Preventing & Reversing Heart Disease For Dummies E-Book

James M. Rippe

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Seitenzahl: 535

Beschreibung

The safe and trusted way to prevent and reverse heart disease Written in plain English and packed with tons of authoritative advice, Preventing & Reversing Heart Disease For Dummies includes the most up-to-date information on coronary heart disease and its treatment. This resource covers new ways to diagnose and treat both short- and long-term complications of heart disease, the latest medications, updated diet and exercise plans, the lowdown on recognizing the risk factors and warning signs of a heart attack, determining if you have heart disease, distinguishing between angina, heart attack, and stroke, and much more. It is projected that by the year 2020, heart disease will be the leading cause of death throughout the world. As the magnitude of cardiovascular diseases continue to accelerate globally, the pressing need for increased awareness and a stronger, more focused national and international response has become more important than ever. Preventing & Reversing Heart Disease For Dummies tackles this vital subject with compassion and authority, outlining the steps you can take to help ensure you don't become just another statistic. * Helps you find the right doctor and handle a managed care plan * Covers all thirteen types of heart disease and discusses the key differences that may determine their progression and treatment * Illustrates how simple changes in diet may be enough to prevent heart disease * Shows how you can reverse some of the effects of heart disease through exercise If you're suffering from or are at risk of heart disease--or love someone who is--Preventing & Reversing Heart Disease For Dummies empowers you to take control of heart health and get on a path to a longer, healthier life.

Leseprobe

Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease For Dummies®

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2014948558

ISBN 978-1-118- 94423-3 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118- 94424-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118- 94425-7

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Preventing & Reversing Heart Disease For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/preventingreversingheartdisease to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I: Getting Started with Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease

Chapter 1: Taking Charge of Your Heart Health

Facing the Bad News about Heart Disease

Seizing the Good News about Preventing Heart Disease

Checking Out Heart Disease as an Equal Opportunity Health Problem

If you’re an adult younger than 65

If you’re a woman

If you’re African American

If you’re a parent

If you’re older

Reversing the Risks for Heart Disease

Reversing Heart Disease — Hope or Hype?

Taking Charge of Your Heart Health

Chapter 2: Understanding the Onset and Outcomes of Heart Disease

Touring the Heart and Cardiovascular System

Pumping for life: The heart’s anatomy and function

Connecting every cell in your body: The cardiovascular system

Keeping the beat: How the nervous system controls heart rate

Understanding How Heart Disease Begins and Develops

Defining atherosclerosis — the most common form of cardiovascular disease

Triggering the precursors of atherosclerosis

Progressing to fatty streaks

Growing from fatty streaks to large plaques

Differentiating between stable and unstable plaques

Understanding a different type of coronary disease: Microvascular disease

Knowing when chest pain is an emergency

Recognizing the Symptoms and Manifestations of Coronary Heart Disease

Recognizing angina, or chest pain

Understanding the causes of angina

Considering angina’s effect on the heart

Diagnosing angina

Distinguishing other causes of chest pain

Treating angina

Defining Unstable Angina

Defining a Heart Attack

Understanding the causes of a heart attack

Recognizing the symptoms of a heart attack

Differentiating between heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest

Taking Action — Immediately — for a Possible Heart Attack

Other Manifestations of Heart Disease

Arrhythmias

Heart failure

Stroke

Heart valve problems

Chapter 3: Are You at Risk of Heart Disease? How to Turn That Risk Around

Defining Risk Factors

Identifying important risk factors

Multiplying risks — double trouble and more

Heading off trouble by controlling risk

Tailoring prevention to individual needs

Tackling Risk Factors That You Can Control

Having hypertension — high blood pressure

Having unhealthy cholesterol levels

Using tobacco

Being physically inactive

Being obese or overweight

Having diabetes mellitus

Experiencing stress and/or depression

Watching for Risk Factors That You Cannot Modify

Paying Attention to Emerging Risk Factors

Part II: Taking Basic Steps to Heart Health

Chapter 4: Forming a Partnership with Your Doctor for the Best Heart Care

Building a Solid Healthcare Partnership

Selecting a primary-care doctor

Finding the right cardiologist

Choosing and working with a managed-care plan

Hunting down a hospital

Establishing a Partnership with Your Physician

Identifying what you have a right to expect of your physician

Looking at what your physician has a right to expect of you

Helping your primary-care doctor and cardiologist communicate

Optimizing office visits

Making testing easier

Considering Special Issues in the Doctor-Patient Relationship

Participating in research studies

Getting your physician’s attention when it’s difficult

Getting a second opinion

Changing to a new doctor when necessary

Chapter 5: Embracing a Healthy Diet and Active Lifestyle

Making Nutrition Work for You

Choosing Healthy Pleasures: Guidelines for Eating Right While Eating Well

Eat a variety of nutritious whole foods daily

Limit sodium, problem fats, and energy-dense foods

Balance the energy you eat with the energy you burn

Counting ketchup as a vegetable? Tips for heart-healthy dining out

Understanding Physical Activity and What It Can Do for Heart Health

Recognizing the difference between physical activity and exercise

Identifying the benefits of physical activity

Understanding How Much Physical Activity Is Enough

Judging moderate intensity

Thinking no pain, no gain? No way!

Choosing the Right Activity for You

Planning your activity program

Sticking with your program for the long haul

Making Sure You Don’t Overdo It

Recognizing six signs of overexercising

Sounding medic alert: Symptoms to watch for during exercise

Chapter 6: Tapping the Power of the Mind/Body Connection

Understanding the Connections between Stress and the Heart

Defining stress

Describing positive versus negative stress

Linking stress to heart disease

Linking stress to high blood pressure

Linking Type A personality traits to heart problems

Linking anger to dangerous heart problems

Making Connections: Friendship, Intimacy, and Cardiac Health

Suffering the lonely heart

Promoting the healing power of love

Connecting for heart health

Being “Scared to Death” and Other Mind/Body Links

Understanding that mind/body links are hardwired

“Dropping dead” from stress — myth or reality?

Understanding stress caused by heart problems

Understanding the heart attack that isn’t: Heart disease mimics

Understanding how psychotropic medications may affect the heart

Keeping Stress and Anger at Bay

Controlling stress with a four-part plan

Controlling anger with five simple steps

Chapter 7: Taking a Family Approach to Preventing Heart Disease

Setting Your Children on the Path to a Heart-Healthy Future

Understanding that risk of heart disease starts very early

Modeling heart-healthy behaviors makes a difference for children

Fostering nutritious food choices and eating habits

Encouraging physical activity

Supporting Your Spouse or Partner in Achieving Heart Health

Building a Supportive Community for Older Family Members

Part III: Tackling Key Health Risks for Heart Disease

Chapter 8: Combating High Blood Pressure

Understanding Hypertension: The Silent Killer

Defining blood pressure

Defining high blood pressure

Identifying categories of blood pressure

Understanding the Dangers and Causes of Hypertension