Heart Disease: Three Steps for Helping Your Loved One Following Diagnosis

If you have a loved one who has recently been diagnosed with heart disease, or has suffered a heart attack, they are going to need your help now more than ever before.
You can be their cheerleader, their dietary advisor, and their exercise partner, all rolled into one.

As we discussed recently, when someone receives a diagnosis of heart disease, or suffers a heart related event, it is common for them to go through a time of depression. But, having someone there to empathise and encourage, can make a huge difference to how they cope.

It may not be an easy task, I know, but it's a worthwhile one.

So, what can you do to help you loved one following a diagnosis of heart disease?

1. Discuss smoking

Quitting smoking is just the first step on the journey to a healthy lifestyle. Let's be straight, continuing to smoke after a diagnosis of heart disease is slow suicide.

But, you can be your loved one's main supporter in their effort to stop smoking, helping them to become accountable for the lifestyle choices they make from now onwards.

2. Discuss exercises

Exercise is essential in general for good health, but especially for someone with heart disease. The health care team will probably recommend a number of suitable exercises, which are safe and effective for your loved one.



So, what can you do? Well, you can make sure they get some exercise daily, by being their exercise partner — their fitness coach if you like! Studies show that people who exercise with a partner are more compliant than those who don't.



Types of exercise which are suitable for those with heart disease include:



* Walking. This is the best form of exercise, and it can be done anywhere.
* Cycling. Stationary bikes, or cycling around the local neighborhood are perfect.
* Pilates. This is great because it helps the body to get stronger, while at the same time decreasing stress and anxiety.
* Swimming. This is an excellent choice for those who are overweight, providing a full body workout, without stressing the joints.



While you are exercising, be extra vigilant and look out for the following symptoms:



* Chest pain, or pain in the neck, jaw or shoulder.
* Dizziness or nausea.
* Unusual shortness of breath.
* Unusual feelings of fatigue.
* Unusual heart beat: too slow, too fast, or a feeling of skipped beats.



If they experiences any of these symptoms, stop exercising right away and get medical attention.



As a side note, have you thought about becoming certified in CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation? You can get certified through your local chapter of the Red Cross, or your local hospital. This will give you the training necessary to start life saving measures, if it ever became necessary.



3. Discuss diet

A healthy, whole food diet is just as important as a regular exercise routine. However, we all know that changing poor eating habits can be a challenge on your own.

Perhaps your own eating habits aren't really up to scratch either. Well, now is the perfect time to make changes — imagine how you would feel if someone gave you a measly salad, while they tucked into a big, fat, juicy cheeseburger?

The following simple tips should help you and your loved one:

• Learn how to read food labels. Know what is in the food you eat.
• Use an online nutrition calculator to work out the nutritional value of the foods you choose.
• Eat more whole, fresh fruits and vetetables.
• Include whole grains and high fiber foods into your diet.
• Stay away from processed foods. They contain way to much sodium and preservatives.
• Reduce your intake of drinks and food that contain a lot of added sugars, and artificial sweeteners.
• If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.
• Have a chat with a dietitian to work out the best type of diet for your loved one's condition.
• Learn portion control. This is very important to maintaining a healthy weight.
  

Childhood cancer survivors have 10 times greater risk of heart disease (because radiation damages the heart!)

Survivors of childhood cancers are nearly 10 times more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease as adults than people who did not have cancer as children, according to a study conducted by researchers from Emory University and published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Researchers remain unsure of the exact reason for the increased risk, but the effects of radiation therapy appear to play a significant role.

"Mechanistically, we are not yet sure why this is, but the association is definitely there," said researcher Lillian R. Meacham.

Using data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, researchers compared data from 8,599 cancer survivors with data from 2,936 of their cancer-free siblings.

They found that cancer survivors had a 60 percent higher chance of being on cholesterol medicine, a 70 percent higher chance of suffering from diabetes and nearly a 100 percent higher chance of being on blood pressure drugs. They were no more likely that their siblings to suffer from obesity, however, suggesting that something more than lifestyle factors are at play.

"These risk factors are manifesting at about age 32, which is much younger than a non-cancer survivor would exhibit signs of cardiovascular risk factors," Meacham said. "Some have suggested that when you are a cancer survivor there are parts of you that wear out early, so we need to be vigilant about our follow-up of these patients in order to find these late effects early and intervene."

Physical activity increased a cancer survivor's risk of suffering more than one symptom by 70 percent compared with cancer free siblings. Being older when the study was conducted increased survivor's risk by 8.2 times compared with their siblings.

Radiation therapy was also strongly associated with cardiovascular risk, with those who had undergone chest and abdomen radiation suffering from 2.2 times the risk of cardiovascular risk factor clustering as those who had not undergone the therapy. Total-body radiation increased the risk by 5.5 times.

What are the health benefits of garlic?

So What are the health benefits of garlic?It is not an easy questions to answer.But a lot of people who concern about their health would ask about this.Especially people who just love to eat a lot of garlic.Some may put garlic inside their cooks.As far as i know, chinese food using a lot of garlic in their
Antioxidant – Allicin logically increases antioxidant enzymes atalase and glutathione peroxidase in your blood. It could help against the harmful property of nicotine and slows the aging process of your liver by inhibiting lipid peroxidation.
Anti-Bacterial – Garlic has 1% of the might of penicillin and can ward off several bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonella, E. Coli, Cryptococcal meningitis, Candida albican and Staphylococcus. The unruly with most antibiotics is the bacteria develops resistance to them, however this is not the casing with garlic.

The repayment were first realized back in the early 19th century when English priests trapped infectious fever. The French priests, who ate garlic everyday, didn’t.

Blood Clots – Clinical trials, which were available in the Journal of Hypertension, showed that the blood coerce of volunteers was abridged 1 – 5% after winning garlic supplements. This may not sound a lot but this small discount can degrade the chance of a stroke by 30-40% and middle disease by 20-25%