Heart Disease - General

Harvard Medical School has derived a number of healthy practices for all of us to emulate. The following article will try to paraphrase the critical points on exercise, and why all of us should do it. And, for the ones who do it, perhaps they need to do more!

The Benefit of Fitness

Probably by now, everyone acknowledges the health benefits of exercise. Everyone should get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. Daily is not too much, as human beings we were designed to get a lot more exercise than just daily for 30 minutes. Benefits accrue quickly. Among them are:

The percentage of children who are overweight has more than doubled, and among adolescents the rates have more than tripled since 1980. Nineteen percent of children 6 to 11 years old and 17 percent of those 12 to 19 are overweight. Overweight is a risk factor for health conditions such as diabetes and is associated with problems such as poor self-esteem.

Now, it is concluded that the heart is damaged as a result of being overweight or obese. A team was assigned to review all children between 10 and 18 who had any signs of heart troubles, such as murmurs, pain, acid reflux or high cholesterol. Twenty percent of these children were obese, and 12 percent were overweight (therefore, at risk for obesity).

The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome is based on the results of a physical exam and blood tests. To be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, you must have at least three out of five of the following risk factors:

• A large waistline. This means that you carry excess weight around your waist (abdominal obesity). Your doctor will measure your waist to determine whether you have abdominal obesity. A waist measurement of 35 inches or more for women and 40 inches or more for men is a component of metabolic syndrome and indicates an increased risk for heart disease and other health problems. A large waistline also is called “having an apple shape.”

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is made up of a group of factors that can increase risk even if they are only moderately raised (borderline-high risk factors). Metabolic syndrome itself usually has no symptoms. Most of the risk factors linked to metabolic syndrome have no signs or symptoms, although a large waistline is a visible sign.

Who Is At Risk for Metabolic Syndrome?

You’re at greatest risk for metabolic syndrome if you have these underlying causes:

• A large waistline (abdominal obesity)
• Lack of physical activity
• Insulin resistance

Some people are at risk for metabolic syndrome because the medicines they take may cause weight gain or changes in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. These medicines are most often used for inflammation, allergies, HIV, and depression and other kinds of mental illnesses.

What Causes Metabolic Syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome has several causes that act together. Some can be controlled, while others can’t.

Causes that can be controlled include overweight and obesity, lack of physical activity, and insulin resistance.

Some causes you can’t control are growing older and genetics. Your chance of developing metabolic syndrome increases with age. Your genes can increase your chances of developing insulin resistance, for example, which can lead to metabolic syndrome, even if you have only a little extra weight around your waist.

Outlook

About 47 million adults in the United States (almost 25 percent) have metabolic syndrome, and the numbers continue to grow. The increasing number of people with this condition is connected to the rise in obesity rates among adults. In the future, metabolic syndrome may overtake smoking as the leading risk factor for heart disease.

It’s possible to prevent or delay metabolic syndrome, mainly with lifestyle changes. A healthy lifestyle is a lifelong commitment.

Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors linked to overweight and obesity that increase your chance 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 behaviors or conditions that increase your chance of getting a disease. In this article, “heart disease” refers to coronary heart disease.

Twenty-five years ago in the town of Limone Sugata, Italy, a man went to his doctor for a check up. His doctor discovered that he had very high cholesterol levels, but no signs of heart disease. The same was true of his entire family and many people in his town, who were descended from one couple and shared a unique gene. It appeared that no matter what these families ate, no matter how high their cholesterol levels, it never caused heart disease.

All too often we read about young people, especially those engaged in sports, suddenly dying from undetected and totally unexpected heart problems.

Now a medical scan has been developed to spot which young people risk sudden death because of a weak heart due to heart scar tissue, an important warning sign of dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM, which can otherwise go undetected.