Heart and Artery Health

Definition

The term heart disease (coronary heart disease) is a term that describes many heart disorders, including high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and clogging of the arteries.

Any number of diseases related to the heart and blood vessels can come under the umbrella of heart disease. Grouped together these diseases are the leading cause of death in the Western world.

Description

Your heart is a living pump. It works to keep your blood moving and oxygenated. A network of blood vessels called coronary arteries supply blood and nutrients to your heart to keep it functioning in this way.

Statistics

“Heart and blood vessel diseases kill more than 16 million people worldwide and account for 30% of total deaths each year.” (WHO)
Cardiovascular diseases are the number one killer of both women and men.

Causes

Decades of research show that poor lifestyle choices, beginning in childhood, are the main causes of cardiovascular disease. Ongoing factors, such as poor diet, nutritional deficiency, lack of exercise, poor fluid intake and increased toxicity and stresses form a recipe for circulatory disaster.

All of the above are major risk factors. More specifically, high blood pressure - hypertension (itself a result of any/all of the above), tobacco use, increased intake of saturated fats, lack of essential antioxidants (excessive exposure to free radicals via pesticides, chlorinated water, air pollutants and other toxic chemicals, for example, is a strong risk factor for cardiovascular disease), elevated blood cholesterol, convenience lifestyle (i.e. reduced exercise) and genetic predisposition.

Diagnosis

Sadly, in most cases the first indication of cardiovascular disease is an actual acute heart event. This is because many of the underlying symptoms are either mistakenly considered a consequence of some other condition or disease, or they are simply misdiagnosed.

On most occasions symptoms are not noticed by the patient until such time that they cause a major condition….often being put down to another unrelated condition, being ‘run down’, or being under ‘stress’.

Signs & Symptoms

As mentioned above, often symptoms are not noticeable until an actual stage of disease has already manifested.

Some symptoms associated with coronary artery disease may be more pronounced however. Such signs include:

Angina (chest pain) - This is the most common symptom, resulting from the heart intermittently not getting enough blood or oxygen. The intensity of the pain may vary from person to person.

Treatment

As is the case with most degenerative diseases there are two avenues of treatment - conventional (allopathic) and alternative (natural) treatment.

Conventional medicine employs surgery and drugs to treat the symptoms of cardiovascular Conventional Treatments

Lifestyle changes are of course the first line of prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Conventional medicine recommends medical interventions ranging from drugs to surgery. For example, a bypass operation may be performed to reduce a person's risk of a heart attack, or to try to help stop any further heart attacks from taking place. When this operation is performed a blood vessel from another body area is used to ‘re-route’ blood around the blocked artery.

Natural Treatments

Whereas conventional drugs aim to suppress and stem symptoms, the natural approach aims at containing and even reversing the underlying causes of cardiovascular disease, such as the beginning of atherosclerosis. Nutritional supplements and dietary interventions are generally based on the principles that aim at preventative measures too.

Diet and lifestyle changes and correct nutritional supplementation are categorically the most important tools in the natural treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Protocol

Three (3) recommended protocols for heart and artery health.

Product
Xtend-Life Cardio-Klenz
Xtend-Life Total Balance
Omega 3/DHA Esters