Natural Home Remedies for Heart Diseases

by Dr John Anne

The heart is one of the five major organs of the body, the other being the brain, the liver, the lungs and the digestive system-any defect in or malfunctioning of which leads to serious complications. The major function of the heart is to pump the blood into the arteries and send the blood returning from the various organs with carbon dioxide to the lungs for purification.

Considering the amount of work that the heart does-it never stops till death-it is subject to few disorders. The main causes of heart disease are the diseases of the coronary arteries (which nourish the heart muscle), high blood pressure and syphilis. Acute rheumatism-a predominantly infantile disorder-is responsible for most cases of heart disease occurring between the ages of 5 to 45 years. Other causes of heart diseases are disorders like diphtheria, diseases of the thyroid gland and certain forms of chronic lung ailments. A small, but important group of heart diseases is due to the congenital abnormalities of the heart. In those disorders for example, the malformation of the valves or cavities in the valve developed in the mother's womb, the only recourse is to heart surgery. Certain deficiency diseases like gross lack of vitamin B cause the condition known as beri-beri.

The tendency of the heart to adjust to changes in the mode of living of its owner, known as compensation, is one of the vital factors, which prolong life in spite of maladies to which this king of organs is susceptible. This adjustment sometimes enables a person to go through life without suspecting the disease, which invade the heart. It is a common fallacy to suppose that heart disease ends in sudden death. A man with a defective heat may live long, if he is careful. It is only when the heart muscle has become weakened due to some other illness, for example, diabetes, that the end may come suddenly. Another cause of sudden death by heart failure can be ascribed to the formation of a clot in the blood (thrombosis). Hardening of the arteries may lead to failure of the heart, but in most cases that is a gradual development.

Chief Ailments

The broad categories of heart ailments are:

(i) Those caused by inflammation of the muscle, the outer covering or the inner covering of the heart;

(ii) Hardening of the arteries and formation of a clot which may result in sudden interruption of the functioning of the heart;

(iii) Weakening of the muscle or degeneration of the organ because of advancing years;

(iv) Involvement of the heart as a corollary to rheumatism or syphilis; and

(v) Functional disorders like techycardia, bradicardia or hypertension and arrhythmia (lack of rhythm in the heart beat) and angina pectoris (pain in the chest, behind the sternum) and a sense of impending death.

As stated earlier, naturopathy is the only recourse in case of all bodily ailments. Heart diseases can be cured safely and in a better manner under this system of medicine. The only exception, it may be stated here, is congenital defects of the heart for which surgical interference is necessary after the "compensation" fails to relieve the condition.

Here we give the treatment that is to be under taken in angina pectoris. The same course of treatment would help other heart ailments too regardless of the technical name given by the doctors.

Angina pectoris is characterized by a sharp pain in the chest (behind the sternum), which leaves the victim breathless. There is a sense of impending doom. It is generally caused by the constriction of the main artery that leads into the heart, because of its hardening or deposition of fat in the insides. The pain radiates to the back, the shoulders and the arms, particularly the left arm. The attack may come on after a hearty meal, a sudden over exertion or intense grief or excitement.

Lest the reader confuse a gastric pain with angina, let us make it clear that the true pain of angina has a tendency to spread to the shoulders and the arms. There is a constriction in the chest and profuse sweating. True angina must be differentiated from false or pseudo-angina which is of a nervous origin.

Drugs taken to relieve angina only help to make the condition more chronic. Patients taking recourse to traditional methods of treatment would be seen carrying tablets of nitro-glycerine to relieve the pain. The drug may be taken in an emergency but the correct treatment for angina begins when it is aimed at building the general health level of the patient.

When an attack is on, the best thing is to apply hot towels over the heart region. That will relieve the constriction around the chest by dilating (through heat) the clogged artery, which finds it difficult to pass the required amount of blood through it to the heart.

Treatment

The best way to deal with heart disease is to start a cleansing diet because the cleaner the blood, the less will be chance of any toxicity building up around the region of the heart. The patient should subsist on a diet of fruit and fresh vegetables. His breakfast should consist of two oranges, an apple and grapes. For lunch he should take salad of lettuce, grated carrots and best root together with some boiled vegetables and bread made out of whole meal flour. Fats, particularly saturated ones like ghee, should be banned and only a pat of butter -preferably fresh and not the tinned variety--should be taken.

Salt should be avoided totally or taken in small quantities if the patient prefers a non-vegetarian diet they should eat steamed fish or boiled white meat. Fatty portions of meat, particularly pork, should be avoided. He should never overload his stomach because distention of the organ by flatulence or overloading may depress the diaphragm and the pain of angina may start.

Sufferers from heart disease should fast for a short period according to their bodily strength so that the system is not overtaxed. Ailments like indigestion should not be allowed to arise, as they are likely to tax the heart. A heart patient should eat so sparingly that he should feel hungry all the time. The last meal of the day should be taken at least three hours before retiring.

Gravity douche or enema should be taken recourse to in case of constipation. A short walk in the morning and evening is beneficial. Even traditional doctors have come to realize now that walking is the best exercise for a heart patient. Some of them even recommend jogging. A medical fact which should be stated here is that when you are walking the pressure on the heart is reduced to some extent because the blood going back for purification through the heart to the lungs flow back more easily when you are walking than when you are sitting or lying down. Epsom salt bath should be taken once or twice weekly.

A heart patient must have a strict regimen of living in addition to eating. He must avoid stress, worry and excessive physical strain. If he has been on drugs before turning to naturopathy, they should be gradually withdrawn. A sudden stoppage of drugs is not advised.

Facts About Heart Disease You Need To Know

by Cindy Heller

Basically, heart disease is a disorder affecting the ability of the heart to function normally. There are many forms of heart disease of varied etiology.
The most widespread form of heart disease is high cholesterol. In the initial stages of the disease, lesions and cracks will form in the walls of blood vessel walls, usually close to the heart itself. The body will repair the damage by depositing fatty substances such as cholesterol and lipoproteins to fill the cracks.
If the body does not get adequate vitamin C that are vital for keeping the blood vessel walls from cracking, the repeated deposition of fatty substances can clog the blood vessels and thus cause a stroke or heart attack.

Types of Heart Diseases 

The common forms of heart disease are: coronary heart disease, ischaemic heart disease, pulmonary heart disease, hereditary heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, inflammatory heart disease, and valvular heart disease.

Heart diseases may also occur due to congenital reasons, heart valve malfunction, electrical rhythm of the heart going out of sync, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, aortic regurgitation, heart attacks and heart failure.

Causes of Heart Disease

The major causes of heart disease include obesity, smoking, hypertension, diabetic and a sedentary lifestyle. Others include menopause in women, getting on in age, especially after reaching sixty-five years of age and finally, the arterial walls being struck down with infections.

Damage to the heart muscle or valves due to a congenital defect, as well as inflammation and damage associated with various viral, bacterial, fungal or parasitic diseases can also cause heart disease.
Disease can also cause heart disease, for example atherosclerosis, dermatomyositis, Friedrich's ataxia, hemochromatosis, Kawasaki disease and Paget's disease of bone. Rheumatic fever and syphilis can also cause heart disease, as can genetic or autoimmune disorders in which cellular proteins in the heart muscle are deranged or which disrupt enzymes affecting cardiac function.

Common Symptoms of Heart Disease

The most common symptoms of heart disease include heaviness or pressure on the chest; dizziness; nausea; shortness of breath; back or shoulder pain; irregular or fast heartbeats and excessive heart palpitations. If one encounter any of these problems, it would be prudent to consult a doctor as soon as possible.

Diagnosing Heart Disease

Everyone should be concerned with heart disease and should discuss testing for heart disease with a doctor especially if one have a family history or aggravating lifestyle choices. High blood pressure, frequent loss of breath, heavy smoking or drinking, obesity, high cholesterol, inactivity and diabetes are sound reasons for heart disease testing.

Cure for Heart Disease

On diagnosis of heart disease, the doctor will probably recommend that a patient adopt a healthy lifestyle such as having frequent exercise, a healthy diet, avoiding alcohol and cigarettes. The next treatment will more than likely involve medications and finally surgery. Although there are many different forms of treatment for heart disease, there is no cure for heart disease. There are promising theories, however none yet have been perfected yet.

Cellular therapy is promising as a possible cure for heart disease. Cellular products have been shown to hold great potential for the treating of damaged and diseased tissues in the body. The sources for cellular product also come in a variety of sources, such as bone marrow stem cell and peripheral blood, as well as from myoblasts from skeletal muscle cells.
Cellular therapy is a growing field for clinical research. It is of growing interest to medical researchers as potential treatments for congestive heart failure and ischemic heart disease, for instance.
The research to date has shown positive results. There are also various other forms of promising treatment. So a cure for heart disease may be a reality in the future.
All treatment for heart disease should be discussed with a doctor but most of the medications will be available on prescription. If the medication is not effective, then the last option may be surgery. There are wide ranges of surgeries and many of them are less invasive so recovery time is shorter.
One should also understand that heart disease is preventable by living a healthy lifestyle such as regular exercise, having low salt and low fat diets as well as abstaining from alcohol and smoking. After all, prevention is much better than cure.

Major Types Of Degenerative Heart Disease

by Joann Cheong

As you may know, heart disease comes in a number of types. All types are serious, degenerative conditions that can cause sudden death. Given this fact, degenerative heart disease is no doubt a health problem that needs to be considered and solved.

However, before one can solve degenerative heart disease, it is important first to know that major types of such disease. Understanding of these types can help you find the right solution and treatment.

So what are the major types of degenerative heart disease? Consider the following:

Coronary Heart Disease

This is by far the most common type. This is often associated to heart attack and chest pain, and many studies have shown that about 7 million people in the United States alone suffer from this condition.

The coronary heart disease actually occurs when the coronary arteries that carry the blood and oxygen to the heart become narrowed with fatty substances, known as plaque. The plaque builds up on the inner wall of the arteries, and when the arteries are narrowed, the blood and oxygen flow to the heart is slowed down. This may even lead to full blocking of the arteries, leading to heart attack.

Congenital Heart Disease

This type is often identified by a number of heart defects that are present at birth, hence the name. The defects may include patent ductus arteriosus, coarctation of the aorta, atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect, atrioventrivular septal defect, aortic stenosis, pulmonary stenosis, transposition of the great vessels, tetralogy of fallot, truncus arteriosus, tricuspid atresia, total anomalous pulmonary venous return, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. All of these defects occur before or shortly after birth, making it one of the leading causes of deaths in newborn.

Rheumatic Heart Disease

This is also considered by many as one of the major types knowing that millions of people in the whole world are affected by it. Basically, this affects children and adolescents. It involves damage to the entire heart and its membranes. Also, it is important to note that this type is a complication of rheumatic fever that is said to have resulted from an untreated strep throat. This condition occurs with the heart valve is damaged due to the fever, leaving it incapable of opening and closing properly.

Angina Pectoris

Commonly known as chest pain, angina pectoris is a major type that affects people of different age. It is actually a specific type of pain in the chest that resulted from an inadequate flow of blood through the blood vessels. This condition is considered as one of the symptoms of almost all types of heart disease, so it is not only deemed as a disease itself, but a symptom as well.

There are other types such as atherosclerosis, arrhythmia, myocarditis, and a lot more. The best way to treat these types, however, is to ask for recommendations first from your doctor before opting for one of the available treatments. This is highly important as degenerative heart disease comes in a number of types with varying symptoms and levels of severity

Fish Oil and Heart Disease

by David McEvoy

According to National Statistics online, nearly 15% of the population of the UK are suffering or have suffered from a cardiac health event in their lifetimes. That means that for every 100 people in the room, about 15 of them will have a heart attack or suffer from a coronary disease. Interestingly enough, this statistic includes both men and women, with men only having a slight advantage over the women in terms of number of cases. Even with all we know about heart disease and how to prevent it, it seems that there is so much more to learn.
What is Heart Disease?
The heart is the muscle in the body that allows for transportation of materials throughout the body. When a person takes in food, these meals are broken down by the digestive system in order to be accessible for functions in the body. As the food is broken down into nutrients, these nutrients are then transported into the blood stream in order to get to the right areas of the body. When the heart pumps, it moves these blood cells around to the extremities and then when it contracts, it pulls the blood into itself by means of the veins in order to push that blood into the body into the arteries. When the heart is unable to function properly, this process can not take place.
There are a number of reasons and names for the idea of heart disease. At its simplest definition, heart disease is when the heart is damaged or just unable to work as it should. This can be a hereditary and congenital condition, like in the instance of a valve problem. A patient can have this from birth and never need to have anything done to repair it, while other patients need to have this fixed in order to make sure that heart works properly.
Heart disease can be grouped into being caused by heredity, lifestyle or by a defect or injury. Hereditary factors like a predisposition to high cholesterol can cause troubles like heart attacks and myocardial infarction. Then again, if a patient takes in too much cholesterol and fat into their diet, they can also increase their risk for heart disease.
The heart disease cases that cause troubles for patients will have conditions like hardening of the arteries, blockages of the vessels, and a narrowing/widening of these passageways for the blood. When the vessels become too blocked, blood can not get to the heart, resulting in heart damage and death.
What are the Symptoms of Heart Disease?
The real concern when it comes to heart disease is that there may be few, if any, symptoms at first. A patient may have completely normal lab results as well as no noticeable physical symptoms. In more advanced cases, the cholesterol levels will be high, the LDL levels will be high, and HDL levels will be low. Blood pressure readings may increase and the patient may report mild chest pain and tightness. Some patients even report troubles with breathing during activity. The heart rate may be higher as has become more difficult for the heart to do the same job on a lower number of beats per minute.
In an emergent condition, the symptoms would be an increased heart rate, crushing chest pain, and possibly nausea. Others report that they had a raised temperature and sweating, as well as left arm weakness.
How Can Fish Oil Help?
According to recent studies done at Harvard Medical University, fish oil seems to be able to prevent heart disease. With its anti-inflammatory properties, fish oil seems to allow the body to repair smaller damage spots before they become too problematic. There have also been previous studies linking the idea of using fish oil and lowering bad cholesterol as well as increasing good cholesterol. The essential fatty acids in fish oil help the body process the cholesterol and other toxins in the body before they build up in the liver and cause damage.
Where Can You Find Fish Oil Sources?
Understandably so, fish oil can be found in its purest form in oily fishes. Fish choices like salmon, herring, kipper, and mackerel all contain high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids that can help to protect the heart from heart disease. In addition, there are studies being done now that indicate that fish oil might be able to help in the repair of damage from previous concerns with heart disease and heart attacks. In countries with a high fish consumption, the prevalence of heart disease is much lower, even with the high smoking rates (as in Japan, for example).
Conclusion
While there are many studies that are questioning the use of fish oil in the treatment and prevention of heart disease, it's clear that there is some connection. Since the body can not make this essential fatty acid on its own, adding a supplement to the diet can not be a hard decision to make

Heart Disease At Young Age

by Cindy Heller

If a woman should go into labor before thirty-seven weeks of gestation, the baby born at that time is considered to be premature. In many cases premature infants tend to have some form of heart impairment arising from heart disease or defect. The incidence of heart malfunction in premature babies is rather alarming.
Premature infants do not have fully formed organs, and because of this the baby has to be cared for in a neonatal nursery or neonatal intensive care unit until such time as they have developed and strengthened enough to continue living without medical support. However premature infants suffer from many other symptoms, not only heart disease. Some common symptoms are hyaline membrane disease, poor ability to feed, inactivity, enlarged clitoris in females, small scrotum in males, weak cry, body hair, breathing apnea as well as many others.
Treatment
Heart disease in premature infants is not completely avoidable although there are treatment protocols that may be followed to treat this. These premature infants are unable before 34 weeks gestation, to suck and swallow at the same time, so many are fed by a tube inserted into the stomach or in very small infants into a vein.
Complications
Complications in premature infants may not necessarily be related to the premature birth but there are many serious complications that can occur as well as heart disease. Some of these are hyaline membrane disease, retinopathy, low blood glucose, bleeding in the brain, jaundice, anemia, growth retardation as well as mental-motor and developmental retardation.
Prevention
There is absolutely no way for a woman to prevent premature labor and the delivery of a premature infant. But there are ways to ensure you are taking the correct steps to minimize the chances of this happening. One of the most important is to receive good prenatal care early and continue throughout the pregnancy. Statistics do indicate that early, proper and continued prenatal care make a huge impact on reducing the odds of giving premature birth and its related risks and deaths.
During pregnancy it is also extremely important to take care of your own health as well. It is vital to eat nutrient rich foods, including fruits and vegetables, daily exercise and drink adequate amounts of water. Although the combination of premature infants and heart disease is a serious situation, with modern medical technology and better methods to lessen the chances of occurrence, the chances of pulling out of this medical quandary are getting better with each day.
Heart Disease In Children
It is amazing that few people are aware that a child can suffer from heart disease. Many people think that heart disease only affects the aged. Heart disease is a very serious problem and child heart disease is in fact a relatively common ailment worldwide. Child heart disease or congenital heart defects are recognized as one of the most widely known birth defects of all. There are statistics to prove that worldwide nearly one percent of all babies born are affected by some form of heart malfunction. These infants are usually diagnosed as having child heart disease upon examination by their pediatrician at birth. Sometimes this is usually referred to as a heart murmur.
Information About Child Heart Malfunction
A child's heart might have a slight abnormality that may not even be noticeable at birth and therefore it might be difficult to detect any heart malfunction. But normally if a child has a heart defect there is a small hole in the wall of the heart that allows oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to move from one side of the heart to the other. This causes the infant to have either blue fingers or lips.
A problem that might also be experienced is an abnormal heart valve. The consequences are that the blood flows through the heart in the wrong direction. This type of child heart malfunction usually calls for surgery but this is normally performed when the child is older.
What A Heart Murmur Is
A heart murmur is the sound made by the blood flowing through the heart. This sound has been described as akin to the sound of water flowing through a hose. Heart murmurs occur frequently in infants, many are harmless, but others may create serious health risks for the child.
A heart murmur is a common sign of the evidence of child heart malfunction. In many instances the heart murmur is referred to as being 'innocent' or 'functional'. Naturally parents do become extremely worried when the term is used to describe their child's ailment. But a heart murmur does not necessarily mean that there is anything seriously amiss with the infant.
With the significant advances in medical technology in the last decade, parents can be assured that there will be a suitable course of treatment to alleviate their child's heart disease.

All About Our Heart

by Naveen Kumar Sanagala

Our Heart :
The heart is a hollow, muscular organ that pumps blood, rich with oxygen and nutrients to all parts of the body. It is the organ which functions incessantly round the clock. Heart lies in the center of the chest, slightly to the left and protected by the breast bone (sternum). The heart is made up of a powerful muscle called Myocardium. The heart has two separate pumps that continuously send blood through out the body carrying nutrients, oxygen and helping remove harmful wastes. A wall (septum) divides the heart into a right side and left side. The right side heart receives impure blood low in oxygen. The left side heart receives pure blood that has oxygenated by the lungs. This cycle is repeated about 70 times per minute and is counted as a pulse. The heart is divided into four chambers. Two upper chambers (atria) receive blood from the veins. Two lower chambers (ventricles) pump blood out of the heart through arteries. The heart has four valves that keep the blood flowing in the correct direction i.e., work as regulators. The heart muscle is nourished by a system of arteries, which originate from the 'aorta': the right and left coronary arteries.
Heart Functions: The heart functions as interrelated double pumps. One pump (right heart) receives blood, which has just come from the body after delivering nutrients and oxygen to the body tissues. It pumps this dark, bluish red blood to the lungs where the blood gets rid of a waste gas (carbon dioxide) and picks up a fresh supply of oxygen which turns it a bright red again. The second pump (left heart) receives this "reconditioned" blood from the lungs and pumps it out through the great trunk -artery (aorta) to be distributed by smaller arteries to all parts of the body. Types of Heart disorders : There are three main diseases of the heart.

1. Coronary artery disease (King's Disease): Coronary arteries become narrow or blocked due to the deposition of Cholesterol and other body fats leading to 'artherosclerosis', commonly called 'hardening of the arteries'. Artherosclerosis causes insufficient blood flow to the heart muscles. Angioplasty, intensive medication, life style changes, and in severe cases, a by-pass surgery is recommended to correct the defect.
2. Valvular heart disease: It is a defect in the valves by birth, infection causing scarring or thickening leading to insufficient opening or closure of valves for blood flow. This disorder can be cured either by medication or by artificial valvular surgery.
3. Congenital heart disease: Congenital heart defects are problems with the heart's structure that are present at birth. These defects can involve the interior walls of the heart, valves inside the heart, or the arteries and veins that carry blood to the heart or out to the body. Congenital heart defects change the normal flow of blood through the heart. There are many different types of congenital heart defects. They range from simple defects with no symptoms to complex defects with severe, life-threatening symptoms. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect, affecting 8 of every 1,000 newborns. Most of these defects are simple conditions that are easily fixed or need no treatment. A small number of babies are born with complex congenital heart defects that need special medical attention soon after birth. Over the past few decades, the diagnosis and treatment of these complex defects has greatly improved. As a result, almost all children with complex heart defects grow to adulthood and can live active, productive lives because their heart defects have been effectively treated. Most people with complex heart defects continue to need special heart care throughout their lives. They may need to pay special attention to certain issues that their condition could affect, such as health insurance, employment, pregnancy and contraception, and preventing infection during routine health procedures.