Cholesterol and Your Body

is a type of fat found in your blood.Your liver makes cholesterol for your body. You also can get cholesterol from the foods you eat. Meat, fish, eggs, butter, cheese, and whole or low-fat milk all have cholesterol in them.

You Need a Little, Not a Lot

You need some cholesterol to help your brain, skin, and other organs grow and do their jobs in the body. But eating too much of it is a bad idea, especially for people whose bodies already make too much cholesterol.

It floats around in your blood and can get into the walls of the blood vessels and stay there. If you have too much cholesterol in your bloodstream, a lot can collect in the blood vessel walls, causing these "pipes" to become narrower. This can clog the blood vessels and keep blood from moving freely the way it's supposed to.

If the clogging gets worse over many years, it can cause damage to important body parts, like the heart (heart attack) and brain (stroke). Both kids and adults can have too much cholesterol in their blood. Doctors can find out what your cholesterol level is by taking a little of your blood and testing it.

Two Types of Cholesterol

There are two main types of cholesterol: HDL and LDL. Most cholesterol is LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is more likely to clog blood vessels because it carries the cholesterol away from the liver into the bloodstream, where it can stick to the blood vessels. HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, on the other hand, carries the cholesterol back to the liver where it is broken down.

Here's a way to remember the difference: the LDL cholesterol is the bad kind, so call it "lousy" cholesterol — "l" for lousy. The HDL is the good cholesterol, so remember it as "healthy" cholesterol — "h" for healthy.

Symptoms of High Cholesterol

There are generally no symptoms of high cholesterol. Likewise, people with normal cholesterol levels generally do not feel any better than people with high cholesterol levels. The only way to detect high cholesterol and determine how it impacts a person's total risk for cardiovascular disease is through a comprehensive evaluation from a licensed physician or health care professional.

Prevention

Because cholesterol levels tend to increase with age, paying attention to diet and exercise is even more important as you get older.

Some people may not be able to prevent high cholesterol with lifestyle changes. Family history or certain conditions that cause the body to make too much cholesterol can raise levels even with lifestyle changes. In these cases, medicine can help

Basically hypertension is high blood pressure that is above normal levels consistently for more than about 6 months.Common symptoms of hypertension are listed below, these are often varied and difficult to diagnose. The only real way to know if you have hypertension is to have you blood pressure checked, most doctors do this as part of a normal examination.

Symptoms

Hypertension puts a strain on the heart by increasing its need for oxygen making it work harder than normal, over time this also causes the walls of the arteries harden. Hypertension is a major health problem, especially because it has no obvious symptoms. Many people have hypertension without showing any obvious symptoms. If you do not know your blood pressure, you should have it taken.People with high blood pressure often do not feel sick. In fact, hypertension is often called "the silent killer" because it may cause no symptoms at all for a long time. Your organs and tissues can be damaged by hypertension without you knowing or feeling any 'external' symptoms.

prevenbtion

Step 1: Following a Healthy Eating Pattern 
Step 2: Reducing Salt and Sodium in Your Diet.

Step 3: Maintaining a Healthy Weight 
Step 4: Being Physically Active 
Step 5: Limiting Alcohol Intake 
Step 6: Quitting Smoking

The heart, kidney, and brain as target organs in hypetension

Anemia Symptoms

Because a low red blood cell count decreases oxygen delivery to every tissue in the body, anemia may cause a variety of signs and symptoms. It can also make almost any other underlying medical condition worse. If anemia is mild, it may not cause any symptoms. If anemia is slowly ongoing (chronic), the body may adapt and compensate for the change; in this case there may not be any symptoms until the anemia becomes more severe.

Symptoms of anemia may include the following:

• Fatigue

• decreased energy

• weakness 

• shortness of breath 

• lightheadedness 

Anemia Treatment

Self-Care at Home

Very little can be done to self-treat anemia and medical treatment is generally needed. It is important to continue to take any medication that is prescribed for other chronic (long-lasting) medical problems. If the reason for anemia is known, then measures to keep it under control are very important. For example, if anemia is caused by a stomach ulcer, then medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen should be avoided, unless otherwise directed by a doctor.

Anemia Prevention

Some common forms of anemia are most easily prevented by eating a healthy diet and limiting alcohol use. All types of anemia are best avoided by seeing a doctor regularly and when problems arise. In the elderly, routine blood work ordered by the doctor, even if there are no symptoms, may detect anemia and prompt the doctor to look for the underlying causes.

Cell of blood:red

definition

A heart attack is when blood vessels that supply blood to the heart are blocked, preventing enough oxygen from getting to the heart. The heart muscle dies or becomes permanently damaged. Your doctor calls this amyocardial infarction.

causes, incidence, and risk factors

Most heart attacks are caused by a blood clot that blocks one of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries bring blood and oxygen to the heart. If the blood flow is blocked, the heart starves for oxygen and heart cells die.

In atherosclerosis, plaque builds up in the walls of your coronary arteries. This plaque is made up of cholesterol and other cells. A heart attack can occur as a result of the following:

• The slow buildup of plaque may almost block one of your coronary arteries. A heart attack may occur if not enough oxygen-containing blood can flow through this blockage. This is more likely to happen when you are exercising.

• The plaque itself develops cracks (fissures) or tears. Blood platelets stick to these tears and form a blood clot (thrombus). A heart attack can occur if this blood clot completely blocks the passage of oxygen-rich blood to the heart.

Symptoms

Chest pain is a major symptom of heart attack. You may feel the pain in only one part of your body, or it may move from your chest to your arms, shoulder, neck, teeth, jaw, belly area, or back.

The pain can be severe or mild. It can feel like:

• A tight band around the chest

• Bad indigestion

• Something heavy sitting on your chest

• Squeezing or heavy pressure

The pain usually lasts longer than 20 minutes. Rest and a medicine callednitroglycerin do not completely relieve the pain of a heart attack. Symptoms may also go away and come back

Treatment

If you had a heart attack, you will need to stay in the hospital, possibly in theintensive care unit (ICU). You will be hooked up to an ECG machine, so the health care team can look at how your heart is beating.

Prevention

To prevent a heart attack:

• Keep your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol under control.

• Don't smoke.

• Consider drinking 1 to 2 glasses of alcohol or wine each day. Moderate amounts of alcohol may reduce your risk of cardiovascular problems. However, drinking larger amounts does more harm than good.

• Eat a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in animal fat.

• Eat fish twice a week. Baked or grilled fish is better than fried fish. Frying can destroy some of the health benefits.

• Exercise daily or several times a week. Walking is a good form of exercise. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise routine.

• Lose weight if you are overweight.

Definition

Leukemia is a cancer that starts in the organs that make blood, namely the bone marrow and the lymph system. Depending on specific characteristics, leukemia can be divided into two broad types: acute and chronic. Acute leukemias are the rapidly progressing leukemias, while the chronic leukemias progress more slowly. The vast majority of childhood leukemias are of the acute form.

Causes & symptoms

Leukemia strikes both sexes and all ages and its cause is mostly unknown. However, chronic leukemia has been linked to genetic abnormalities and environmental factors. For example, exposure to ionizing radiation and to certain organic chemicals, such as benzene, is believed to increase the risk for getting leukemia. A 2003 study from the Electric Power Research Institute showed possible links between metallic drainpipes and childhood baths. Chronic leukemia occurs in some people who are infected with two humanretroviruses (HTLV-I and HTLV-II). An abnormal chromosome known as the Philadelphia chromosome is seen in 90% of those with CML. The incidence of chronic leukemia is slightly higher among men than women.

Treatment

Alternative therapies should be used only as complementary to conventional treatment, not to replace it. Before participating in any alternative treatment programs, patients should consult their doctors concerning the appropriateness and the role of such programs in the overall cancer treatment plan. Appropriate alternative treatments can help prolong a patient's life or at least improve quality of life, prevent recurrence of tumors or prolong the remission period, and reduce adverse reactions tochemotherapy and radiation.

Prevention

Most cancers can be prevented by changes in lifestyle or diet, which will reduce risk factors. However, in leukemias, there are no such known risk factors. Therefore, at the present time, there are no real prevention recommendations for leukemia. People who are at an increased risk for developing leukemia because of proven exposure to ionizing radiation or exposure to the toxic liquid benzene, and people with Down syndrome, should undergo periodic medical checkups. Some experts recommend limiting toxic exposures, eating a whole foods diet, refraining from smoking,exercise, and fluids, and even intermittent fasting as possible prevention measures. In 2003, new research found that adult women who took aspirintwo or more times a week had a 50% lower risk of developing adult leukemia. Scientists continue to work on a possible vaccine for leukemia. They made some progress in 2002, discovering a gene transfer model that might trigger immunity against leukemia cells.

cholesterol

hypertension

anemia

Heart attack

leukemia