Is Your Heart Sick?

Your heart and my heart.......

Can be time bombs.

Waiting to explode.

If you and I aren't careful and watchful for our hearts' well being and health..........

Tick, tick, tick........

The time bombs, could be quite harmless, well, until they detonate.

What I'm talking about is heart disease and it's a serious, serious matter.

I'm sure you've heard of heart disease but do you really know how it starts?

Not many of us do, because we think the disease won't hit us, so we don't bother.....

Until it's too late.

So it's time to really sit down and take stock of things regarding your heart (and my heart)......

<b>In The Beginning.......</b>

Back to the question: how does heart disease first start off?

Well, according to cardiologists, it begins with atherosclerosis - a process where cholesterol and other substances build up inside walls of your blood vessels and form little bumps called plaque.

Sometimes, so much plaque can form in a blood vessel that they narrow the space inside and restrict blood flow.

When this happens in the arteries supplying blood to your heart, you'll get chest pain, breathlessness and fatigue.

The situation worsens further because plaque is brittle, therefore easily ruptures, which forms a blood clot that can completely block all blood flow. If blood flow to your heart is blocked, you'll have heart attack; if it's to your brain, you'll have a stroke.

Like lots of people, you probably don't know whether your blood vessels are healthy. You may look healthy outside but inside, your blood vessels could be squeezed up and crying for help!

The thing with heart attack - you can never know when they'are going to happen, or can you?

A simple way to know is through your cholesterol level; it can reveal the state of your heart's health.

Get to know the 2 main types of cholesterol in your blood - "good" cholesterol (HDL-C) and "bad" cholesterol (LDL-C). It's the "bad" cholesterol that's causing you troubles in the heart. See, when partially oxidised, LDL-C becomes toxic and penetrates lining of blood vessels to form plaque.

<b> 3 Reasons For High Cholesterol </b>

OK, why do you think we develop high levels of "bad" cholesterol?

For one, there's the stressful lifestyle we lead which affects us in more ways than we know - and one of it is careless eating and poor choice of food. This contributes to high cholesterol.

For two, if you smoke, it damages your arteries plus increases your cholesterol. You're twice as likely to suffer a heart attack compared with one who doesn't smoke.

For three, if you're overweight and obese, you tend to have high cholesterol, high blood glucose and high blood pressure which give you heart disease. This usually comes in threesome - if you've one, you'll get the other two as well......

And the most frightening part? Most people will die from a heart attack or a stroke......


<b> How To Defuse The Time Bomb?</b>

Yeah, right. I've been dishing out all the bad news to you.

Now, to the part of good news - how do you defuse this time bomb?

Health researchers suggest these "tried and true" ways:

1. Exercise!

Get off your couch.....g-e-t u-p and e-x-e-r-c-i-s-e!

Swing into the habit of exercising 3-4 times per week, for at least 20-30 minutes per session. Any exercise will do but cardio exercise is considered the best because it exercises your heart by revving up your heart rate, strenghtening it so it can pump blood more effieciently.

It also burns off body fat, reduces cholesterol and helps maintain a healthy bodyweight.

Examples of cardio exercise: running, walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc.........

One "secret" for you - choose one you like and enjoy doing. That way, you'll sustain long in the exercise because you enjoy doing it! And get a strong and healthy heart!

2. Eat right!

OK, I know this could be the "hard" part for you.

But it's essential you recognise this fact - if you don't eat right, your heart's gonna suffer......

Eating right means eat a well-balanced diet that's nutritious and don't indulge in overeating.

More importantly,cut down fats of all kinds as they're high in calories and in fat, putting you at risk of high cholesterol. If you must eat, opt for unsaturated fats. Avoid saturated fats and trans fat.

Health researchers also recommend we eat dietary fiber daily, sourced from vegetables, fruits, cereals and grains.

One very good source of fiber for your heart is oat, which has been clinically proven to reduce cholesterol as it binds the cholesterol-laden bile acids in the gut, hence preventing cholesterol from entering your blood stream.

So, eat more oats to keep your heart in healthy condition.

3. Regular medical check-ups!

This ensures that you're right on track with your heart health!


Cecelia Yap is a seasoned exerciser who walks the talk concerning exercise.

Her passion is exercise, fitness and eating right.

She shows you what works and what doesn't at her website: http://www.perfect-body-toning.com/index.html


To know how cardio exercise benefits your heart, go to: http://www.perfect-body-toning.com/cardio-exercises.html