1/6/2009
health
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health ) ) ) take heart
IT FUNCTIONS SO EFFORTLESSLY AND CONTINUOUSLY THAT WE USUALLY forget it’s there—our body’s muscular engine relentlessly pumping our life force through our veins. And while the beating of your heart might not command your daily attention, its consistency and its overall health are certainly not to be taken for granted.
Despite our increasingly health-
The ultimate culmination of any type
conscious society, cardiovascular disease
of heart disease is a heart attack, or a
is still the No. 1 cause of death in the
myocardial infarction, in scientific terms.
United States, with almost 700,000
According to the American Heart
people succumbing every year. That’s
Association, a heart attack occurs when
about 29 percent of all U.S. deaths, and
the blood supply to part of the heart
that statistic isn’t just reserved for the
muscle is severely reduced or stopped.
elderly. In fact, more than 150,000
This reduction or stoppage happens when
Americans killed by cardiovascular
one or more of the coronary arteries
disease each year are under age 65.
supplying blood to the heart muscle is
Worldwide, coronary heart disease kills
blocked, usually due to a buildup of
more than 7 million people each year.
plaque, a fat-like substance. This plaque
And it doesn’t discriminate—heart
can eventually burst, tear, or rupture,
disease is the leading cause of death for
creating a “snag” where a blood clot
American Indians and Alaska Natives,
forms and blocks the artery … which
blacks, Hispanics, and whites, and is the
leads to a heart attack.
second leading cause of death for
We hear about heart attacks all
Asians and Pacific Islanders. Coronary
the time, and most of us associate it
heart disease is the principal type of
with the stereotypical, dramatic
heart disease, but cardiovascular
vision of someone clutching his or
disease also encompasses stroke,
her chest with sudden pain.
high blood pressure, heart failure,
However, many heart attacks
and other conditions like
develop slowly and with milder
arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation,
symptoms, and a major goal of the
cardiomyopathy, and
American Heart Association is to
peripheral arterial
educate the public to recognize
disease.
those symptoms more quickly.
“
Despite our increasingly healthconscious society, cardiovascular disease is still the No. 1 cause of death in the United States.
”
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Immediate medical care is crucial in
Tobacco use (more than 46 million
any coronary event, and the sooner
American adults are daily smokers) and
someone realizes the signals of a heart
excessive alcohol consumption increase
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attack, the sooner they can dial 9-1-1.
the risk of heart attack, as does poor
Most people know that chest pain
diet, physical inactivity, and obesity,
and discomfort are symptoms of a heart
which is a growing cause for concern in
9\U [OYV\NO [OL ILH\[PM\S YVSSPUN MHYT SHUKZ VM ,HZ[LYU 3HUJHZ[LY *V\U[`
attack, with pain levels ranging from
and of itself—66 percent of adults are
slight to intense. However, discomfort in
overweight and more than 31 percent
other areas of the upper body can also
are considered obese.
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occur, such as in the arms, back, neck,
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that coronary heart disease costs more
shortness of breath with or without
than $258 billion per year in terms of
chest pain, and they may also experience
health care services, medications, and
nausea, lightheadedness, or breaking out
lost productivity.
in a cold sweat. Interestingly, although the most
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magazine | s p r i n g 2 0 0 9
There is hope, however: the American Heart Association’s Heart
common heart attack symptom for both
Disease and Stroke Statistics update for
genders is chest pain, women tend to
2009 shows that death rates from heart
experience these other symptoms more
disease have begun to decline, from a
often—particularly shortness of breath,
death rate of 278.9 per 100,000 people
nausea and vomiting, and back or jaw
in 2005 down to 262.9 in 2006. From
pain.
1995 to 2005, death rates from
Though cardiovascular disease can
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With those figures, it’s no wonder
jaw, or stomach. Victims can experience
cardiovascular disease declined 26.4
be a hereditary condition, there are
percent. There is a
numerous lifestyle choices we can make
long way yet to go,
to reduce our risk. Existing conditions
but efforts to
such as high cholesterol and blood
increase awareness
pressure, as well as diabetes, elevate the
might be beginning
chances of developing heart disease.
to pay off. ) ) )
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spring 2009|
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