Practical Health Solutions For: All Ages!
I have taken the time to do some research, I pray that this will be of help to not only my Family, but my friends also.
Let's do the best we can to stay Healthy!
Eat Right & Live Well
Don't give up until you find a Doctor that will help you!
Hardening of the arteries
Hardening of the arteries, also called atherosclerosis, is a common disorder. It occurs when fat, cholesterol, and other substances build up in the walls of arteries and form hard structures called plaques.
Over time, these plaques can block the arteries and cause problems throughout the body.
Hardening of the arteries is a process that often occurs with aging. As you grow older, plaque buildup narrows your arteries and makes them stiffer. These changes make it harder for blood to flow through them.
Clots may form in these narrowed arteries and block blood flow. Pieces of plaque can also break off and move to smaller blood vessels, blocking them.
Either way, the blockage starves tissues of blood and oxygen, which can result in damage or tissue death.This is a common cause of heart attack and stroke.
High blood cholesterol levels can cause hardening of the arteries at a younger age.
For many people, high cholesterol levels are the result of an unhealthy lifestyle -- most commonly, eating a diet that is high in fat. Other risk factors are heavy alcohol use, lack of exercise, and being overweight.
Other risk factors for hardening of the arteries are:
- Diabetes
- Family history of hardening of the arteries
- High blood pressure
- Smoking
Hardening of the arteries does not cause any symptoms until the blood flow to part of the body becomes slowed or blocked.
If the arteries to the heart becomes narrow, blood flow to the heart can slow down or stop. This can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, and other symptoms.
Narrowed or blocked arteries may also cause problems and symptoms in your intestines, kidneys, legs, and brain.
A health care provider will perform a physical exam and listen to the heart and lungs with a stethoscope. Hardening of the arteries can create a whooshing or blowing sound ("bruit") over an artery.
Some guidelines recommend having your first cholesterol test at age 20. Everyone should have their first screening test by age 35 in men, and age 45 in women. (Note: Different experts recommend different starting ages.)
A number of imaging tests may be used to see how well blood moves through your arteries.
- Doppler tests use ultrasound or sound waves.
- Magnetic resonance arteriography (MRA) is a special type of MRI scan
- Special CT scans called CT angiography
- Arteriograms or angiography use x-rays to see inside the arteries
Other lifestyle changes can also reduce your risk of hardening of the arteries:
- Avoid fatty foods. Eat well-balanced meals that are low in fat and cholesterol. Include several daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Adding fish to your diet at least twice a week may be helpful. However, do not eat fried fish.
- Limit how much alcohol you drink -- one drink a day for women, two a day for men.
- Exercise for 30 minutes a day if you are not overweight, and for 60 - 90 minutes a day if you are overweight. Talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise plan, especially if you have been diagnosed with heart disease or you have ever had a heart attack.
Your doctor may want you to take medicine for high cholesterol levels - if lifestyle changes do not work. This will depend on:
- Your age
- Whether you have heart disease or other blood flow problems
- Whether you smoke or are overweight
- Whether you have high blood pressure or diabetes
Your doctor may suggest taking aspirin or another medicine to help prevent blood clots from forming in your arteries. These medicines are called antiplatelet drugs. DO NOT take aspirin without first talking to your doctor.
Hardening of the arteries cannot be reversed once it has occurred. However, lifestyle changes and treating high cholesterol levels can prevent or slow the process from becoming worse.
I post this just for awareness: If for any reason you are experiencing any of these symptoms listed above, just know that the first sign of plaque buildup in the arteries are not easily recognized. so your doctor may not be aware that you may be suffering from this.
Saw this article on F/B...
HEART ATTACKS AND WATER !
How many folks do you know who say they don't want to drink anything before going to bed because they'll have to get up during the night. Heart Attack and Water - I never knew all of this ! Interesting....... Something else I didn't know ... I asked my Doctor why people need to urinate so much at night time. Answer from my Cardiac Doctor - Gravity holds water in the lower part of your body when you are upright (legs swell).
When you lie down and the lower body (legs and etc) seeks level with the kidneys, it is then that the kidneys remove the water because it is easier. This then ties in with the last statement! I knew you need your minimum water to help flush the toxins out of your body, but this was news to me. Correct time to drink water... Very Important. From A Cardiac Specialist!
Drinking water at a certain time maximizes its effectiveness on the body
2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs
1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion
1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure
1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack I can also add to this...
My Physician told me that water at bed time will also help prevent night time leg cramps. Your leg muscles are seeking hydration when they cramp and wake you up with a Charlie Horse.
Mayo Clinic Aspirin Dr. Virend Somers, is a Cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic, who is lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 A.M. and noon. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show that sleep apnea is to blame. 1. If you take an aspirin or a baby aspirin once a day, take it at night. The reason: Aspirin has a 24-hour "half-life"; therefore, if most heart attacks happen in the wee hours of the morning, the Aspirin would be strongest in your system. 2. FYI, Aspirin lasts a really long time in your medicine chest, for years, (when it gets old, it smells like vinegar). Please read on... Something that we can do to help ourselves - nice to know.
Bayer is making crystal aspirin to dissolve instantly on the tongue. They work much faster than the tablets. Why keep Aspirin by your bedside? It's about Heart Attacks. There are other symptoms of a heart attack, besides the pain on the left arm. One must also be aware of an intense pain on the chin, as well as nausea and lots of sweating; however, these symptoms may also occur less frequently. Note: There may be NO pain in the chest during a heart attack. The majority of people (about 60%) who had a heart attack during their sleep did not wake up. However, if it occurs, the chest pain may wake you up from your deep sleep. If that happens, immediately dissolve two aspirins in your mouth and swallow them with a bit of water.
Afterwards: - Call 911. - Phone a neighbor or a family member who lives very close by.- Say "heart attack!" - Say that you have taken 2 Aspirins. Take a seat on a chair or sofa near the front door, and wait for their arrival and ...
DO NOT LIE DOWN! A Cardiologist has stated that if each person after receiving this e-mail, sends it to 10 people, probably one life could be saved! I have already shared this information. What about you? Do forward this message. It may save lives! "Life is a one time gift"
Be Proactive:
Having a child has changed my whole world. It requires a lot more work, many sleepless nights which leaves me tired all the time. Now that GOD has blessed us with him I would not change anything.
Being a mother has taught me that I cannot leave his health condition entirely up to the doctors I must be actively involved.
So when regular cough syrup was not working for him I got a recipe on how to make my own natural cough syrup. Even now I still make it at times if I think he needs it.
Cough Syrup Recipe
Real Lemon
Cayenne Pepper
Garlic
Honey
Grate or chop garlic (I prefer to grate it) very fine, add lemon juice, Cayenne pepper & honey. Mix together and keep in refrigerator.
Portion size 1 teaspoon
For Children 2 years & under use a very, very small amount of garlic
Trusting Your Gut instincts as a Parent:
This all started with my son, he was little over two years old at the time when he started daycare, not long after that he had a runny nose, followed by a cough he could not get rid of, before long he started suffering from an ear infections.
The most scary part was when we showed up at the Doctor's office and was told they could not help him, we should go to our local hospital right away. Once there, we thought ok he is going to get some help. They too proceeded to tell us they too could not help him he has to be taken immediately to the children's hospital. Praise God by the next day he was doing much better. That was scary.
I began to get very concern about his health at such a young age. I kept on seeking GOD more and more and started searching the internet for natural medicine. At first I did not know what or who to trust, finally I came across Kids Relief the natural homeopathic remedy that was safe for even infants. I started reading other moms reviews and decided to lift my doubt and give it a try. I must admit I have not regretted it one bit.
My decision to really try other natural remedies was when one doctor signed him up to have surgery on his ears. They wanted to put stent in both his ears..... and after surgery it may or may not work. No way!
I started to wonder if there were any safe allergy medicine for children under 2 years of age. After much research I finally realize that all I need to do was to control his allergy and that would stop the nasal drip.
My son is now 4 years old and ever since I started using Kids Relief products he has not had anymore antibiotics.
