this disease.
Heart Failure
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
Also known as Congestive heart failure
What Is
Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. In some cases, the heart can't fill with enough blood. In other cases, the heart can't pump blood to the rest of the body with enough force. Some people have both problems.
The term "heart failure" doesn't mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. However, heart failure is a serious condition that requires medical care.
Overview
Heart failure develops over time as the heart's pumping action grows weaker. The condition can affect the right side of the heart only, or it can affect both sides of the heart. Most cases involve both sides of the heart.
Right-side heart failure occurs if the heart can't pump enough blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen. Left-side heart failure occurs if the heart can't pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body.
Right-side heart failure may cause fluid to build up in the feet, ankles, legs, liver, abdomen, and the veins in the neck. Right-side and left-side heart failure also may cause shortness of breath and fatigue (tiredness).
The leading causes of heart failure are diseases that damage the heart. Examples include coronary heart disease (CHD), high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Outlook
Heart failure is a very common condition. About 5.7 million people in the United States have heart failure. Both children and adults can have the condition, although the symptoms and treatments differ. The Health Topic focuses on heart failure in adults.
Currently, heart failure has no cure. However, treatments?such as medicines and lifestyle changes?can help people who have the condition live longer and more active lives. Researchers continue to study new ways to treat heart failure and its complications.
Other Names
?Congestive heart failure.
?Left-side heart failure. This is when the heart can't pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body.
?Right-side heart failure. This is when the heart can't fill with enough blood.
?Cor pulmonale. This term refers to right-side heart failure caused by high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries and right ventricle (lower right heart chamber).
High Blood Pressure
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
Also known as Hypertension
What Is
High blood pressure is a common disease in which blood flows through blood vessels (arteries) at higher than normal pressures.
Measuring Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. High blood pressure, sometimes called hypertension, happens when this force is too high. Health care workers check blood pressure readings the same way for children, teens, and adults. They use a gauge, stethoscope or electronic sensor, and a blood pressure cuff. With this equipment, they measure:
?Systolic Pressure: blood pressure when the heart beats while pumping blood
?Diastolic Pressure: blood pressure when the heart is at rest between beats
Health care workers write blood pressure numbers with the systolic number above the diastolic number. For example:
118/76 mmHg
People read "118 over 76"
millimeters of mercury.
Normal Blood Pressure
Normal blood pressure for adults is defined as a systolic pressure below 120 mmHg and a diastolic pressure below 80 mmHg. It is normal for blood pressures to change when you sleep, wake up, or are excited or nervous. When you are active, it is normal for your blood pressure to increase. However, once the activity stops, your blood pressure returns to your normal baseline range.
Blood pressure normally rises with age and body size. Newborn babies often have very low blood pressure numbers that are considered normal for babies, while older teens have numbers similar to adults.
Abnormal Blood Pressure
Abnormal increases in blood pressure are defined as having blood pressures higher than 120/80 mmHg. The following table outlines and defines high blood pressure severity levels.
Stages of High Blood Pressure in Adults
Stages
Systolic
(top number)
Diastolic
(bottom number)
Prehypertension
120?139 OR 80?89
High blood pressure Stage 1
140?159 OR 90?99
High blood pressure Stage 2
160 or higher OR 100 or higher
The ranges in the table are blood pressure guides for adults who do not have any short-term serious illnesses. People with diabetes or chronic kidney disease should keep their blood pressure below 130/80 mmHg.
Although blood pressure increases seen in prehypertension are less than those used to diagnose high blood pressure, prehypertension can progress to high blood pressure and should be taken seriously. Over time, consistently high blood pressure weakens and damages your blood vessels, which can lead to complications.
Types of High Blood Pressure
There are two main types of high blood pressure: primary and secondary high blood pressure.
Primary High Blood Pressure
Primary, or essential, high blood pressure is the most common type of high blood pressure. This type of high blood pressure tends to develop over years as a person ages.
Secondary High Blood Pressure
Secondary high blood pressure is caused by another medical condition or use of certain medicines. This type usually resolves after the cause is treated or removed.
Other Names
High blood pressure (HBP) also is called hypertension (HI-per-TEN-shun).
When HBP has no known cause, it might be called essential hypertension, primary hypertension, or idiopathic (id-ee-o-PATH-ick) hypertension.
When another condition causes HBP, it's sometimes called secondary hypertension.
Some people only have high systolic blood pressure. This condition is called isolated systolic hypertension (ISH). Many older adults have this condition. ISH can cause as much harm as HBP in which both numbers are too high.
Metabolic Syndrome
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
What Is
Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that raises your risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke.
The term "metabolic" refers to the biochemical processes involved in the body's normal functioning. Risk factors are traits, conditions, or habits that increase your chance of developing a disease.
In this article, "heart disease" refers to coronary heart disease (CHD). CHD is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary (heart) arteries.
Plaque hardens and narrows the arteries, reducing blood flow to your heart muscle. This can lead to chest pain, a heart attack, heart damage, or even death.
Metabolic Risk Factors
The five conditions described below are metabolic risk factors. You can have any one of these risk factors by itself, but they tend to occur together. You must have at least three metabolic risk factors to be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.
?A large waistline. This also is called abdominal obesity or "having an apple shape." Excess fat in the stomach area is a greater risk factor for heart disease than excess fat in other parts of the body, such as on the hips.
?A high triglyceride level (or you're on medicine to treat high triglycerides). Triglycerides are a type of fat found in the blood.
?A low HDL cholesterol level (or you're on medicine to treat low HDL cholesterol). HDL sometimes is called "good" cholesterol. This is because it helps remove cholesterol from your arteries. A low HDL cholesterol level raises your risk for heart disease.
?High blood pressure (or you're on medicine to treat high blood pressure). Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood. If this pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage your heart and lead to plaque buildup.
?High fasting blood sugar (or you're on medicine to treat high blood sugar). Mildly high blood sugar may be an early sign of diabetes.
Overview
Your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke increases with the number of metabolic risk factors you have. The risk of having metabolic syndrome is closely linked to overweight and obesity and a lack of physical activity.
Insulin resistance also may increase your risk for metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body can?t use its insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that helps move blood sugar into cells where it?s used for energy. Insulin resistance can lead to high blood sugar levels, and it?s closely linked to overweight and obesity. Genetics (ethnicity and family history) and older age are other factors that may play a role in causing metabolic syndrome.
Outlook
Metabolic syndrome is becoming more common due to a rise in obesity rates among adults. In the future, metabolic syndrome may overtake smoking as the leading risk factor for heart disease.
It is possible to prevent or delay metabolic syndrome, mainly with lifestyle changes. A healthy lifestyle is a lifelong commitment. Successfully controlling metabolic syndrome requires long-term effort and teamwork with your health care providers.
Other Names
?Dysmetabolic syndrome
?Hypertriglyceridemic waist
?Insulin resistance syndrome
?Obesity syndrome
?Syndrome X
Smoking and Your Heart
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
How Does Smoking Affect the Heart and Blood Vessels?
Cigarette smoking causes about 1 in every 5 deaths in the United States each year. It's the main preventable cause of death and illness in the United States.
Smoking harms nearly every organ in the body, including the heart, blood vessels, lungs, eyes, mouth, reproductive organs, bones, bladder, and digestive organs. This article focuses on how smoking affects the heart and blood vessels.
Other Health Topics articles, such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), Bronchitis, and Cough, discuss how smoking affects the lungs.
Overview
Smoking and Your Heart and Blood Vessels
The chemicals in tobacco smoke harm your blood cells. They also can damage the function of your heart and the structure and function of your blood vessels. This damage increases your risk of atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis is a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up in the arteries. Over time, plaque hardens and narrows your arteries. This limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your organs and other parts of your body.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) occurs if plaque builds up in the coronary (heart) arteries. Over time, CHD can lead to chest pain, heart attack, heart failure, arrhythmias, or even death.
Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease. When combined with other risk factors?such as unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and overweight or obesity?smoking further raises the risk of heart disease.
Smoking also is a major risk factor for peripheral artery disease (P.A.D.). P.A.D. is a condition in which plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to the head, organs, and limbs. People who have P.A.D. are at increased risk for heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
Smoking and Atherosclerosis
The image shows how smoking can affect arteries in the heart and legs. Figure A shows the location of coronary heart disease and peripheral artery disease. Figure B shows a detailed view of a leg artery with atherosclerosis?plaque buildup that's partially blocking blood flow. Figure C shows a detailed view of a coronary (heart) artery with atherosclerosis.
The image shows how smoking can affect arteries in the heart and legs. Figure A shows the location of coronary heart disease and peripheral artery disease. Figure B shows a detailed view of a leg artery with atherosclerosis?plaque buildup that's partially blocking blood flow. Figure C shows a detailed view of a coronary (heart) artery with atherosclerosis.
Any amount of smoking, even light smoking or occasional smoking, damages the heart and blood vessels. For some people, such as women who use birth control pills and people who have diabetes, smoking poses an even greater risk to the heart and blood vessels.
Secondhand smoke also can harm the heart and blood vessels. Secondhand smoke is the smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Secondhand smoke also refers to smoke that's breathed out by a person who is smoking.
Secondhand smoke contains many of the same harmful chemicals that people inhale when they smoke. Secondhand smoke can damage the hearts and blood vessels of people who don't smoke in the same way that active smoking harms people who do smoke. Secondhand smoke greatly increases adults' risk of heart attack and death.
Secondhand smoke also raises children and teens' risk of future CHD because it:
?Lowers HDL cholesterol (sometimes called "good" cholesterol)
?Raises blood pressure
?Damages heart tissues
The risks of secondhand smoke are especially high for premature babies who have respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and children who have conditions such as asthma.
Researchers know less about how cigar and pipe smoke affects the heart and blood vessels than they do about cigarette smoke.
However, the smoke from cigars and pipes contains the same harmful chemicals as the smoke from cigarettes. Also, studies have shown that people who smoke cigars are at increased risk for heart disease.
Benefits of Quitting Smoking and Avoiding Secondhand Smoke
One of the best ways to reduce your risk of heart disease is to avoid tobacco smoke. Don't ever start smoking. If you already smoke, quit. No matter how much or how long you've smoked, quitting will benefit you.
Also, try to avoid secondhand smoke. Don't go to places where smoking is allowed. Ask friends and family members who smoke not to do it in the house and car.
Quitting smoking will reduce your risk of developing and dying from heart disease. Over time, quitting also will lower your risk of atherosclerosis and blood clots.
If you smoke and already have heart disease, quitting smoking will reduce your risk of sudden cardiac death, a second heart attack, and death from other chronic diseases.
Researchers have studied communities that have banned smoking at worksites and in public places. The number of heart attacks in these communities dropped quite a bit. Researchers think these results are due to a decrease in active smoking and reduced exposure to secondhand smoke.
Outlook
Smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke damages the heart and blood vessels in many ways. Smoking also is a major risk factor for developing heart disease or dying from it.
Quitting smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke can help reverse heart and blood vessel damage and reduce heart disease risk.
Quitting smoking is possible, but it can be hard. Millions of people have quit smoking successfully and remained nonsmokers. A variety of strategies, programs, and medicines are available to help you quit smoking.
Not smoking is an important part of a heart-healthy lifestyle. A heart-healthy lifestyle also includes heart-healthy eating, aiming for a healthy weight, managing stress, and physical activity.
Stroke
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
Also known as Cerebrovascular accident
What Is
A stroke occurs if the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a portion of the brain is blocked. Without oxygen, brain cells start to die after a few minutes. Sudden bleeding in the brain also can cause a stroke if it damages brain cells.
If brain cells die or are damaged because of a stroke, symptoms occur in the parts of the body that these brain cells control. Examples of stroke symptoms include sudden weakness; paralysis or numbness of the face, arms, or legs (paralysis is an inability to move); trouble speaking or understanding speech; and trouble seeing.
A stroke is a serious medical condition that requires emergency care. A stroke can cause lasting brain damage, long-term disability, or even death.
If you think you or someone else is having a stroke, call 9?1?1 right away. Do not drive to the hospital or let someone else drive you. Call an ambulance so that medical personnel can begin life-saving treatment on the way to the emergency room. During a stroke, every minute counts.
Overview
The two main types of stroke are ischemic (is-KE-mik) and hemorrhagic (hem-ah-RAJ-ik). Ischemic is the more common type of stroke.
An ischemic stroke occurs if an artery that supplies oxygen-rich blood to the brain becomes blocked. Blood clots often cause the blockages that lead to ischemic strokes.
A hemorrhagic stroke occurs if an artery in the brain leaks blood or ruptures (breaks open). The pressure from the leaked blood damages brain cells. High blood pressure and aneurysms (AN-u-risms) are examples of conditions that can cause hemorrhagic strokes. (Aneurysms are balloon-like bulges in an artery that can stretch and burst.)
Another condition that?s similar to a stroke is a transient ischemic attack, also called a TIA or ?mini-stroke.? A TIA occurs if blood flow to a portion of the brain is blocked only for a short time. Thus, damage to the brain cells isn?t permanent (lasting).
Like ischemic strokes, TIAs often are caused by blood clots. Although TIAs are not full-blown strokes, they greatly increase the risk of having a stroke. If you have a TIA, it?s important for your doctor to find the cause so you can take steps to prevent a stroke.
Both strokes and TIAs require emergency care.
Outlook
Stroke is a leading cause of death in the United States. Many factors can raise your risk of having a stroke. Talk with your doctor about how you can control these risk factors and help prevent a stroke.
If you have a stroke, prompt treatment can reduce damage to your brain and help you avoid lasting disabilities. Prompt treatment also may help prevent another stroke.
Researchers continue to study the causes and risk factors for stroke. They?re also finding new and better treatments and new ways to help the brain repair itself after a stroke.
Other Names
?Brain attack
?Cerebrovascular accident (CVA)
?Hemorrhagic stroke (includes intracerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage)
?Ischemic stroke (includes thrombotic stroke and embolic stroke)
A transient ischemic attack sometimes is called a TIA or mini-stroke. A TIA has the same symptoms as a stroke, and it increases your risk of having a stroke.
Vascular dementia
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
Also known as Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia
Vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia, is caused by conditions that damage the blood vessels in the brain or interfere with proper blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain.
Overview
Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia, after Alzheimer?s disease, affecting almost a third of people over age 70. Dementia causes a decline in brain function, or cognitive abilities, beyond what is expected from the normal aging process. Dementia causes problems with memory, thinking, behavior, language skills, and decision making.
Vascular dementia is caused by conditions that damage the blood vessels in the brain, depriving the brain of oxygen. This oxygen shortage inhibits the brain?s ability to work as well as it should. For example, stroke blocks blood flow to the brain, decreasing oxygen. However, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking also increase the risk of vascular dementia. Vascular dementia in patients can occur alone or with Alzheimer?s disease.
To diagnose cognitive impairment and dementia, your doctor will ask about problems you may have carrying out daily activities. Your doctor will give you brief memory or thinking tests and may ask to speak with a relative or friend who knows you well. To determine whether vascular dementia is the cause of any cognitive impairment or dementia that you may have, your doctor will consider your medical history and your lifestyle (such as your eating patterns, physical activity level, sleep health, and whether you are or have been a smoker), and order imaging tests. Diagnosis can take time. This is because it is often difficult to tell whether symptoms are a result of problems with the blood vessels, as is the case with vascular dementia, or whether they are from Alzheimer?s disease.
If your doctor diagnoses you with vascular dementia, your treatment plan may include taking medicine or using medical devices to manage other conditions, such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, or sleep apnea, that may cause your vascular dementia to worsen. Your doctor may also recommend that you adopt heart-healthy lifestyle changes, such as heart-healthy eating, which includes limiting alcohol, getting regular physical activity, aiming for a healthy weight; quitting smoking; and managing stress.
CPAP
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
Also known as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a treatment that uses mild air pressure to keep your breathing airways open.
Overview
It involves using a CPAP machine that includes a mask or other device that fits over your nose or your nose and mouth, straps to position the mask, a tube that connects the mask to the machine?s motor, and a motor that blows air into the tube. CPAP is used to treat sleep-related breathing disorders including sleep apnea. It also may be used to treat preterm infants who have underdeveloped lungs.
If your doctor prescribes CPAP over other treatment options for your sleep apnea, your insurance will work with a medical device company to provide you with a CPAP machine and the disposable mask and tube. Your doctor will set up your machine with certain pressure settings. After using your machine for a while, your doctor and possibly your insurance company will want to check the data card from your machine to confirm that you are using your CPAP device and to see if the machine and its pressure settings are working to reduce or eliminate apnea events while you sleep.
For the treatment to work, you should use your CPAP machine every time you sleep at home, while traveling, and during naps. Getting used to using your CPAP machine can take time and requires patience. Your doctor may need to adjust your pressure settings for you. You may have to work with your sleep doctor to find the most comfortable mask that works best for you, to try the humidifier chamber in your machine, or to use a different CPAP machine that allows multiple or auto-adjusting pressure settings.
Some patients notice immediate improvements after starting CPAP treatment, such as better sleep quality, reduction or elimination of snoring, and less daytime sleepiness. Equally important are the long-term benefits that you cannot notice, such as helping to prevent or control high blood pressure, lowering your risk for stroke, and improving memory and other cognitive function.
Side effects of CPAP treatment may include congestion, runny nose, dry mouth, or nosebleeds. If you experience stomach discomfort or bloating, you should stop using your CPAP machine and contact your doctor immediately. Some masks can cause irritation. Your doctor can help you find ways to relieve these symptoms and adjust to using your CPAP machine. It is important that you clean your mask and tube every day and refill your medical device prescription at the right time to replace the mask and tube to ensure the treatment continues to work.
Sleep Studies
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
Also known as Polysomnography
Sleep studies are painless, noninvasive tests that measure how well you sleep and how your body responds to sleep problems.
Overview
The more common sleep studies monitor and record data about your body during a full night of sleep. Other types of sleep studies include multiple sleep latency and daytime maintenance of wakefulness tests. Multiple sleep latency tests measure how quickly you fall asleep during a series of daytime naps and use sensors to record your brain activity and eye movements. A daytime maintenance of wakefulness test measures your ability to stay awake and alert.
Sleep studies can help your doctor diagnose sleep-related breathing disorders such as sleep apnea, sleep-related seizure disorders, sleep-related movement disorders, and sleep disorders that cause extreme daytime tiredness such as narcolepsy. Doctors also may use sleep studies to help diagnose or rule out restless legs syndrome.
Your doctor will determine whether you must have your sleep study at a sleep center or if you can do it at home with a portable diagnostic device. If your sleep study will be done at a sleep center, you will sleep in a bed at the sleep center for the duration of the study. Removable sensors will be placed on your scalp, face, eyelids, chest, limbs, and a finger. These sensors record your brain waves, heart rate, breathing effort and rate, oxygen levels, and muscle movements before, during, and after sleep. There is a small risk of irritation from the sensors, but this will go away after they are removed.
Your doctor will review your sleep study test results and develop a treatment plan for any diagnosed sleep disorder. Untreated sleep disorders can raise your risk for heart failure, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and depression. Sleep disorders also have been linked to an increased risk for injury and car accidents.
Carotid Endarterectomy
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
Also known as Carotid Artery Surgery
Overview
This surgery is done to restore normal blood flow to the brain to prevent a stroke if you already have symptoms of reduced blood flow. Carotid endarterectomy also may be performed preventively if a diagnostic test such as carotid ultrasound shows significant blockage that is likely to trigger a stroke. Carotid endarterectomy is not a cure. Your arteries can become blocked again if your underlying condition, such as high blood cholesterol, is not controlled and causes new plaque buildup.
Carotid endarterectomy is done in a hospital. You may have general anesthesia and will not be awake or feel pain during the surgery. Your surgeon instead may decide to use local anesthesia to numb only the part of your body being worked on so that he or she can check your brain?s reaction to the decreased blood flow during surgery. You also will be given medicine to relax you during the surgery. Your vital signs will be monitored during surgery. You will lie on your back on an operating table with your head turned to one side. Your surgeon will make an incision, or cut, on your neck to expose the blocked section of the carotid artery. Your surgeon will cut into the affected artery and remove the plaque through this cut. A temporary flexible tube may be inserted so blood can flow around the blocked area as the plaque is cleared. After removing the plaque from your artery, the surgeon will close the artery and neck incisions with stitches.
After surgery, you will recover in the hospital for one to two days. Your neck may hurt for a few days, and you may find it hard to swallow. Your doctor may prescribe medicine to prevent clots and suggest steps to keep your carotid arteries healthy.
Carotid endarterectomy is fairly safe when performed by experienced surgeons. However, serious complications such as clotting, stroke, or death may occur. Taking anticlotting medicines before and after surgery can reduce this risk. Other complications may include a reaction to anesthesia, short-term nerve injury that causes temporary numbness in your face or tongue, bleeding, infection, high blood pressure, heart attack, and seizure. The risk of complications is higher in women, older people, those with certain conditions such as chronic kidney disease or diabetes, and those with other serious medical conditions.
Carotid endarterectomy is surgery that removes plaque buildup from inside a carotid artery in your neck.
Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors
From NHLBI health topic site
(Posted: Jan 01, 2014 0AM)
What Are Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors?
Coronary heart disease risk factors are conditions or habits that raise your risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and heart attack. These risk factors also increase the chance that existing CHD will worsen.
CHD, also called coronary artery disease, is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque (plak) builds up on the inner walls of the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart muscle.
Plaque narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow to your heart muscle. Reduced blood flow can cause chest pain, especially when you're active. Eventually, an area of plaque can rupture (break open). This causes a blood clot to form on the surface of the plaque.
If the clot becomes large enough, it can block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the portion of heart muscle fed by the artery. Blocked blood flow to the heart muscle causes a heart attack.
Overview
There are many known CHD risk factors. You can control some risk factors, but not others. Risk factors you can control include:
?High blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels (a type of fat found in the blood)
?High blood pressure
?Diabetes and prediabetes
?Overweight and obesity
?Smoking
?Lack of physical activity
?Unhealthy diet
?Stress
The risk factors you can't control are age, gender, and family history of CHD.
Many people have at least one CHD risk factor. Your risk of CHD and heart attack increases with the number of risk factors you have and their severity. Also, some risk factors put you at greater risk of CHD and heart attack than others. Examples of these risk factors include smoking and diabetes.
Many risk factors for coronary heart disease start during childhood. This is even more common now because many children are overweight and don?t get enough physical activity.
Researchers continue to study and learn more about CHD risk factors.
Outlook
Following a healthy lifestyle can help you and your children prevent or control many CHD risk factors.
Because many lifestyle habits begin during childhood, parents and families should encourage their children to make heart healthy choices. For example, you and your children can lower your risk of CHD if you maintain a healthy weight, follow a healthy diet, do physical activity regularly, and don't smoke.
If you already have CHD, lifestyle changes can help you control your risk factors. This may prevent CHD from worsening. Even if you're in your seventies or eighties, a healthy lifestyle can lower your risk of dying from CHD.
If lifestyle changes aren't enough, your doctor may recommend other treatments to help control your risk factors.
Your doctor can help you find out whether you have CHD risk factors. He or she also can help you create a plan for lowering your risk of CHD, heart attack, and other heart problems.
If you have children, talk with their doctors about their heart health and whether they have CHD risk factors. If they do, ask your doctor to help create a treatment plan to reduce or control these risk factors.
