Heart Disease

Taking Care of your heart There are around 270,000 heart attacks in the UK each year. However medical advances mean that having heart disease is no longer a death sentence. Find out about coronary heart disease, its causes and treatments, and how to reduce your risk reduce your risk.

What is heart disease?Patsy WestcottCoronary heart disease (CHD) happens when your arteries become narrowed by atherosclerosis. This causes a restriction in the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart, particularly when you exert yourself and the demands of the heart muscle increase.Patsy Westcott

What causes coronary heart disease? The overwhelming cause of coronary heart disease is atherosclerosis. This is a build-up of fatty materials within the walls of the arteries.

What are the symptoms of heart disease? Angina - chest pain, heaviness or tightness in the chest that comes on during exertion, emotional stress and may spread to arms, neck, jaw, face, back or stomach. Palpitations breathlessness or dizziness. Fluid retention or puffiness Severe crushing chest pain that lasts more than 15 minutes phone 999

Heart ATTACK Other symptoms include sweating, light- headedness, nausea or breathlessness, which unlike angina, are not alleviated by rest.

Risk Factors Some risk factors you cannot do very much about - such as your age, your gender or your ethnic group. Risk factors you do have some control over are what you eat, whether you smoke and the amount of exercise you take

Your age It has been recognised that the risk of developing coronary heart disease increases with age. Atherosclerosis takes a long time to develop and the arteries naturally become less elastic as we age, often leading to a greater risk of high blood pressure.Your

gender In fact coronary heart disease accounts for more deaths of women than any other disease. Oestrogen, protects against coronary heart disease during the reproductive years by contributing to the elasticity and health of the arteries. However, after the menopause - this natural protection can disappear. Smoking and taking the contraceptive pill increases your risk of heart attack and clotting problem.

Your genes If you have a family history of coronary heart disease or factors predisposing to heart disease such as high cholesterol levels (familial hyperlipidaemia) or high blood pressure, you're more at risk of developing it yourself.

Your ethnic background If you are black or Asian you are more at risk of heart disease, although different underlying risk factors are at play for each group. If you are Asian you have a higher risk of developing diabetes, which is a risk factor for heart disease. If you are black you are more at risk of high blood pressure, another risk factor for heart disease

.DiabetesIf you have diabetes you are three times more likely to develop coronary heart disease. You are also more likely to have silent ischaemia because diabetes can affect the nerves which send pain messages.

PREVENTION Becoming more active and improving your diet can make a tremendous difference to your heart - taking more exercise helps reduce blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels and boosts metabolism - all of which can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.

Becoming more active and improving your diet can make a tremendous difference to your heart - taking more exercise helps reduce blood pressure, improves cholesterol levels and boosts metabolism - all of which can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.

Diet Fresh Fruit and vegetables Low salt High Fibre Good fats /Bad fats Low Red Meat

Treatment Coronary heart disease can frequently be controlled with drugs alone. However, if the blood vessels have become narrowed, or if drug treatment is unable to control symptoms, surgery may be needed to open up or replace the blocked arteries.