There are eight major risk factors of coronary artery disease, which is the number one cause of death in the United States. Some risk factors are nonmodifiable, such as gender, age and family history, while others can be modified; these include...
The American Heart Association says that coronary heart disease, which causes heart attacks, remains the leading cause of death in women. Several risk factors help determine a woman's likelihood of developing heart disease or having a heart...
Cardiovascular disease is defined by the Mayo Clinic as a term that refers to conditions involving narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to chest pain or a heart attack. The risk of developing coronary heart disease, or CHD, increases...
Cardiac risk factors are those traits or characteristics that influence or help predict a person's likelihood of developing heart disease. Physical inactivity is one of the leading cardiac risk factors as it tends to lead to other risk factors...
Heart disease affects a large number of Americans each year; in fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that it is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. Many things can be done to lower the risk of contracting...
Having a high cholesterol level is a risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis of the cardiac arteries. In this disorder, the arteries become hard and thick. It will not only be hard for the blood to flow through the atherosclerotic...
Triglycerides are a type of fat that circulates in the bloodstream. When triglyceride levels get too high, your risk of cardiac disease also rises. Managing triglyceride levels requires eating a healthy diet, getting regular exercise and quitting...
The calcium score test is a noninvasive procedure using computed tomography to measure the quantity of calcium deposits in the heart, especially deposits in the coronary arteries. An increase in deposits contributes to narrowing in the arteries...
Heart disease, or cardiovascular disease, refers to any disease that affects the heart, such as heart rhythm irregularities, heart defects, heart attack, chest pain, stroke and infections. Heart disease, according to MayoClinic.com, is the cause...
Cardiac catheterization is a medical procedure that involves passing a thin, flexible tube, called a catheter, into the heart. The catheter is inserted into a vein in the arm, neck or groin and then threaded into the heart. The procedure is used...
Cardiac ablation is a therapeutic procedure in which abnormal tissues of the heart's electrical conduction system are destroyed, or ablated, in an effort to restore a consistently normal heart rhythm. The procedure most commonly involves threading...
A cardiac catheterization may be performed if a cardiologist suspects that a patient has heart disease or a heart defect. During the procedure a long, narrow tube, or catheter, is inserted into a patient's vein or artery within his neck, arm or...
Cardiac ablation is a medical procedure that is performed to correct a disturbance in heart rhythm such as an abnormal or fast heart beat, according to the website UpToDate. During cardiac ablation, radio waves are used to destroy the tissue or...
A family history of high cholesterol, or familial hypercholesterolemia, puts you at increased risk of an abnormally high low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, level. Doctors refer to LDL cholesterol as bad cholesterol, as a high serum level of the...
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that occurs in your body. It is transported by lipoproteins. The two major lipoproteins are low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The LDL is considered "bad" cholesterol and the HDL...
Approximately 35.7 million people in the United States have cholesterol levels that put them at increased risk for a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) play an important role in where...
High blood cholesterol, or hypercholesterolemia, has an established reputation of increasing heart disease risk. Yet as infamous as it may be, cholesterol is a lipid your body needs to remain healthy. It serves as a component of cell membranes, as...
Getting your cholesterol checked according to your doctor's recommendations is an important way of monitoring your risk factors for problems such as heart attacks and strokes. According to the American Heart Association, elevated cholesterol is a...
In 1961, when scientists at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute first determined that high blood cholesterol levels were linked to heart disease, they launched a decades-long quest for other factors that could increase your risk for...
Soy, a member of the pea family, is native to Southeast Asia, where it has been a staple food for 5,000 years and has been fermented into tamari soy sauce and miso for 2,500 years. MayoClinic.com describes soy as a mixed food and pharmaceutical....
How well you care for your teeth may predict your risk of heart attack. Researchers have described a clear relationship between poor dental hygiene and heart disease. The analysis of a series of studies including over 80,000 patients showed an...
Homocysteine is an amino acid, or building block of protein produced by the body. Excessive amounts of this substance have been associated with an increased risk of serious cardiovascular problems, such as stroke, coronary heart disease and...
If you have had a heart attack, stroke or other heart-related problem, your doctor may advise cardiac rehabilitation. The purpose of cardiac rehab is to strengthen your heart and lungs to prevent future complications and to help you design an...
Walking is a cheap and easy method for burning calories. Deciding to walk five miles a day will keep you fit and enable you to have long-term control over your weight.
Along with obesity, cigarette smoking, hypertension, diabetes and a sedentary lifestyle, high cholesterol is a primary risk factor for heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, more than 98 million adults have total cholesterol...
The best diet plan on the market is controlling your calorie intake and exercising most days of the week. Meal replacement diets that suggest eating nutrient-rich food bars or drinking shakes in lieu of one or two meals can work by significantly...
Low-density lipoproteins, or LDL, more commonly known as "bad cholesterol," are aggregates of proteins and lipids that allow for the transport of cholesterols and triglycerides within the bloodstream. While the cholesterol derived from these...
Many employers implement workplace wellness programs that encourage employees to adopt healthy lifestyle habits. Such programs may include incentives for healthy behaviors like exercising or losing weight, and/or penalties for unhealthy behaviors...
The health benefits of drinking diet soft drinks are hotly debated. Some bloggers, nutritionists and media health commentators have claimed that diet soft drinks pose a health risk, while others contend that high-calorie drinks are the true...
Heart failure, or congestive cardiac failure, is the failure of the heart resulting from any structural or functional disorder. Congestive heart failure is the result of many conditions or diseases; learn more about heart failure in this health...
