For a healthier heart it is important to reduce the total amount of fat and to change to foods with less saturated fat. Just switching to products labelled “high in polyunsaturates” is not enough. The changes which each person needs to make will vary, but overall we need to eat more fruit, vegetables, potatoes, rice, … Read more
The basic building blocks which go to make up the fat in foods are called fatty acids and depending on their chemical structure they can be described as either saturated or unsaturated. The difference between one fat or oil and another will depend on whether it contains a lot of saturated or unsaturated fatty acids. … Read more
To start with, it’s important to know something about which foods contain fat and the different types of fat before we can make any changes in the way we eat. We eat fats in many different forms. Some fats like butter, margarine or lard are solid at room temperature, others are liquid like corn oil. … Read more
Worldwide studies have examined the links between various aspects of the food which people eat and the amount of coronary heart disease they suffer. Looking at all the evidence, there is a striking link between heart disease and the amount of fat in the diet, particularly saturated fat. As the proportion of saturated fat in … Read more
For most people, eating is one of the pleasures of life. We want our food to be tasty and satisfying, but we also want it to be healthy. And in recent years there has been growing evidence that the way we eat in this country may play an important part in a number of serious … Read more
There is no certain way of preventing heart attacks with drugs. The two most important ways of reducing the risk of a heart attack are not to smoke and not to be overweight. There is, however, no good or proven way in which drugs can help you stop smoking or lose weight. Lowering a raised … Read more
e.g., warfarin When blood clots form within the blood vessels they cause problems. a leg vein, causing swelling. An”arterial thrombosis” is a clot in an artery A “venous thrombosis” is a clot in a vein – this may happen, for example, in the circulation to lodge elsewhere; this is called an “embolus” – e.g., a … Read more
e.g., amiodarone, beta-blockers, digoxin, disopyramide, flecainide, mexiletine, tocainide, verapamil. Sometimes the heart beats too fast, usually because of an abnormal pattern of conduction across the heart, and often the best treatment is with a drug. The heart is its own time-keeper, and each beat is normally signalled by one specialised portion of the heart, the … Read more
(1) Angina. -Beta-blockers help to prevent angina on exertion or stress by reducing the work done by the heart. (2) High blood pressure. -Beta-blockers are widely used for lowering high blood pressure, though the way they work is still not fully understood. Treatment is commonly combined with diuretics. (3) Abnormal heart rhythms. -Beta-blockers, rather like … Read more
ege, acebutolol, atenolol, labetalol, metoprolol, nadolol, oxprenolol, pinderlol, propranolol, sotalol, timolol. These widely prescribed drugs “block” or reduce the action of adrenaline and related hormones in increasing the heart rate and the strength of the heart-beat and they will, therefore, slow the heart rate. Exercise or excitement increases the secretion of adrenaline and related hormones: … Read more