Smoking - First class ticket to a heart attack!!!

Yes, you've heard the antismoking rant before. But there's a reason for it. Quitting smoking should top your list of things to do to avoid heart disease. And that's true even if the only time you light up is over mojitos with friends. Recent research shows that smoking between one and five cigarettes a day triples your chance of dying from a heart attack, and that it's even worse for women than for men. Smoking narrows arteries, raises blood pressure, thickens blood, and makes it more likely to clot — the classic recipe for a heart attack. This is especially true if you have other risk factors, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which together with smoking make you much more likely to get heart disease. You take birth control and smoke? You've just put another bullet in the gun. That combo raises blood pressure and can lead to blood clots, further increasing your risk.

While studies have shown that women have a harder time breaking the habit than men, there is encouraging news: A fall 2006 study from the University of Chicago shows that the prescription drug naltrexone — when used in combination with behavioral therapy and nicotine patches — boosted smoking cessation rates among women by 50 percent (though it made no difference in men). Naltrexone also reduced weight gain in the first month after quitting. Talk to your doctor about the drug.


Source: Womenshealthmagazine.com
Photo credit : themindofjustin.com

Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: Have a Healthy Heart

Step 1

So, how's your mum?

Researchers have long believed that having a close family member (mum, dad, sister, or brother) with cardiovascular disease was one of the clearest predictors of heart trouble in your own future. But according to a 2006 Swedish study, it's really Mum you need to worry about. Your risk increases by 17 percent if your father has heart disease, but it shoots up by a whopping 43 percent if your mother is afflicted. This may be more environment than genetics, since children typically spend more time with their mothers and tend to learn lifestyle habits from them. But even if you don't smoke and do exercise, it's possible that your risk could still be up as much as 82 percent if both of your parents had heart disease.

Which doesn't mean you're doomed, of course. But it does mean you shouldn't waste any time. If you have a family history, specialists recommend in-depth tests that go beyond the normal blood workup every few years, starting in your mid*40s. First, talk to your doctor about having a CT scan of your heart, which can detect attack-causing plaque buildup in your arteries — even years in advance.

All women should request more detailed blood tests that measure not only the level of cholesterol but its type and size — factors that affect the heart in ways that scientists are only now beginning to understand. Talk to your doctor about a standard lipid profile. A blood test can also detect the presence of C-reactive protein in the bloodstream, which may contribute to plaque formation. More prevalent in people who are overweight, sedentary, hypertensive, or smokers, C-reactive protein's presence accurately predicts the likelihood of heart attacks in women with relatively low cholesterol, and researchers speculate that it could signal heart disease before symptoms develop. Ask your doctor to check your numbers next time you get blood work done.

this is an 8 part feature focusing on ways to keep your heart beating for a very long time.