Heart disease is one of the leading death cause in the United States. According to mayo clinic “Heart Disease describes range of conditions that affect your heart” It could be from things such as blood vessels disease, coronary artery disease, shortness of breath, Atrial Fibrillation, palpitations and etc. Heart disease can occur when your arteries aren’t supplying oxygen and blood to the heart, muscles or other systems such as your nervous system, skeletal system, respiratory system and circulatory system.
Basically, the other organs became clogged with a fatty material called plaque and this process is also known as atherosclerosis. To explain a little bit more about atherosclerosis it is occurring when the inner part of the lining of the artery walls becoming furred with thick atheroma which consists of cells was and deposits of cholesterol. Raised patches on the artery also known as plaque will narrow the blood flow in the arteries becoming more likely prone to the clotting. The plaque that is growing may or may not cause the blockage to the pathway that is delivering nutrients to the walls eventually causing the walls to lose their elasticity which may cause tachycardia increasing the risks of CAD (coronary artery disease).
Narrowed blood and oxygen supply causes the heart muscle to be restricted and when the individual exerts themselves it causes the heart muscle to increase This process can happen gradually that happens with age. Women tend to be at a higher risk for the heart disease, but estrogen contributes to elasticity and health of arteries which causes reduction of blood pressure causing some protection against the heart disease. Other facts that I would like to briefly talk about factors that can lead to heart disease are such as unhealthy eating, lack of physical activity, high cholesterol, smoking, DM, obesity, depression, lack of social support, high blood pressure and menopause can lead to the heart disease. if we take a look at other systems such as brain, lungs or kidneys if an individual has heart disease the individual’s heart would not be the same as a healthy heart. It would not be able to deliver the nutrients that other parts of the body need. I feel like the lack of physical activity, DM, obesity, high blood pressure and etc. go hand in hand with a heart disease.
Whenever I think about heart disease all these topics make their way into my head, but menopause is not something that you think about. When you talk about menopause an individual usually knows is as period that is stopping permanently, but no one has ever considered heart disease as a factor in link with the menopause before. “Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States, and it cause one out of three deaths every year.” (Pg. 542) That is a lot a lot of people and that includes woman in menopause. Normally we don’t even step back and consider that menopause could have any correlation with having a heart disease.
During the time of menopause which happens around the ages of 50-54 the levels of estrogen that is being produce decreases significantly. Let’s take a step back and take a moment to talk about Heart disease. What is heart disease? According to Mayo Clinic “Heart Disease describes range of conditions that affect your heart” It could be from things such as blood vessels disease, CAD, SOB, A Fib, palpitations and etc. but how does having heart disease effect woman who are in menopause.
Let’s talk about menopause, it’s no surprise that every woman goes through menopause at some point in their life and it is one of the or the most striking event during a women’s health due to the complications that it comes with. Menopause is basically when a woman’s function of the ovaries ceases over time. Menopause is considered to be a maker of aging and health increasing life expectance and postmenopausal.
The female gonad is one of a pair of reproductive glands which are located in the pelvis each side of your uterus they are about the size of almonds. Each month an egg is released from an ovary and travels down to the fallopian tube. The main source of these hormones is what’s controls the characteristics of body such as body shape, body, breasts and terminal hair and also regulate the pregnancy and menstrual period.
This process of menopause accures in a gradual process called perimenopause transitional period and it varies from women to women. What we know is that estrogen might have something to do with menopause and generally if you are eating healthy food. The blood pressure seems to go elevate and bad cholesterol seems to increase as well.
The difference between the female patient that has been diagnosed for 25 years that I feel are obvious has figured out how to “deal” with the disease that she’s had. She has more likely figured out how much to eat, and how to have a proper meal without it being too oily, she’s probably figured out her regimen about how she likes to exercise whether it’s dancing or cardio, and thoroughly researched her the risk factors. I feel like a person who is recently diagnosed would more likely be carefree and may not take it may not taking their health seriously or she cares a lot and want to improve it as soon as she can.
I am thinking that the person who has lived with this disease with so long is eating healthy, and exercising because if they weren’t they would probably not have stayed alive and living with the heart disease for 25 years. With the newly diagnosed I feel like it really just depends on the individual on one side they could look at it something that they need to improve on health wise or they could just give up and say I can’t do this anymore.
I feel like it really is about the attitude in this case where the patient has the heart disease. I don’t really feel like the amount of years the individual has been diagnosis matters because if the individual themselves does not care even their doctor or specialist can’t help them. If they look at the situation in a positive way and improve their diet and exercise and do everything in their power to not look down at themselves and fight. It’s more likely that they are going to be live longer.
This reminds of the story that my mom tells me about her mom, my grandma I like to call her nani had a heart disease, but she also had heart attacks about twice or three times before she passed away. My nani was such a brave little woman, she wasn’t one of those ladies that would give up. Her attitude towards her heart condition was so astonishing because I didn’t even know about her condition until I was in my teen years what I mean by that is that her attitude was so positive that I could not have sensed that she has a heart disease at all. Anyways my nani would be so positive if you talked to her you would not know that she has been living with heart disease and she wasn’t careless, she took her medication on time, her diet was good and she exercised as much as her body allowed her to. Since she was an elderly lady she did her best to move around and get some type of cardio whether it was just walking inside her house for a bit or doing some exercised such as stretching. Now that I look back at the situation I learned that how keeping a positive attitude and doing your best values more in the long run, then not caring enough about your heart disease.
Like I talked about before attitude is everything just like how there are two sides to every coin. There’s those who want to change their habits and become a better them or they don’t want to change themselves and basically don’t really care at all about what happens to them. Like my Nani her disease was pretty well-controlled. Then there are some ladies that don’t really care, or sometimes they are too stubborn so they may not like the advice that you might have to offer. The person that is in control of their disease is going to well behaved they aren’t going to throw a tantrum, they are going to listen to what the doctor has to day, how to improve their condition. It theirs is something wrong such as shortness of breath or chest pain they know exactly what to do versus someone who doesn’t care they are going to be confused and won’t know what to do. I work as a scribe so there is patient who come in and ask for immediate attention and when asked if they have been taking medication that they have been prescribed they don’t bother to re-fill it and come back for a follow up because now they are fine.
I would say in conclusion but I feel like this topic could definitely needs to be looked at more because it is so fascinating. I don’t think I was ever aware of how menopause actually affect a women’s body. I feel like no one talks about these things making it hard to attain this knowledge. I feel like this topic should be talked about more because 50% of this world is women.
The Link Between Oral Hygiene And Heart Health
As dentists have told their patients countless times, better care must be taken to one’s teeth and gums. Most people agree that oral hygiene is important, but it isn’t usually at the top of the list when it comes to health necessities. In fact, it is often overshadowed by the maintenance of many other organs and body parts. However, oral hygiene should no longer be overlooked. Although no formal scientific conclusions have been reached, there is firm evidence that presents a link exists between one’s oral hygiene and heart health.
Dr. David Friedman recalls a scare he once experienced involving heart disease. Luckily, he is still alive to tell his story today, due to the fact a dentist was able to save his life (Friedman 2018). Dr Friedman recalls waking up every day full of life and vigor (2018). He describes himself as a man full of constant zest and energy, from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed (Friedman 2018). However, about a year ago, Friedman says this all changed (2018). He began waking up and going to bed tired (Friedman 2018). He started having headeaches, and found it extremely difficult to concentrate (Friedman 2018).
After going to his doctor and getting a full physical done, Friedman realized he had high blood pressure. This astounded him, because he was a nutrionist; eating only healhty foods and frequently exercising (Friedman 2018). Then, he got his blood test back, indicating that he had an increased amount of C-reactive protein (CRP) (Friedman 2018). CRP is created by the liver, and increases when there is inflammation in the body (Friedman 2018). CRP levels are extremely significant, and are considered one of the main signs of a stroke or heart attack (Friedman 2018). Research actually suggests that CRP is a better predictor of cardivascular risk than cholestoerol (Friedman 2018).
One study, known as the the Physicians Health Study, involved 18,000 doctors that seemed to be pretty healhty (Friedman 2018). This study found that elevated levels of CRP leads to a 300% increase in the risk of a heart attack (Friedman 2018). As Dr. Friedman explains “Anything above 3.0 is considered a very high risk for heart attack and stroke.” (2018). His CRP was at 9.8 mg/L! Dr. David Friedman’s blood test also showed that he had increased levels of white blood cells, indicating that his body was likely fighting off an infection. (Friedman 2018). There are multiple theories about the anatomical relationship between the mouth and heart. Some scientists argue that there’s an obvious connection between the two, while others mark it off as sheer coincidence.
Robert Shmerling, MD, a professor at Harvard Medical School, analyzes the multiple theories. The first theory he discusses supports the idea that a link exists between oral hygiene and heart health (Shmerling 2018; Barzali 2017; Sandilands 2018). First, research has proven that people with gum disease have a greater risk of heart disease than someone with healthy gums (Sandilands 2018). Sandilands (2018) says, “Oral health and heart disease are connected by the spread of bacteria – and other germs – from your mouth to other parts of your body through the bloodstream.” The thinking behind this is infectious bacteria that cause periodontitis and gingivitis are able to travel to blood vessels throughout the body (Shmerling 2018; Barzali 2017). This may lead to inflammation of blood vessels, and other damages such as heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots (Shmerling 2018).
This is supported due to the fact that oral bacteria remains have been found within atherosclerotic blood vessels in locations far from the mouth. (Shmerling 2018). This furthers the claim that bacteria found in the mouth is able to spread throughout the rest of the body. Sandilands (2018) analyzes other research done by Dr. Benico Barzilai (2017) which supports the previous claim presented by Robert Shmerling MD. She says, “The bacteria [from the mouth] can also migrate into your bloodstream causing elevated C-reactive protein, which is a marker for inflammation in the blood vessels. (Sandilands 2018 et al Barzilai 2017) This can increase your risk of heart disease and strokes (Sandilands 2018 et al Barzilai 2017). Another theory is that the body’s immune response is the main problem, causing vascular damage throughout the body, especially in the heart and brain (Shmerling 2018).
Heart: Anatomy And Function
Heart’s main function is to pump blood throughout the whole body. The heart is made up of four chambers: an atrium and ventricle on both the left and right sides. “Veins from all parts of the body flows blood to the heart and into the right atrium. From the right atrium, the blood flows into the right ventricle, where it is pumped out to the person’s lungs to receive oxygen. Oxygen-rich blood is then returned to the person’s left atrium, flows into their left ventricle, and is pumped into their arteries, returning to various veins in their body (Coronary Artery Disease – Fats, Diagnosis, and Treatments, 2009).” One of the reasons that the heart is the most vital organ to the human body is because the blood flow only happens through one heartbeat. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a disease in which “waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries (Coronary Heart Disease, 2018).” Plaque consist of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other material found in the blood stream. Normally, the job of coronary arteries is to supply blood and oxygen to the muscles of the heart.
In patients who have CHD, coronary arteries have built up plaque a process called Atherosclerosis which narrows the pathway of bring oxygen and blood to the heart which leads to chest pain or angina. The process may cause blood cloths that can restrict further blood flow to the heart and body which can increase the chances of angina. There are many types of medical interventions to get rid of the plaque buildup at the coronary arteries. One type of intervention is a surgical one called Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). According to American Heart Association, CABG is performed by removing a blood vessel from arms or legs and using it to create a bypass around the plaque artery (Answers by Heart, 2017). The result of bypass surgery is an increase blood flow and oxygen to the heart muscle to perform all the essential functions for the human body.
Smoking is an act of inhaling carcinogens that is rolled in a cigarette. Individuals who smoke can increase the chances of getting cancer and heart disease. With any type of heart surgery or high invasive surgery, surgeons typically prep patients to quit smoking before the procedure to prevent any risks that cigarettes can bring fourth during and after the procedure. According to The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, smoking can cause higher incidence of pulmonary complications following CABG as compared to non-smokers (2008). Therefore, surgeons teach patients to stop smoking at least a year before the surgery takes place to have lasting results or the patient will not be accepted for CABG type of procedure. For example, my father in law, had been diagnosed with Coronary Artery disease at age 32 and was declined the procedure because he had been a long-time smoker. If the surgeon was to perform the surgery, the chances of death occurring was very high. Therefore, most of his life, the medication that he was taking on a regular basis was Nitroglycerin (NTG) or Aspirin. Nitroglycerin is a vasodilator, a medicine that opens the blood vessels to improve blood flow (Using Nitroglycerin for Angina, 2011).
It is prescribed to patients, to treat angina and to reduce how hard the heart must perform a simply task. Since some patients don’t require surgery or are on a waiting list, smoking cigarettes still influences potency of the medication. According to Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Journal, long-term smoking causes NTG resistance to aggregation in platelets, possibly through the depletion of intraplatelet GSH (2001). Another medication that may be prescribe to individuals with cardiac disease is Aspirin. Aspirin helps prevent blood clots from forming and helps prevent heart attack (Aspirin and Heart Disease, 2017).” Blood clots can block arteries in addition with plaque buildup in those same arteries. Even though mediations may be taken for the rest of a person life, it will not treat the disease. Mediations are prescribing to alleviate the pain that comes from the disease. I believe when the patient listens to the surgeon about cessation of smoking, surgery may be a more viable option then just taking medication for the rest of the patient’s life.
Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood moving throughout the circulatory system. It mainly consists of two numbers: the number on top is the systolic blood pressure which is the highest level the blood reaches when the heart beats and the bottom number is the lowest level the blood pressure against the blood vessels during heart relaxation. From diagram 1, individuals can measure their blood pressure and categorize whether medical intervention is needed (Blood Pressure Readings, 2017).
Maintaining an optimal blood pressure levels for patients who are diagnosed with CAD is a viable factor to reduce further heart attacks or angina. “Cigarette smoking raises your blood pressure and heart rate, narrows your arteries and hardens their walls, and makes your blood more likely to clot. It stresses your heart and sets you up for a heart attack or stroke (Smoking and Blood Pressure: Why and How to Quit, 2018).” Therefore, if an individual is diagnosed with any type of medical disease, smoking is highly advising to be stop for that individual. Individuals who have CAD who don’t smoke, have less medial intervention to lower blood pressure. For example, medications that lower blood pressure can have a better effect on patients who don’t smoke as opposed to individuals who do smoke and require multiple blood pressure mediations.
Learning about CAD in the medical field is important because any type of heart disease is the number one killer of humans in the world. Nurses who are educated about CAD can satisfy the patient’s needs, lower levels of anxiety and depression, increase patient compliance to treatment, and improved the quality of life for the patient. For example, when my father in law was staying at UCLA Medical on the telemetry floor, he would ask a bunch of questions to the medical team about his condition which would lessen his anxiety about treatment options and educate him about his disease. It’s important for any nurse to understand the inner workings of the heart, as it serves as the fundamental and vital system responsible for keeping the very nature of the human body intact. Every beat keeps the body alive and saturated with life supplying oxygen and nutrients. With this in mind, the importance of this organ cannot be undervalued, for without the heart, life will quite literally cease, and it goes without doubt that understanding the diseases that can have adverse effects on this precious organ must be understood as well to insure the livelihood and wellbeing of those who have complications in this region.