Food for a healthy heart

Previously, the heart was considered the focus of life, thoughts and feelings. And though today we know that a person is alive, alive until the brain, it does not negate the importance of the heart for our life and health.

Try to rhythmically compress fist hand fingers open and close them once per second. After a few minutes, you may get tired and refuse to continue to exercise.

Cardiac muscle performs an action very similar to squeezing and unclamping of the fingers, but does it continuously, without interruption, from birth to death, tirelessly, as long as time allows health.

This ability of the myocardium, the heart muscle, working continuously and tirelessly - one of the most amazing facts related to the physiology of animals and humans.

However, the heart still rests. It does so in a short period of time between beats. Within a few tenths of a second myocardium relaxes and receives blood and nutrients through the coronary artery.

angina

definition

Angina occurs due to spasms or reversible narrowing of the coronary arteries. These arteries are responsible for providing blood flow to the heart muscle needed to heart.

Angina is manifested as an intense pressing pain in the left side of the chest radiating to the left arm. Usually it occurs after a physical effort, strong emotions or stress. Unlike a heart attack, angina, reversible and usually does not cause long-term damage to the heart.

Diet and risk factors

Diet has a great impact on the state and function of the coronary arteries.

Risk factors for angina:

• Arteriosclerosis (narrowing and hardening) of the coronary arteries. A diet poor foods of plant origin and rich in saturated fat - common cause of arteriosclerosis. Other causes - smoking and lack of exercise.
• The tendency to spasms or contractions of the smooth muscle tissue (involuntary muscle). Under this definition falls muscles forming the walls of the arteries. Deficiency of magnesium and other nutrients provokes these spasms.

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myocardial infarction

definition

The disease is characterized by a complete blockage of a coronary artery or one of its branches. It causes the heart muscle irreversible damage, causing necrosis, ie death of heart tissue.

Causes

Blockage of a coronary artery causes a combination of the following processes:

• Arteriosclerosis, a progressive narrowing and hardening of the arteries.
• Thrombosis, blood clot formation, clot inside suzivsheysya artery blood flow is completely shut off.

Diet

In the case of a heart attack right diet is very important for two reasons:

• Certain foods prevent the attack, while others, on the contrary, provoke him.
• Proper diet after a heart attack can decisively contribute to the rehabilitation and prevention of new crises.

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Arrhythmia

definition

This abnormal heart rhythm that is often expressed as heart palpitations. If the violation is significant, it may decrease the heart's ability to pump blood effectively on tissues of the body, which leads to heart failure and in some cases, cardiac arrest.

Causes

Causes of arrhythmia varied and are not always obvious. However, there are several factors that contribute to arrhythmias:

• Diet. Certain nutrients help prevent the disease, while others provoke her.
• Food allergy. It can cause arrhythmias, as a result of an allergic reaction are released toxic substances.
• Toxins. Alcohol, coffee, and tobacco can cause more or less serious arrhythmias.
• Hormonal factors. Overactive thyroid gland function.

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Heart failure

definition

This disease - the result of the inability of the heart to pump the required blood volume.

Causes

Among the reasons leading to heart failure, there are those that are related to diet:

• Lack of nutrients essential for the proper operation of the heart, such as vitamin B1 and some minerals (calcium, magnesium and especially potassium).
• Excess fluid in the body because of excessive intake of sodium, salts or resulting from poor kidney function. Factor leads to an increase in blood volume, which increases the workload on the heart.

Treatment

Treatment of heart failure requires a diet that nourishes heart muscle and stimulating her work. It is also required to reduce the intake of salt (sodium). In cases of low-urine volume recommended products with diuretic action.

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Wine and heart

Whether beneficial effects of wine on the heart?

Some doctors, citing a number of studies argue that the use of 100-200 ml red wine (not white) per day reduces the risk of dying from a heart attack. This effect is apparently only applies to men over the age of 50 years.

Those studies indicate that in case of exceeding this dose (200 ml = 1 glass of wine = 20 g of pure alcohol) mortality from cardiovascular disease is increasing, and many others may occur disease.

But not as trying to present. Attributed to red wine beneficial effect is actually achieved at the expense of phenolic flavonoids contained in the grapes and the skins. These substances give red wine its color. They prevent oxidation of lipoproteins, thus preventing the formation of sludge of cholesterol inside the arteries - arteriosclerosis. Fruits in general and grapes in particular - the best sources of flavonoids.

In other words, the wine owes its useful properties of grapes. There he grapes or drink grape juice - a much more beneficial for heart health and body than drinking wine.

What can I eat after a heart attack

After a heart attack, especially recommended a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. Their antioxidant effect slows necrosis (cell death) in the heart muscle.

Arteriosclerosis, which causes a heart attack, can also be reversible. A study conducted in California (USA), shows that after a year of heart-healthy diet and proper lifestyle comes a 10 percent decline stenosis (narrowing) of coronary arteries.

Based on the book "Healthy food»