Heart Attack The Leading Cause Of Mortality

A heart attacks is an attack on the center of our being.

The center of our bodies, that pumps blood, the river of life throughout our entire circulatory system, feeding nourishing, and oxidizing all the muscles and organs in the body. If it gets attacked it dies.

Heart attacks kill more Americans then any other cause of death. It strikes relentlessly indiscriminately and viciously.

Annually in the United States alone over 1,500,000 peoples hearts are attacked. Over half of them don't survive and die prematurely. If they do, their lives are never the same.

Heart Disease Statistics

Heart disease statistics don't lie. Heart Disease is the leading cause of death. Yet many people are simply not aware of the danger, nor are they aware of the possibilities that can be taken to prevent and avoid heart disease.

Know these numbers. Comprehend the Data. You will then realize the "enormous risks" that we put ourselves by not living a healthy lifestyle. The choice is ours, we must do all we can to fight and prevent the leading cause of death heart disease.

These are the figures of "heart disease statistics" found on the CDC's website N C H S - FASTATS - Heart Disease

(Data are for U.S. for year in parentheses)

Morbidity

• Number of non institutionalized adults with diagnosed heart disease: 23.0 million (2002)
• Percent of non institutionalized adults with diagnosed heart disease: 11.2% (2002)Source: Summary Statistics for U.S. Adults, 2002
  

Health care use

Ambulatory care

• Number of office-based physician visits: 20.8 million (2002)

Source: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2002 Summary

• Number of hospital outpatient department visits: 1,075,000 (2002)

Source: National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2002 Outpatient Department Summary

Hospital inpatient care

• Number of discharges: 4.4 million (2003)
• Average length of stay: 4.6 days (2003)

Source: 2003 National Hospital Discharge Survey

Home health care

• Number of current patients with heart disease as primary diagnosis: 147,600 (2000)
• Percent of current patients with heart disease as primary diagnosis: 10.9% (2000)

Source: National Home and Hospice Care Survey

Hospice care

• Number of current patients with heart disease as primary diagnosis: 13,500 (2000)
• Percent of current patients with heart disease as primary diagnosis: 12.8 (2000)

Source: National Home and Hospice Care Survey

Nursing home care

• Number of residents with heart disease as primary diagnosis: 165,100 (1999)
• Percent of residents with heart disease as primary diagnosis: 10.1 (1999)

Source: National Nursing Home Survey: 1999 Summary

Mortality

• Number of deaths: 696,947 (2002)
• Deaths per 100,000 population: 241.7 (2002)
• Cause of death rank: 1 (2002)

Source: Deaths: Final Data for 2002

• Percent of hospital inpatient deaths from heart disease: 21.0 (2000)

Source: National Hospital Discharge Survey: 2002 Annual Summary with Detailed Diagnosis and Procedure Data

According to the American Heart Association these are the Cardiovascular Disease Statistics

Estimates for the year 2002 are that 70,100,000 Americans have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

• High blood pressure -- 65,000,000.
• Coronary heart disease -- 13,000,000.
• Myocardial infarction -acute heart attack -- 7,100,000.
• Angina pectoris (chest pain) -- 6,400,000.
• Stroke -- 5,400,000.

Cardiovascular diseases

• Claimed 927,448 lives in 2002 (38.0 percent of all deaths or 1 of every 2.6 deaths). (Preliminary)
• Other 2002 mortality: total cancer 557,271; accidents 106,742; HIV (AIDS) 14,095.
• Over 150,000 Americans killed by CVD are under age 65.
  2002 preliminary
• death rates from CVD were 373.8 for white males and 492.5 for black males;
• for white females 265.6 and for black females 368.1. (Death rates are per 100,000 population.

The rates listed use the year 2000 standard U.S. population as the base for age adjustment.) From 1992 to 2002 death rates from CVD declined 18.0 percent. Despite this decline in the death rate, in the same 10-year period the actual number of deaths increased 0.8 percent.

Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is caused by atherosclerosis the narrowing of the coronary arteries due to fatty build ups of plaque. It's likely to produce angina pectoris (chest pain), heart attack or both.

Coronary heart disease caused 494,382 deaths in 2002 and is the single leading cause of death in America today.

• 13,000,000 people alive today have a history of heart attack, angina pectoris or both. This is about 7,100,000 males and 5,900,000 females.
• This year an estimated 1.2 million Americans will have a new or recurrent coronary attack.
• About 335,000 people a year die of coronary attack in an Emergency Department or without being hospitalized. Most of these are sudden deaths caused by cardiac arrest, usually resulting from ventricular fibrillation).
• From 1992 to 2002 the death rate from coronary heart disease declined 26.5 percent.
• In 2002 coronary heart disease death rates per 100,000 people were 220.5 for white males and 250.6 for black males; and 131.2 for white females and 169.7 for black females.

(Death rates are per 100,000 population. The rates use the year 2000 standard population for age adjustment.)

Knowing these statistics compels us to do all that we can to prevent and avoid heart disease before the heart strikes .

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These are things that you can do to avoid the risk of developing heart disease:

• Diet and proper nutrition eating heart healthy foods such as soy, almonds and nuts that are known to lower cholesterol levels.
• Losing weight and keeping the weight off through any type of diet program that fits your personality.
• Exercising doing cardiovascular exercises and resistance exercises
• Quitting smoking
• Reducing stress through various relaxation techniques
• Controlling your blood pressure, through diets exercises, relaxation, vitamins and medications if the need arises
• Reducing your cholesterol levels through exercise, vitamins, natural cures, and Statins if prescribed to do so by your doctor.

Whatever steps you take to improve your health you will never regret!

Why wait till it is too late, begin living a heart healthy lifestyle now.

Heart Disease Prevention

• Heart disease statistics don't lie. Heart Disease is the leading cause of death. We must prevent it.
• Live healthy six steps to a healthy life Read about six steps that you can take to lead you on the road to a healthy life
• Optimism and Your Heart: How Being Happy Can Protect You Against Heart Disease
• Anger and heart disease.Learning how to control anger is a necessary aspect in preventing heart disease. This article shows how anger not only causes heart disease but also increases the damage by those already inflicted.
• Fitness
• Nutrition
• Avoid poor nutrition it has been linked to heart disease and various other diseases.

These Heart Tests Can Determine If You Have Heart Disease

Heart tests assess if your hearts are healthy or if they have been weakened or damaged by Coronary Artery Disease oratherosclerosis of the coronary arteries the disease that causes the fatal heart attack.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the western world. Over 1,500,000 occur annually in the United States alone. Over 50% of those are fatal, ending in immediate death.

Doctors perform certain heart tests to determine if you have heart disease.

When you have symptoms of heart disease or you are having angina, there is a need to be tested for heart disease. These heart tests can determine, if you are having a heart attack or not.

These are the tests that doctors use, to diagnose heart disease. Familiarizing yourselves with the tests, educating yourself about them, eliminates any fears and anxieties you may have.

Heart Tests

EKG, ECG, or Electrocardiogram. is the most popular test given to determine abnormalities in the heart muscle. Understanding the basics of the EKG, ECG, and Electrocardiogram can alleviate the anxiety of taking the test.

Blood Tests by taking a sample of our blood and analyzing the composition of the lipids and the enzymes, doctors can determine the risk level for heart disease, and if there was any damage done to the heart muscle.

An X-ray to determine heart disease A chest x-ray images parts of the Cardiovascular system. A chest x-ray can assess parts of the cardiovascular system.

Nuclear Stress Test is a test given in two parts the exercise part and the resting part. Taking both the exercise nuclear stress test and a resting nuclear stress test can determine if there is insufficient oxygen reaching the heart muscle.

Angiogram is the final test to assess coronary artery disease. An angiogram is an invasive procedure done to find the blockages in the coronary arteries.

Echocardiogram testing the heart muscle. testing the heart muscle. Echocardiogram is a test done to determine the strength of the heart muscle. Echocardiograms show several aspects of the hearts health.

CT Scans to check coronary artery calcification CT scans early detection of heart disease also know as EBCT is a fairly new CT scan being used to determine calcification in the arteries and heart disease.