Medical Insurance

Archive for December, 2010

Although Heart Disease is the main cause of death in the Western World it is amazing how little the general public actually know about it.

For example very few people realize that there isn’t just one type of Heart Disease. In fact there are at least ten different types and these fall into two distinct categories – Organic and Degenerative.

The major difference between Organic and Degenerative Heart Disease is their causes.

Organic refers to a situation where the organ (the heart) is damaged by a specific event. This can also be referred to as “acute”, which simply means that it happened suddenly or over a short period of time. Degenerative Heart Disease (sometimes referred to as “chronic”) is caused by gradual deterioration over a long period of time.

There are two types of Organic H.D. – Congenital and Rheumatic .

Defects that occur at birth are classed as Congenital Heart Disease. These may affect the heart itself : it may not have developed normally during pregnancy, the wall of the heart may be damaged (hole in the heart), or the blood vessels may be underdeveloped. These defects may be hereditary or more likely have been caused by external factors such as drugs or infection during pregnancy. They are normally diagnosed at birth or in early childhood but it is not uncommon for the symptoms to occur for the first time in adulthood..

Rheumatic Heart Disease can be the result of a bout of rheumatic fever. Occurrences have decreased considerably due to the use of antibiotics to treat rheumatic fever.

There are at least eight specific diseases, which fall into the category of Degenerative Heart Disease. The common factors within this category are that the disease has progressed gradually and that there is no specific event that has caused it.

The vast majority of people who are diagnosed with Heart Disease have some form of degenerative heart disease. This is the form of disease that is the target of the awareness campaigns and is the type that we can help to prevent by our lifestyles choices.

Canine heart disease is a very common condition. It is a very serious condition that usually proves to be fatal unless it is detected very early.

Types

There are two types of canine heart disease. One type occurs when the heart valves lose their ability to close effectively. This causes blood to flow abnormally. The other type of canine heart disease occurs when the walls of the heart become thin and weak, causing the heart chambers to dilate. Both of these types result in heart failure over time.

Cause

There are a variety of things that can cause canine heart disease. It can be caused by infections, parasites, and congenital disorders. Canine heart disease can also be caused by diet deficiencies. If your dog is overweight, it will only aggravate the condition.

Symptoms

There will usually be no symptoms in the early stages of canine heart disease. As the disease progresses, your dog will begin to show symptoms such as coughing, lethargy, and difficulty breathing. When canine heart disease becomes severe, your dog will experience weight loss, fainting, and irregular and rapid breathing.

Diagnosis

To diagnose canine heart disease, the vet will start off by performing a few physical exams. He will listen to the sound of your dog’s breathing and heart. he will also inspect its gums and feel or enlarged internal organs. These physical exams will usually be followed by a chest x-ray, ultrasound, and blood and urine samples.

Treatment

Unfortunately, there is no cure for canine heart disease. Treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms so your dog can have a better quality of life. ACE inhibitors will relieve stress on the heart by reducing blood pressure and volume. Your dog may also have to go on a special exercise program. Success of this treatment for canine heart disease depends on the severity of the disease, presence of other illnesses, and the age of your dog.

Heart attacks can be silent and insidious. I learned that years ago from the misfortune of an aunt that I loved dearly. She was my Great Aunt on my mother’s side and we were quite close. My mother spent a lot of time with my aunt as she aged and became something of a caretaker as my aunt’s age advanced. One time, she called my mother after a couple weeks of persistent indigestion. My aunt was one of those who struggled with poverty as a child, and had the belief that you only go to doctors when you lost a limb or something. So, I think she was ready to get to the doctor about the discomfort only after so many days.

Well, lo and behold, when she got the doctor and was examined, they said it looked like she may have had a heart attack! After some testing, the doctor surmised that she had had up to FIVE heart attacks in the two weeks she’d been feeling ill! We all scratched our heads. Don’t heart attacks always announce themselves with the left arm pain and intense chest spasms we have all seen in the movies? Don’t you drop to your knees?? Apparently not.

I am sure there were other symptoms of a heart condition along the way, but we were certainly ignorant as to what they were. Now, with the internet, its a quick search engine session to find out what to look for/be aware of when it comes to heart disease (or Coronary Heart Disease): shortness of breath, palpitations (irregular heartbeats, skipped beats, etc.), faster heartbeat, weakness, dizziness, nausea or sweating. And, we should also be on the lookout for specific signs of a heart attack: the aforementioned left arm pain, including pressure and pain in the chest or below the breastplate, discomfort radiating to the back, neck, or jaw, look out for fullness, indigestion or choking that feels like heartburn, watch for extreme weakness, anxiety along with shortness of breath and rapid or irregular heartbeats.

What can be done to avoid these kinds of horrible diseases? Well, there are magazines, books and any number of commercial gyms that have suggestions for you. Exercise, diet, education and supplements are our best tools to avoid what we can of a partially genetic condition. There are plenty of things we can ingest to help keep our heart and our cardiovascular system as healthy as we can. But we must be on the lookout for new ways to protect our heart health. While we know about consuming oatmeal and oat bran, we all need to know more about whats available for us out there. Do you use antioxidants to keep the amount of harsh free radicals out of your bloodstream?

One of the best naturally occurring antioxidants may, in fact, be Glutathione. Glutathione occurs naturally in the body, but may benefit your body with an additional dietary supplement of the substance. If you are considering taking on some supplements to combat heart disease, you surely should learn more about Glutathione and Glutathione enhancers like MAXGXL.