Depression
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of your arteries. The more forceful it is—the higher it is—the more likely it is that the walls of your arteries will women who are depressed have a risk of dying...
Author: CutYourCholesterol
High Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of your arteries. The more forceful it is—the higher it is—the more likely it is that the walls of your arteries will enter cells. The body tries to compensate by churning...
Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes
Few conditions sound as mysterious as the one often called Syndrome X. What is it, and why should you care? During the groundbreaking Framingham Heart Study, when the link between high cholesterol and heart attack risk became clear, researchers noticed a...
Homocysteine
When Kilmer § MeOully, M.D., first proposed a link between levels of an amino acid nd heart disease in 1969, the medical community largely ignored him. But four decades and hundreds of studies later, that corununity is int linking high levels...
Germs
Since bacteria, VITUses, and other germs are a common cause of inflammation mn general (think about the white blood cells the body dispatches to fight an infection), researchers have begun investigating a possible link between germs and heart disease. Same of...
Inflammation and C-Reactive Protein
Remember the last time you scraped your knee? As it healed, it grew red and warm, sometimes leaking pus. That was inflammation at work. Whenever there’s an injury to any part of your body, the flow of blood increases as white...
Nitric Oxide
The same chemical responsible for men’s erections (and, indirectly, for the success of Viagra) also plays a vital role in the health of your arteries, and thus your heart. The chemical is nitric oxide (NO), which is primarily produced in the...
The Luck of the Draw
The Plan will help you attack most of the risk factors discussed in this chapter. But some, like the ones listed below, you’re stuck with. Even so, keep in mind that your power to reduce your overall CHD risk is still...
Diagnosing Depression
The following are sings of depression. If you’re experiencing one or more of them, see your doctor or a mental health care provider. Despair: persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, worthlessness; excessive crying; inappropriate guilt; recurring thoughts of suicide or death, Apathy:...
A Coffee Connection?
For most people coffee contributes little to overall heart disease risk. But if you’re a java junkie, keep reading. A 2001 study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that drinking four or more cups of coffee a day affects...
