Heart Disease is known to hamper the functioning of the heart. It severity may vary from person to person. Here are popular myths that are believed regarding it.
I am too young to contract a heart diseaseIrrespective of how old you are, your current lifestyle may accentuate your risks of developing cardiovascular problems later in life. The accumulation of plaque may begin as early as adolescence or even childhood. Plaque circulates inside arteries, leading them to get clogged after some time. According to medical experts, nearly one in three Americans suffers from heart diseases, though not all of them belong to the senior citizen category. Hence, medical professionals oppose the myth vehemently. The myth mainly emerges from the general observation that people develop heart problems during old age. Even middle aged or young people can develop such problems, especially these days when obesity or type II diabetes is becoming commonplace.Heart diseases always have warning signs attachedThis is a very popular misconception that needs to be cleared right away. For anybody who does not know already, heart disease is also called the ‘silent killer’ owing to the fact that the affected person remains unaware of his condition. As a matter of fact, you may never encounter the symptoms. Hence, waiting for the body to send out signals will prove detrimental. Now the question is, how to find out if you have heart disease? The best solution is to go for a normal blood pressure test and monitor the readings carefully. Early treatment is absolutely essential since if a heart condition is left untreated, it can cause a sudden heart attack, kidney or heart ailments.Heart attacks are almost always preceded by chest painNot completely a myth, the above conception is only partially true. While chest pains or discomforts are quiet common, heart attacks have other symptoms too. These include nausea, shortness of breath and discomfort in both the arms, neck, jaw or the back. Dial the emergency services right away the moment you experience the above symptoms.Diabetes is not harmful to the heart so long as medications are followedGetting treated for diabetes reduces the risks or delays the development of heart diseases. However, a person is not completely risk free even when with his blood sugar levels are under control. The probability of a stroke still lingers. This is because the factors contributing to the onset of diabetes also play an instrumental role in the outbreak of cardiovascular problems. Such overlapping factors include overweight or obesity, high blood pressure, smoking or physical inactivity.Heart diseases are geneticWhile individuals with a family history of cardiovascular diseases are always at a greater risk, one can always take the necessary steps for ensuring safety. Draw up an action plan to keep the heart healthy by observing the following instructions: become physically active; control your cholesterol levels; manage your blood pressure; maintain a healthy weight for your height and age; and quit smoking.People should go for regular checkups once they reach the middle ageIf you sincerely believe the above piece of rumor to be true, think twice. According to a leading international heart organization, people should start getting their cholesterol levels checked as early as 20 years of age. In fact, if cholesterol problems run in your family, you may as well consider going for those check ups earlier. Moreover, you should eat healthy or exercise on a daily basis in order to ensure that the entire family, including children, remains safe from ailments caused by high cholesterol levels in the bloodstream.With heart failure the essential organ of the human body stops functioningThe Truth: It has to be borne in mind that an individual’s heart stops beating not during heart failure but through cardiac arrest. Heart failure obviously causes the organ to lose some energy in the sense that it pumps less blood. However, the heart does not come to a stand still altogether. In case of a cardiac arrest on the other hand, the person becomes unconscious first and then stops breathing.Pain in legs is nothing but an obvious sign of agingIf your legs have been aching more frequently, heart disease may be one of the possible causes. As a matter of fact, such pains are often associated with peripheral artery disease. PAD occurs when the arteries in legs are blocked through plaque buildup. People with PAD face strong risk of a stroke.If the heart beats faster than usual, it is an indication of a probable heart attackIt has to be understood that little variations in heart rate is normal. The heart rate becomes fast during exercise or workout sessions and slows down when a person is asleep. In a majority of the cases, change in heartbeat does not imply anything serious. Sometimes, however, it may appear as a sign of arrhythmia. While arrhythmia are not harmful when brought under prompt medical attention, treatment delays in this case can affect the functionality of the organ.
