Fish Oil and Heart Disease

According to National Statistics online, nearly 15% of the
population of the UK are suffering or have suffered from a
cardiac health event in their lifetimes. That means that
for every 100 people in the room, about 15 of them will
have a heart attack or suffer from a coronary disease.
Interestingly enough, this statistic includes both men and
women, with men only having a slight advantage over the
women in terms of number of cases. Even with all we know
about heart disease and how to prevent it, it seems that
there is so much more to learn.

What is Heart Disease?

The heart is the muscle in the body that allows for
transportation of materials throughout the body. When a
person takes in food, these meals are broken down by the
digestive system in order to be accessible for functions in
the body. As the food is broken down into nutrients, these
nutrients are then transported into the blood stream in
order to get to the right areas of the body. When the
heart pumps, it moves these blood cells around to the
extremities and then when it contracts, it pulls the blood
into itself by means of the veins in order to push that
blood into the body into the arteries. When the heart is
unable to function properly, this process can not take
place.

There are a number of reasons and names for the idea of
heart disease. At its simplest definition, heart disease
is when the heart is damaged or just unable to work as it
should. This can be a hereditary and congenital condition,
like in the instance of a valve problem. A patient can
have this from birth and never need to have anything done
to repair it, while other patients need to have this fixed
in order to make sure that heart works properly.

Heart disease can be grouped into being caused by heredity,
lifestyle or by a defect or injury. Hereditary factors
like a predisposition to high cholesterol can cause
troubles like heart attacks and myocardial infarction.
Then again, if a patient takes in too much cholesterol and
fat into their diet, they can also increase their risk for
heart disease.

The heart disease cases that cause troubles for patients
will have conditions like hardening of the arteries,
blockages of the vessels, and a narrowing/widening of these
passageways for the blood. When the vessels become too
blocked, blood can not get to the heart, resulting in heart
damage and death.

What are the Symptoms of Heart Disease?

The real concern when it comes to heart disease is that
there may be few, if any, symptoms at first. A patient may
have completely normal lab results as well as no noticeable
physical symptoms. In more advanced cases, the cholesterol
levels will be high, the LDL levels will be high, and HDL
levels will be low. Blood pressure readings may increase
and the patient may report mild chest pain and tightness.
Some patients even report troubles with breathing during
activity. The heart rate may be higher as has become more
difficult for the heart to do the same job on a lower
number of beats per minute.

In an emergent condition, the symptoms would be an
increased heart rate, crushing chest pain, and possibly
nausea. Others report that they had a raised temperature
and sweating, as well as left arm weakness.

How Can Fish Oil Help?

According to recent studies done at Harvard Medical
University, fish oil seems to be able to prevent heart
disease. With its anti-inflammatory properties, fish oil
seems to allow the body to repair smaller damage spots
before they become too problematic. There have also been
previous studies linking the idea of using fish oil and
lowering bad cholesterol as well as increasing good
cholesterol. The essential fatty acids in fish oil help
the body process the cholesterol and other toxins in the
body before they build up in the liver and cause damage.

Where Can You Find Fish Oil Sources?

Understandably so, fish oil can be found in its purest form
in oily fishes. Fish choices like salmon, herring, kipper,
and mackerel all contain high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids
that can help to protect the heart from heart disease. In
addition, there are studies being done now that indicate
that fish oil might be able to help in the repair of damage
from previous concerns with heart disease and heart
attacks. In countries with a high fish consumption, the
prevalence of heart disease is much lower, even with the
high smoking rates (as in Japan, for example).

Conclusion

While there are many studies that are questioning the use
of fish oil in the treatment and prevention of heart
disease, it's clear that there is some connection. Since
the body can not make this essential fatty acid on its own,
adding a supplement to the diet can not be a hard decision
to make.

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Dave McEvoy is an expert in omega 3 fish oil EPA with over
20 years experience; for more information about fish oil
and how it can help come and visit.
http://www.mind1st.co.uk/fish-oil-heart-disease.asp