Tag Archives: human heart

Health, Health & Beauty, Nutrition

DO YOU SUFFER FROM HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE? SODIUM, IT’S IN EVERYTHING…


If you are suffering from High Blood Pressure the culprit could be sodium.

Have you been reading the labels lately?

I had stopped reading the labels for a couple of years knowing I had read the labels for the items I had chosen. I was shocked to see the changes. Today it seems all products contain some sort of sodium. If you are reading your labels as you shop you will notice SODIUM even when it says “NO ADDED SALT, LOW SALT and LOW SODIUM”.

For optimal heart-health, the American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium daily. Too much salt, says Dr. Pollak from MAYO Clinic, can increase your blood pressure, in turn, increasing your risk for a heart attack or stroke.

As you can see in the chart below the changes are constant. Today one slice of white bread has 130mg of sodium. Bottled Water has Calcium Chloride, Sodium Bicarbonate which equals to 5mg per 1 cup. More and more products are hiking up the sodium count so watch your labels.

What shocked me the most was milk and water!!!

I didn’t realize no matter what type of organic, fancy expensive or regular cheap cow milk the sodium levels were no less than 120mg of sodium in a one cup serving. WOW, I searched every label in the dairy section just to find that some milks went even higher.

Water, really!!! Adding sodium to every bottled water. Not only sodium, flavoring and natural minerals. Natural minerals, already known to be in water. Minerals are removed when reverse osmosis takes place to filter out the harmful additives. This is no joke. Next time you buy water check it out.

I always shy away from processed meats, processed cheeses and spreads, canned soups and frozen food as much as possible. These are products that can contain thousands of milligrams of sodium. The manufactures use sodium as a natural preservative. It is widely used in all foods.

ideal blood pressure chart 70

You can no longer trust the same brand to continue to have the same ingredients as weeks and months go by. It had only been 1 year since I had last read the labels on some of the staple products I buy each week. Big changes in those foods happened and I wasn’t paying attention. I was intaking so much sodium I had 6 heart attacks in 4 days thinking it was heart burn. Yeah it was heart burn alright. I thought I was doing my healthy life style eating habits but I slipped up and stopped paying attention.

So Remember… READ YOUR LABELS

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LADY KILLER… CLAIMS 1 WOMAN EVERY MINUTE

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HEART DIEASE CLAIMS THE LIFE OF A WOMAN EVERY MINUTE.

  1. Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
  2. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
  3. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
  4. Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
  5. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.

You may think you have indigestion, heartburn or discomfort in your chest. The doctor told me that it was just heart burn and prescribed antacids. I had 6 heart attacks in 4 days. I was taking apple cider vinegar thinking it was heartburn. I think it saved my life. I have a new doctor now!!!

Let’s Win This Together
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. Support the innovative research, education and prevention services that protect the women we love.

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DONATE TODAY… American Heart Association

SEE YOUR DOCTOR – GET CHECKED TODAY

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WOMEN AND HOLIDAY STRESS…TIRED, CHEST PAIN, LEG PAIN, HEART ATTACK


IT’S THE HOLIDAY SEASON AND HERE COMES ALL THE STRESS!!!

ARE YOU DREAMING OF DANCING LOLLIPOPS AND WALTZING WITH GINGERBREAD MEN?

I highly doubt you are feeling all warm and dreamy about Christmas at this point. D-Day is tomorrow and you are behind on getting all the goodies under the tree. Baking cookies and treats for your spectacular day to celebrate with family and friends.

It’s time to take a minute to check on yourself… Litterly sit yourself down and take a 5 minute break. If you are feeling tired or even exhausted to the point where you don’t feel well.

Don’t wait to get help if you experience any of these heart attack warning signs. Some heart attacks are sudden and intense. But most start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Pay attention to your body and call 911 if you experience:

DONT HESITATE CALL 911

Symptoms vary between men and women

As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain (angina) or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

Learn about the warning signs of heart attack in women.

  1. Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
  2. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
  3. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
  4. Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
  5. As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.

Watch video: “Just A Little Heart Attack” – a short film directed by and starring Elizabeth Banks

This is just a few of the warning signs prior to a heart attack.

  • Leg pain night or day
  • Sudden Rise in Blood Pressure
  • Shortness of Breath

ideal blood pressure chart 70

Top 10 Myths About Cardiovascular Disease

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American Heart Association… 10 MYTHS Of HEART DISEASE

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Top 10 Myths About Cardiovascular Disease

  • “I’m too young to worry about heart disease.” How you live now affects your risk for cardiovascular diseases later in life. As early as childhood and adolescence, plaque can start accumulating in the arteries and later lead to clogged arteries. One in three Americans has cardiovascular disease, but not all of them are senior citizens. Even young and middle-aged people can develop heart problems – especially now that obesity, type 2 diabetes and other risk factors are becoming more common at a younger age.
  • “I’d know if I had high blood pressure because there would be warning signs.” High blood pressure is called the “silent killer” because you don’t usually know you have it. You may never experience symptoms, so don’t wait for your body to alert you that there’s a problem. The way to know if you have high blood pressure is to check your numbers with a simple blood pressure test. Early treatment of high blood pressure is critical because, if left untreated, it can cause heart attack, stroke, kidney damage and other serious health problems. Learn how high blood pressure is diagnosed.
  • “I’ll know when I’m having a heart attack because I’ll have chest pain.” Not necessarily. Although it’s common to have chest pain or discomfort, a heart attack may cause subtle symptoms. These include shortness of breath, nausea, feeling lightheaded, and pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the jaw, neck or back. Even if you’re not sure it’s a heart attack, call 911 immediately. Learn you risk of heart attack today!
  • “Diabetes won’t threaten my heart as long as I take my medication.” Treating diabetes can help reduce your risk for or delay the development of cardiovascular diseases. But even when blood sugar levels are under control, you’re still at increased risk for heart disease and stroke. That’s because the risk factors that contribute to diabetes onset also make you more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. These overlapping risk factors include high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, physical inactivity and smoking.
  • “Heart disease runs in my family, so there’s nothing I can do to prevent it.” Although people with a family history of heart disease are at higher risk, you can take steps to dramatically reduce your risk. Create an action plan to keep your heart healthy by tackling these to-dos: get active; control cholesterol; eat better; manage blood pressure; maintain a healthy weight; control blood sugar; and stop smoking.
  • “I don’t need to have my cholesterol checked until I’m middle-aged.” The American Heart Association recommends you start getting your cholesterol checked every 5 years starting at age 20. It’s a good idea to start having a cholesterol test even earlier if your family has a history of heart disease. Children in these families can have high cholesterol levels, putting them at increased risk for developing heart disease as adults. You can help yourself and your family by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.
  • “Heart failure means the heart stops beating.” The heart suddenly stops beating during cardiac arrest, not heart failure. With heart failure, the heart keeps working, but it doesn’t pump blood as well as it should. It can cause shortness of breath, swelling in the feet and ankles or persistent coughing and wheezing. During cardiac arrest, a person loses consciousness and stops normal breathing.
  • “This pain in my legs must be a sign of aging. I’m sure it has nothing to do with my heart.” Leg pain felt in the muscles could be a sign of a condition called peripheral artery disease. PAD results from blocked arteries in the legs caused by plaque buildup. The risk for heart attack or stroke increases for people with PAD.
  • “My heart is beating really fast. I must be having a heart attack.” Some variation in your heart rate is normal. Your heart rate speeds up during exercise or when you get excited, and slows down when you’re sleeping. Most of the time, a change in your heartbeat is nothing to worry about. But sometimes, it can be a sign of arrhythmia, an abnormal or irregular heartbeat. Most arrhythmias are harmless, but some can last long enough to impact how well the heart works and require treatment.
  • “I should avoid exercise after having a heart attack.” No! As soon as possible, get moving with a plan approved for you! Research shows that heart attack survivors who are regularly physically active and make other heart-healthy changes live longer than those who don’t. People with chronic conditions typically find that moderate-intensity activity is safe and beneficial. The American Heart Association recommends at least two and a half hours of moderate intensity physical activity each week For Overall Cardiovascular Health. Find the help you need by joining a cardiac rehabilitation program, but first consult your healthcare provider for advice on developing a physical activity plan tailored to your needs.
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Spinach Leaf Transformed Into Beating Human Heart Tissue

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National Geographic    By Delaney Chambers    Published March 26, 2017

Using the plant like scaffolding, scientists built a mini version of a working heart, which may one day aid in tissue regeneration.

Left: A decellularized spinach leaf is pictured before dye is added to test its ability to filter blood through tissue.Right: Picture of a spinach leaf after it successfully demonstrated red dye could be pumped through its veins, simulating the blood, oxygen and nutrients human heart tissue needs to grow.

Photograph courtesy Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Scientists have found a way to use spinach to build working human heart muscle, potentially solving a long-standing problem in efforts to repair damaged organs.

Their study, published this month by the journal Biomaterials, offers a new way to grow a vascular system, which has been a roadblock for tissue engineering.

Scientists have already created large-scale human tissue in a lab using methods like 3D printing, but it’s been much harder to grow the small, delicate blood vessels that are vital to tissue health.

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Picture of leaf before dye

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Picture of a leaf after dye is infused into its veins

Transforming a Spinach Leaf Into Beating Human Heart Tissue

“The main limiting factor for tissue engineering … is the lack of a vascular network,” says study co-author Joshua Gershlak, a graduate student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, in a video describing the study. “Without that vascular network, you get a lot of tissue death.”
One of the defining traits of a leaf is the branching network of thin veins that delivers water and nutrients to its cells. Now, scientists have used plant veins to replicate the way blood moves through human tissue. The work involves modifying a spinach leaf in the lab to remove its plant cells, which leaves behind a frame made of cellulose.

“Cellulose is biocompatible [and] has been used in a wide variety of regenerative medicine applications, such as cartilage tissue engineering, bone tissue engineering, and wound healing,” the authors write in their paper.

The team then bathed the remaining plant frame in live human cells, so that the human tissue grew on the spinach scaffolding and surrounded the tiny veins. Once they had transformed the spinach leaf into a sort of mini heart, the team sent fluids and microbeads through its veins to show that blood cells can flow through this system.

The eventual goal is to be able to replace damaged tissue in patients who have had heart attacks or who have suffered other cardiac issues that prevent their hearts from contracting. Like blood vessels, the veins in the modified leaves would deliver oxygen to the entire swath of replacement tissue, which is crucial in generating new heart matter.

The study team says the same methods could be used with different types of plants to repair a variety of tissues in the body. For instance, swapping out the cells in wood might one day help fix human bones.

We have a lot more work to do, but so far this is very promising,” study co-author Glenn Gaudette, also of WPI, says in a press statement. “Adapting abundant plants that farmers have been cultivating for thousands of years for use in tissue engineering could solve a host of problems limiting the field.”

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