| As the leading cause of death among Americans - | | | | unless you're tested for it, you'll never know you |
| in both men and women - heart disease is not the | | | | have it, which is why it's come to be known as |
| kind of condition with which you can afford to | | | | the "silent killer." |
| take any chances. | | | | High blood pressure can be a silent killer too, as |
| Those who have diabetes, high cholesterol and | | | | there are often no symptoms of it either. The |
| high blood pressure are especially at risk. | | | | problem is that if your blood pressure is too high, |
| However, as Phoenix-based Southwest | | | | your heart must work harder to pump the blood |
| Integrative Medicine has discovered, heart health | | | | through your body. When this happens, it not only |
| can be effectively managed using a combination | | | | strains the blood vessels, but the heart itself. If |
| of both conventional and alternative medicine | | | | forced to endure this pressure for too long, the |
| techniques, from neutraceuticals to clinical nutrition. | | | | heart can actually become enlarged, forcing it to |
| Diabetes affects 23 million people in the United | | | | pump even harder and further increasing the risk |
| States. Unable to adequately convert food into | | | | of a heart attack. |
| energy, their bodies cannot properly regulate | | | | To help prevent and treat heart disease |
| blood sugar levels. It's when these blood sugar | | | | associated with diabetes, high cholesterol or high |
| levels are too high that heart disease becomes a | | | | blood pressure, you first have to know what your |
| threat, as high blood sugar can damage the blood | | | | risk is. There are advanced cardiovascular screen |
| vessels that carry blood to and from the heart. | | | | tools that go beyond cholesterol and blood |
| Cholesterol can be as equally dangerous as | | | | pressure which show your true risk. Once you |
| diabetes to the heart, but only the "bad" kind of | | | | know this risk, any number of conventional and |
| cholesterol that we get from greasy, fatty foods. | | | | alternative approaches may be used. Obviously |
| It clogs the arteries and, in turn, can lead to heart | | | | diet and exercise are critical, as eating healthy |
| disease. What's worse is that there are no | | | | low-fat meals and normalizing weight are critical. |
| symptoms associated with high cholesterol. So | | | | |