There are various healthy tips for maintaining a healthy heart and leading a healthy life. Some of them are as follows:

1. Stop smoking. The single most important thing a person can do to live longer and to have a healthy heart is to quit smoking. You are twice likely to have a heart attack if you are a smoker than a non-smoker. But from the moment you stop smoking, the risk of heart attack starts to reduce.

2. Cut down on salt. Too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease. You must avoid foods like sauces, pizzas, pork pies, crisps, salted nuts, canned and packet soups and ready meals. Many breakfast cereals and breads that appear healthy also contain high levels of salt, so keep your eye on these too. This will ensure that you lead a healthy life.

3. Be cautious about diet. A healthy diet can bring down the risk of developing heart disease, and can also help increase the chances of survival after a heart attack. You should try to have a balanced diet, containing plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, oily fish, starchy foods such as wholegrain bread, pasta and rice.

4. Watch your alcohol. Too much alcohol can damage the heart muscle, increase blood pressure and also lead to weight gain. Your chances of suffering a heart attack increase if you indulge in binge drinking, so you should aim to limit your intake to one to two units a day.

5. Become active. The heart is a muscle which has to be exercised to keep fit so that it can pump blood efficiently round your body with each heart beat. You should try to get 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a day.

6. Control your weight. The number of people who are overweight is increasing all over the world. Extra weight as fat can affect your health greatly and increases the risk of life-threatening conditions such as diabetes and coronary heart disease. If you are overweight or obese, start by making small, but healthy changes to what you eat, and try to become more active.

7. Check your blood pressure and cholesterol levels by your GP: The higher your blood pressure, the shorter your life expectancy. People with high blood pressure run a higher risk of having a stroke or a heart attack. High levels of cholesterol in the blood – produced by the liver from saturated fats – can lead to fatty deposits in your coronary arteries that increase your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

8. Try to manage your stress levels. If you find things are getting on top of you, you may fail to eat properly, smoke and drink too much and this may increase your risk of a heart attack.

Vaccines for measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and varicella, or chicken pox, are effective in extremely preterm infants, even though their immune systems are not as developed as full-term babies. A long-held assumption by pediatricians and neonatologists across the country is thus confirmed.
The study, included 16 term and 16 extremely preterm (born before about 6 ½ months of pregnancy) infants born between May 2002 and May 2005, and examined the antibody levels of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella in this population before and after vaccination. The study was published in this month’s Pediatrics.
In the study the same number of preterm infants and full-term infants reached a level of immunity that was considered protective against the diseases. However the positive outcome, was not guaranteed because preterm infants’ immune systems do not always react the same way as full-term infants. A change in the types of vaccine used in the UK for instance, apparently resulted in an increase in Haemophilus influenzae type b infections, like meningitis and bloodstream infection in children. Children born prematurely were seen to be cautioning about potential problems this population may have with responding to vaccines. However this was not the case with MMR and chicken pox vaccines.
Though these conditions are not fatal, measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox can all have serious complications. Generally, the virus causes a rash, fever, itching, and fatigue, but it can also cause severe scars, skin infections, brain damage and pneumonia. A person who has contracted chicken pox can get a painful rash called shingles years later, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The measles virus causes a cough, fever, rash, runny nose, eye irritation and can also lead to ear infections, seizures, pneumonia, brain damage, and rarely, death. The mumps virus causes fever, headache and swollen glands and rarely, death. The rubella virus causes a rash, mild fever and arthritis, but in pregnant women, it can lead to a miscarriage or birth defects.

A four year study of 11.5 million Medicare enrollees have shown that shown that short-term exposure to fine particle air pollution from sources such as motor vehicle exhaust and power plant emissions significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular and respiratory disease among people over 65 years of age. The study conducted to show the link between fine particle air pollution and hospital admissions for heart and lung –related diseases was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health and is the largest of its kind.
The findings revealed that small increases in fine particle air pollution resulted in increased hospital admissions for heart and vascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure and respiratory infection. Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D. of National Institutes of Health said that “study participants over 75 years of age experienced even greater increases in admissions for heart problems and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than those between 65 and 74 years of age.
The study results are published in the March 8, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
According to the study, these findings indicate an ongoing threat from airborne particles to the health of the elderly and hence there is a need to set a national air quality standard that is as protective of their health as possible.
“These findings also provide evidence that fine particle concentrations well below the national standard are harmful to the cardiovascular and respiratory health of our elderly citizens. As the association between inhaled particles and adverse health effects has been established, we must concentrate on understanding why these particles are harmful, and how these effects can be prevented.
Fine particle air pollution consists of microscopic particles of dust and soot less than 2.5 microns in diameter – about thirty times smaller than the width of a human hair. These tiny particles primarily come from power plant emissions, motor vehicle exhaust and other operations that involve the burning of fossil fuels. Fine particles can go deep into the respiratory tract, reducing lung function and severe conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.

Haemorrhoids are varicose veins located in or around the anus. Haemorrhoids can be bothersome and certain conditions like trauma during childbirth, excess weight during pregnancy, obesity and anal intercourse can cause it to swell. Bleed or get irritated.

External haemorrhoids are located under the skin outside the anus and internal haemorrhoids are varicose veins that surround the rectum. Thrombosed haemorrhoids have to be treated Read the rest of this entry »

Jaundice is not an illness but a medical condition in which too much of bilirubin is circulating in the blood. This excess of bilirubin causes the skin, eyes and the mucus membrane to turn yellowish in color. While in newborns, jaundice is common and gets cured by itself in adults if the condition is left untreated it can lead to liver failure.

Causes of Jaundice

Jaundice can be caused by a lot of factors namely Read the rest of this entry »

The term, blood pressure usually refers to arterial pressure, which is the pressure in the larger arteries, veins and capillaries. The systolic arterial pressure is the peak pressure in the arteries, and this takes place near the beginning of the cardiac cycle – the diastolic arterial pressure is the lowest pressure which occurs at the resting phase of the cardiac cycle. Hypertension is when the arterial pressure is abnormally high. The healthy adult should have a pressure of 120/80.

Causes of Blood Pressure

In about 10% of people, high blood pressure is caused by a disease called secondary hypertension. When the basic cause is treated, the blood pressure usually returns to normal. These secondary causes include Read the rest of this entry »

ABO incompatibility disease is the reaction of two different and not compatible blood groups.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

The blood types are based on the molecules which are on the surface of the blood cells. The different blood types are A, B and O. In persons with different blood groups the molecules are immune system triggers or antigens. Every person has two of these molecules as a combination except the O type, which does not have any molecule. The variations are AO or AA molecules in the A type blood group, and BO or BB molecules in the B type, the AB type and the O type. Those who have a particular type of blood form antibodies which cause a reaction to other types of blood. If they are exposed to a different Read the rest of this entry »

Definition

Abetalipoproteinemia or Bassen-Kornzweig syndrome is a disease which is inherited and is very rare. In this disease the person is unable to completely absorb the dietary fats via the intestines.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

This syndrome is an autosomal recessive one which means that this trait, disease or disorder can be passed down generations in a family through several ways and this is just one of them. Two of an abnormal gene should be present for this trait to build up. This disorder usually affects Read the rest of this entry »

Definition

Aneurysms are ballooning of the artery in one part which causes the walls in this area to become weak. This abnormal swelling in the artery makes the walls of the artery thin and there is a possibility of its rupturing. The legs, pelvic area and abdomen are supplied with blood through the aorta which is a large artery.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Though the exact cause of the disease, aneurysm cannot be pin pointed, the risks factors are many. This especially affects the male gender. Other factors, which lead to Abdominal aortic aneurysm are genetic factors and emphysema, obesity, high cholesterol, smoking and hyper tension or high blood pressure. The abdominal aortic aneurysm, which can Read the rest of this entry »

Definition

A rare disorder Aase syndrome is also known as Congenital Anemia or Triphalangeal Thumb syndrome. Though the genetic root of this disease is not known, the under development of the bone marrow causes anemia. There are also skeletal deformities and the growth during childhood is poor. However, there is no mental retardation or neurological problem associated with this problem.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

There is no known cause or reason for this disease which is very rare. Though it is not passed down generations in the same family, it shows some traits that are Read the rest of this entry »