We have a killer walking among us, stalking us and living with us in our homes. He can attack you or anyone of your family members at any time while they sleep, eat or even shower. There is no age limit safe from this attack or ethnic group that can hide from it. Who is the killer that I am speaking of, where can we find it and how do we stop it from happening to us? All of these are very good questions, the disease that I am talking about is called cardiovascular disease and it lives within us. .
According to the American Heart Association Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), also known as, Heart Disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States. One million five hundred thousand Americans suffer from heart attacks and strokes per year. That is two thousand two hundred people that die from CVD every day and nearly eight hundred thousand each year. Cardiovascular Disease includes numerous problems, many of which related to the process called atherosclerosis. The definition of atherosclerosis is the plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries. This buildup narrows the arteries making it hard for the blood to pass through. If the plaque becomes unstable and ruptures a clotting process, called thrombosis occurs. If thrombosis continues then the blood supply is blocked and a heart attack occurs, which is also the definition of a heart attack. .
If you find you are having a heart attack, some of the symptoms that you may have is a discomfort of pressure in your chest that lasts for a few minutes or goes away and comes back. The pressure may feel like an uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. Other areas of discomfort may be in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. You may feel a shortness of breath, cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness. However, everyone does not have the same symptoms when they are about to have a heart attack. Symptoms do vary based upon gender so make sure you are familiar with which ones are most specific for you.
