As we know, the heart is considered to be one of the major muscles in the body. Although relatively the size of a fist, it is responsible for making sure that all the other organs are able to receive nutrients in order to efficiently perform their work. It is also only in the heart that one can find a group of self-starting cells. These cells are responsible for making sure that the beating pattern of the heart is kept to a regular rhythm. Because of the role that it plays in maintaining the other organs, it becomes even more important that we take care of our heart. While exercise and living a healthy lifestyle are some of the ways this can be done, nothing beats having the right kind of meal on your table. Not many people may know it but almonds is one of the food items that should not be without in your table.

If there is one kind of nut that you should be nuts (pun intended!) about, it should be the lowly Almonds. Almonds have been known to contain significant amount of anti-oxidants, fiber, and a number of vitamins and minerals. While the health benefits of Almonds have long been known among medical professionals as well as ordinary consumers, it is only recently that a research has been done about its various benefits to the heart.

Almonds belong to a species of trees that is considered to be native to the Middle Eastern region of Asia. It is considered to be a relative of the Peach and is valued for the edible seeds of the same name. With the recent study releases by the Aston University in the UK, it has been found out that almonds can actually help minimize the risk of heart problems by ensuring that one has healthy blood vessels. With the addition of almonds in one’s diet, researchers have observed lower blood pressure levels as well as lower risks for heart diseases, partly due to the presence of mono-unsaturated fats. This is credited to the fact that, with almonds one’s diet, the level of anti-oxidants is increased. Aside from providing enough anti-oxidants, almonds is also a good source of potassium which helps in maintaining the regular beating pattern of the heart. Having said that, the study also points to the fact that Mediterranean diet is considered to be one of the most healthiest meal around.

Now, while the lowly almond is something that can really help lower the risk of heart diseases, it is still nothing if you do not make sure that you have a regular exercise regiment as well as cut out some of the vices that you might have. This would include smoking, having too little sleep, and stressing yourself out.

One of the many ways you can prepare for a cardiac arrest is to have an AED unit in place. To know how you can effectively make use of an AED, you can check out the services being offered by Citywide CPR.

Stress is an integral part of life. Although most people view stress as something that is bad for them, that is actually not true all of the time. In fact, there are times when stress can be good for you especially when it helps you deal with situations that call for fight-or-flight response. However, much of stress, especially when not processed properly, can be bad not just for your mental health but for your physical health as well, and the first part of your body that gets affected by stress is none other than your heart.

Stress is your body’s way of responding to situations that make you feel threatened or cause you to lose your focus and balance. While, at first, most stress can feel alien to you, there would come a time when it would start feeling as something that is normal. What you may not know is that it is already wreaking havoc to your body. Fortunately, there are ways to determine if you are already experiencing stress overload. Some of these sign and symptoms would include:

• inability to focus and concentrate
• memory problems
• constant worrying
• persistent negative thoughts
• irritability and mood swings
• depression
• frequent colds and flu
• chest pain and rapid heartbeat
• loss of sex drive

In most cases, the chest pain and rapid heart beat could lead to either heart attack or a cardiac arrest. When that happens, there is a high risk of death especially if there is no one around to administer CPR or make use of an AED. This makes it all the more important for someone to make sure that he is able to manage his or her stress in a more productive manner.

Although it is impossible to lead a stress-free life, there are actually a number of things that you can do to keep it at a minimum. For one, you need to make sure that you keep a calm outlook in life. This, however, might require a lot of effort and practice so do not fret if it something that you are unable to master overnight. As much as possible, if you are faced with a stressful situation, take a deep breath and just let a big sigh while cleansing your mind of any worrisome thought.

Make sure that you start and end your day with positive thoughts. For most people, getting depressed typically leads to a cycle of negative thoughts. If you find yourself trapped in such, make every effort to get out of it. This can easily be done if you have a dependable support network made up of family and close friends. You also need to keep a firm belief that, sooner or later, everything would be all right. Keep in mind that there is nothing permanent in this world and whatever you are experiencing right now would, some day, go away.

Make yourself prepared to handle any type of situation by learning CPR. Citywide CPR can give you a hand in mastering this technique so that you can give much needed help when the situation calls for it.

For quite some time, heart attack has been considered as the leading cause of death in the US as well as in most parts of the world. While Cancer might be the holder of the said “title” for now, heart attack as well as cardiac arrest is still a major problem for many Americans. Fortunately, there are a number of ways on how to prevent the onset of  a heart problem, and one of it entails changing the way you eat.

First thing’s first. Before we go to the topic of how diet can have a great impact on the health of your heart, you have to understand first that there is a big difference between a heart attack as well as a cardiac arrest. Although both could, if left untreated, lead to tissue necrosis and death of the patient, heart attack takes place when blood is unable to reach the heart. This could be due to build up of plaques along the blood vessels. On the other hand, a cardiac arrest takes place when something interrupts the regular beating pattern of the heart. This could be due to extreme blunt force to the chest, or due to congenital problems with the heart. In both caes, however, the proper diet can strengthen the heart muscle as well as prevent the development of plaques.

Now, while most people believe an excess of cholesterol intake is the leading culprit when it comes to heart problems, that is not always the case. In fact, what most people should avoid is the oxidation of the cholesterol that we ingest. One of the ways this can be done is by avoiding food cooked using vegetable oil. It is also a good idea to make sure that the oil you would be using when cooking your food is not rancid. Most medical professionals agree that if it can be helped, stay way from cooking oil.

It is also recommended that once you have set yourself to follow the right diet, you should make sure that you keep to your diet plan. Going on and off actually does not work well for you and could lead to undue stress on your heart. Aside from this, going on and off your diet can lead to a build up of the wrong kind of cholesterol which, in turn, might lead to heart attack. While you’re at it, you also have to make sure that you stay away from junk food. Instead of the said kind of food, go for those that are rich in protein especially during breakfast. That being the case, make sure that you have an egg on your plate each morning. Be sure, however, that you do not overdo this one as too much protein can cause hypertension. To ensure that you do not overeat, make use of smaller plates. It is also a good idea to minimize your caffeine intake.

If you need help in ensuring that you know how to administer CPR should the situation call for it, Citywide CPR can be of help.

Technology might be able to offer us a number of conveniences but, at the end of the day, it also has its own limitation. For one, there are still a number of health conditions that continuously claim the lives of people each year. One of these is known as the Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest, or SCA, is considered to be one of the top reasons for high mortality rate in the US alone. Unfortunately, while it might be a holder of this infamous title, there are very few people who actually understand how SCA takes place.

Although most people use heart attack and cardiac arrest interchangeably, the two are not the same. Simply put, in a heart attack situation, there is something that blocks the blood from flowing through the blood vessels. On the other hand, in a cardiac arrest, something causes the heart to stop beating. In the case of the latter, the culprits largely include blunt force trauma to the chest, diabetes, and certain heart conditions like arrhythmia. The former, however, is a result of unhealthy lifestyle that causes a buildup of cholesterol deposits along the blood vessels.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest tends to be have higher risks of happening with people who have scarring in their heart tissue due to a prior heart attack. At risk are also individuals who have cardiomyopathy whether it occurred due to hypertension or valvular heart disease. Those who have problems with their blood vessels as well as those who are considered as recreational drug users are also prone to suffering from Sudden Cardiac Arrest. There are also certain heart medications that can actually give rise to Sudden Cardiac Arrest even when taken in regulation. That being the case, it is always best to check with your doctor if you have other options especially if you are already considered at risk for SCA.

A person suffering from a cardiac arrest typically loses consciousness without any notice. Tapping the shoulders of the person would elicit no response although you can still feel signs of weak breathing and weak pulse. In cases like these, a responder would need to act fast as time is of the essence. Why is this so? For every minute that oxygen-rich blood is unable to circulate and reach major organs, they become more and more likely to suffer from tissue necrosis. When the latter happens, it could lead to the person’s death.

What most medical professionals recommend when it comes to dealing with SCA is to, at least, provide chest compressions to the unconscious victim. This allows the blood to somehow circulate, and, this, should be continued until paramedics arrive or until the patient is revived. You have to keep in mind, however, that each compression should be at least an inch deep and should be repeated about 100 times per minute.

Now, giving chest compressions might be especially foreign for those who have not had any experience with CPR. Fortunately, one can always make use of an AED device in order to attend to an unconscious patient. With an AED, the responder would no longer have to worry what to do next as the device would already prompt him or her about what the next step would be.

Being a major powerhouse for the human body, it comes as no surprise that the heart is also a victim of wear and tear. This is the reason why, in today’s world of a million different stressors, the heart can succumb to a number of different medical conditions as well as diseases. One of what is considered to be the most life threatening conditions of the heart is known as arrhythmia.

From the name itself, one can surmise that arrhythmia is a heart condition that has something to do with the heart’s rhythm or beating pattern. Now, before you can understand what arrhythmia is about, you first have to realize that the heart is the only organ in the body that has a cluster of self-starting cells. It is these cells that allow the heart to beat as well as to follow a certain pattern. What these cells do is sent electric impulses in order to cause the heart to pump blood. In an arrhythmia, the beating pattern is not regular with some patients having slower beats while others have weak ones.

There are a number of things that could lead to arrhythmia. Some of these would include a scar in the heart tissue caused by a prior heart attack, drinking too much alcohol, regular consumption of too much caffeine, diabetes, stress, and even certain medications. Electric shock, pollution, and an overactive thyroid gland can also lead to arrhythmia.

A person suffering from arrhythmia typically experiences such symptoms as fluttering chest, a racing or a slow heartbeat, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, and fainting. Those who have had previous heart surgery as well as an existing heart condition are at a higher risk for arrhythmia. The same is also true for those who have hypertension, thyroid problems, sleep apnea, and electrolyte imbalance.

Because much rely on the heart’s ability to pump oxygen-rich blood to the different organs, one simple skip can lead to a number of problems. Two of the most life-threatening effect of arrhythmia is stroke, and heart failure. A patient who suffers from stroke usually has a clot along the brain surface. This happens when blood pools in a certain area and starts to harden. If the plaque is not remove on time, it would lead to a stroke. While it can be life-threatening, early detection and proper medical attention can help the patient to recover from it.

Heart failure, on the other hand, can come in two forms – heart attack, and cardiac arrest. In a heart attack a clot forms along the blood vessels which causes the blood flow to slow down. This, in turn, can lead to oxygen deprivation which, in turn, could lead to the organ’s death. Although the end-result is similar to a cardiac arrest, the two are not the same. In a cardiac arrest, the heart suddenly stops. This can be due to a blunt force trauma to the chest or an irregularity in the beating pattern that causes the heart to starve of oxygen. Cardiac arrest typically does not show any sign or symptom which makes it more dangerous between the two. Your best hope to make it through a cardiac arrest is to have an AED unit on hand that can assist anyone in reviving you.

Your heart is one of those responsible for ensuring that your other organs are able to function smoothly. That being the case, it is only right that you really take time to get to know what are the things you need to do in order to better take care of it.

When it comes to your heart, nothing beats having the right diet. Foods that are low in “bad cholesterol” is good for the heart. While you’re at it, you might also want to consider if there is any on your plate that causes your middle to go out of shape. This is because studies suggest that having a waistline that’s out of shape actually puts pressure on the heart and is known to lead to hypertension. That means, aside from making sure that you eat right, you also have to find a way to make sure that you shed off those excess calories that you have taken in. Some of the food items that you might want to consider, however, include salsa, fish, lots of greens, and of course, fruits. A moderate quantity of alcohol, particularly red wine has also been known to increase HDL, also known as the good cholesterol, which, as the name implies, is good for the heart.

While it might sound funny, having sex is actually one of the best ways to keep your heart in shape. Aside from lowering blood pressure, studies also suggest that having regular bedtime romp can actually lessen your risk of developing certain heart diseases. Sex has also been known to act as a stress reliever further allowing your heart much needed energy.

No matter what kind of dance you are into, moving your feet and swaying your hips can actually do wonders for your heart. This is a good alternative for those who abhor working out. As long as you are moving to a certain tune, you are actually raising your heart rate as well as burning some calories. A dance routine lasting at least 30 minutes should do the trick. If you are the type who happens to have two left feet, then your best bet would be to enroll yourself in some yoga classes. Yoga classes not only help keep you limber, it also allows you to deal with stress in a more productive manner.

As clichéd as it may sound being positive and really laughing out loud can give your heart more mileage. It is important to note that stress, which is the opposite of being able to laugh out loud, actually causes your endothelium to be damaged. This, in turn, can cause a number of problems concerning your blood flow.

Of course, it is also a good idea to be aware of your numbers. This would include your blood sugar as well as your blood pressure. This can help you monitor your pattern and know when you need to slow down a bit or when you can have the time of your life. Now, while you’re at it, you might also want to consider having an AED unit around just in case something happens to you. An AED unit can prove to be helpful even when there’s no one around who knows CPR.

Just like any other organ in the body, the heart is also in much need of oxygen in order to function smoothly. It is able to get the said “nutrition” with a little help from the coronary arteries that are spread all throughout the walls of the heart. Unfortunately, because of the amount of blood that they carry as well as their nearness to the heart, they are also the one of the first places where plaques caused by cholesterol deposits start to form. These blockages causes a slowing down of the blood supply to the heart which, if left untreated, could, later on, lead to a myocardial infarction.

Fortunately, myocardial infarction is not the type of heart disease that sneaks up on you. At the very least, a patient suffering from it would be able to experience a number of signs and symptoms that would alert him to the presence of the said heart disease. Some of these symptoms would include chest pain in relation to shortness of breath, heaviness behind the breastbone that spreads out to the jaw area as well as to the limbs. In some cases, the patient may also feel a tingling sensation in his or her hands, fingers, and toes. Nausea, indigestion, and abdominal pain might also occur.

While some patient might not suffer from cholesterol deposits in their blood vessels, they might have problems with how their valves were formed. Some valves can be too narrow which could lead to the heart having to pump harder. Of course, this stresses the heart and could lead to a slower blood flow in the future. On the other hand, there are also those that have valves that do not close properly. When this happens, blood that should already be travelling to another chamber, flows back and causes the heart to have problems pumping. This also leads to reduced blood flow to other parts of the heart as well as the body. Although the valve might not be seen as a major part of the heart, any problem with it can actually be life – threatening.

There are also instances when the heart is unable to follow a regular pattern when it comes to how it beats. Now, you have to understand that the heart is the only organ that has its own self-starter. This clump of cells are responsible for making sure that the heart keeps to a certain beating pattern. A number of factors, however, can cause the pattern to go haywire. This is typically known as arrhythmia and is generally caused by high blood pressure, diabetes, electric shock, stress, and certain medications, among others. Although it might seem like a relatively simple condition, arrhythmia can actually be life threatening and could even lead to sudden cardiac arrest. It should be noted, though, that Sudden Cardiac Arrest, or SCA, is quite different from a heart attack. In an SCA, the patient falls unconscious without much of a warning. Because the signs and symptoms of the two, however, are very much similar, most medical professionals recommend treating an unconscious patient for SCA first. The guess work, however, can be minimized if the person happens to have an AED unit around. An AED unit can help assess an unconscious person and guide the responder on what should be done next.

Unless you have been living under the rock, you are verily aware that the heart is considered to be one of the major organs of the body. Unfortunately, even though it is considered as a major organ, very few people are actually aware of the different risks that could lead to a heart condition.

Although most believe that switching from a sugar-laden food to the use of artificial sweetener is a healthy way to go, in the case of your heart, this might not be a good move. Recent studies have shown that drinks that claim to contain no calories in them as well as those that make use of artificial sweeteners actually increase the risk of heart problems especially in women.

It could be a combination of a number of other factors but individuals who travel more than 30 miles every day tend to have higher risk for hypertension and heart problems. The same study that puts forth the said findings have also noted a shorter lifespan. One reason for this might be the stress that one has to simultaneously deal with while driving down the road. This is aside from the constant pollution that one has to go through.

Pain medication is another culprit known for increasing the risk for certain conditions. While most people associate pain medications with stomach bleeding, it actually is also notorious for causing blood clot to form when it should not. This, in turn, could lead to stroke as well as heart attack. Aside from this, pain medications have also been known to cause the kidney to retain more water which lead to higher blood pressure. Fortunately, only those that have pre-existing heart conditions are prone to these.

Individuals who suffer from celiac disease might also want to consider keeping away from food made from high-fiber whole grains. Recent studies have shown that the said ingredient actually doubles the risk for heart problems for those with celiac disease. The same can also be said for the vegetable oil as recent studies have shown that replacing saturated fat with vegetable oils actually increase the risk for heart problems. This is opposite to common belief that vegetable oil is the healthier option.

Now, married life for many might seem like a lot of sacrifice. In truth, however, this might actually save you from a number of heart conditions especially if you are 50 and below years of age. Sitting too much, especially if you are being a couch potato, as well as having a low blood pressure are also two of the ways by which you can increase your risk for heart problems. While the former causes clots to form especially if you have been sedentary for long periods of time, the latter causes various organs to suffer from oxygen starvation. Left unattended, this could actually lead to tissue necrosis and, later on, to cardiac arrest.

If you find yourself at a higher risk for heart problem, it would be to your advantage to undergo CPR training as well as to have an AED unit on hand. This would help ensure that the people around you would be able to deal with situations that might arise from your condition.

When it comes to sustaining life, one muscle carries much of the burden. That muscle is none other than the heart. For years now, men have always been fascinated how something the size of a fist can actually support a body more than 10 times its size. Now, while many books have been written about it, there are still actually some things that you might not be aware of.

One of the many things that not many people know about is the fact that the human heart actually does not start out as a fist-shaped muscle. In fact, the heart starts out as a tube-like organ not unlike the ones that can be found in gold fish. Because the other organs and muscles in the fetus are also growing at a phenomenal rate, the “tube” heart has to double back into a horseshoe-like shape. A few weeks more and this horseshoe develops two chambers. A few more weeks and a third chamber develops. This goes on until what started out as a “tube” heart becomes a four-chambered muscle, roughly the size of the person’s fist.

It is also a little known fact that, although the heart is considered to be at the center part of the chest, it is actually the left side that does most of the work. This is one of the reasons why a number of people in the past erroneously believed that the heart is located at the left side of the chest. Why does the left side pump harder than the right side? Because, the left part of the heart is responsible for delivering blood to the farthest parts of the body while the right is responsible for the lungs.

Ever had an argument about which one is more important – the heart or the brain? Well, you can now safely answer, “heart”. This is because, within the heart, one can find the Sino-Atrial Node, a group of neurons that are considered to be self-starters since they do not need external stimuli in order to work. Now, these neurons are the ones responsible for firing up and allowing the heart to keep a normal beating pattern. When the SA node fires up an electric signal, the heart muscles alternate between twisting and relaxing in order to open up the valves and, thus, allowing the blood to flow from one chamber to the next.

While most people make use of “heart attack” and “cardiac arrest” interchangeably, the two terms actually do not refer to the same thing. In a heart attack, the blood vessels going to the heart are blocked causing the heart to starve from oxygen. On the other hand, in a cardiac arrest, something causes the heart to, at the very least, skip a beat. Both, however, lead to the major organs suffering from tissue necrosis which, ultimately, would lead to the victim’s death.

In order to deal particularly with the last scenario, your best move would be to make sure that you have at least an AED unit on hand. An alternative to this would be to make sure that the people around you have undergone a CPR certification training program.

One of the things that an athlete, as well as an active person, would typically monitor on a daily basis is his or her pulse rate. For an ordinary person, however, this might be something that he or she would have very little interest in. In truth, however, one’s pulse rate can be an indication of his or her well-being.

The heart rate is the number of heart beats in a minute. While there is no specific numbers that define what a normal heart rate is, the figures generally show a constant pattern in one person. One has to remember, however, that these numbers could change depending on a number of factors such as age and any existing heart condition. Other factors that could have an impact on your pulse rate would include the air temperature, the position of the body when the pulse rate was taken, and if the person is making use of any medication.

Although most people associate pulse rate with beats that can be felt from the pulse, there are actually other places where one can check the pulse rate. This would include the inside of your elbow, the side of your neck, and the top of your foot. Now, in order to get your normal pulse rate, you would need to take what is known as the resting heart rate. This can typically be taken when you are lying down and relaxed. All you have to do is count the number of beats that you have within a 60-second period. In most cases, the resting hear rate is within the range of 60 and 100.

So what does the heart rate tell you?

One of the many conditions that can easily be detected using one’s heart or pulse rate is arrhythmia. Arrhythmia is the medical term for an irregular heartbeat. People with this condition might experience either a very fast heartbeat, a slow one, or an irregular one. Although, in most cases, arrhythmia does not pose much of a threat, a person with an irregular heartbeat could be of risk for cardiac arrest. This is because each time the heart skips a beat, the needed oxygen supply being brought by the blood becomes insufficient. This, in turn, can lead to tissue necrosis on major organs.

In majority of the cases, a fast heart rate is also indicative of anemia as well as an overactive thyroid. On the other hand, a slow pulse suggests an underactive thyroid. Pulse rates that are weak are also an indication of blood clot in the limbs as well as the existence of certain heart conditions.

But when exactly do you call the doctor?

In most cases, you would need to see a doctor if you notice a slowing down of your heart rate, or if there is a sudden increase in your heart rate that does not readily go away or is not brought about by exciting events. Dizziness and fainting are also two signs that you might need to hurry to your local hospital’s emergency section. In all of these, you have to make sure that you have someone around you who is familiar with CPR techniques. It would also be to your advantage if you can have an AED unit on hand.