MAINTAINING A HEALTHY HEART

y How To Maintain a Healthy Heart

1. Don't smoke or use tobacco
Smoking or using tobacco is one of the most significant risk factors for developing heart disease. Chemicals in tobacco can damage your heart and blood vessels, leading to narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Atherosclerosis can ultimately lead to a heart attack. When it comes to heart disease prevention, no amount of smoking is safe. Smokeless tobacco and low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes also are risky, as is exposure to secondhand smoke.In addition, the nicotine in cigarette smoke makes your heart work harder by narrowing your blood vessels and increasing your heart rate and blood pressure. Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke replaces some of the oxygen in your blood. This increases your blood pressure by forcing your heart to work harder to supply enough oxygen. Even so-called "social smoking" smoking only while at a bar or restaurant with friends is dangerous and increases the risk of heart disease.Women who smoke and take birth control pills are at greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke than are those who don't do either. This risk increases with age, especially in women older than 35.The good news, though, is that when you quit smoking, your risk of heart disease drops dramatically within just one year. And no matter how long or how much you smoked, you'll start reaping rewards as soon as you quit.

2. Eat a heart-healthy diet

Eating a special diet called the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan can help protect your heart. Following the DASH diet means eating foods that are low in fat, cholesterol and salt. The diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products, which can help protect your heart. Beans, other low-fat sources of protein and certain types of fish also can reduce your risk of heart disease.Limiting certain fats you eat also is important. Of the types of fat saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and trans fat saturated fat and trans fat increase the risk of coronary artery disease by raising blood cholesterol levels.Major sources of saturated fat include: Red meat, Dairy products, Coconut and palm oils, Sources of trans fat include: Deep-fried fast foods,Bakery products,Packaged snack foods,Margarines,Crackers. Heart-healthy eating isn't all about cutting back, though. Most people need to add more fruits and vegetables to their diet with a goal of five to 10 servings a day. Eating that many fruits and vegetables can not only help prevent heart disease, but also may help prevent cancer.

y Type of Heart Diseases

Coranary artery diseases ,the most common form of heart diseases,is caused by a narrowing of the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients.CAD can cause chest pain, heart attack, sudden death cause by severaly abnormal and inffective beating of heart.

y Causes of Heart Diseases

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the United States for men and women. Coronary heart disease is caused by the buildup of plaque in the arteries to your heart. This may also be called hardening of the arteries.Fatty material and other substances form a plaque build-up on the walls of your coronary arteries. The coronary arteries bring blood and oxygen to your heart.This buildup causes the arteries to get narrow.As a result, blood flow to the heart can slow down or stop. Many things increase your risk for heart disease: y y y y y Diabetes is a strong risk factor for heart disease. High blood pressure increases your risks of heart disease and heart failure. Extra cholesterol in your blood builds up inside the walls of your heart's arteries (blood vessels). Smokers have a much higher risk of heart disease. Not getting enough exercise, and feeling depressed or having excess stress are other risk factors.

y Preventive Measure
y y y Eat a heart healthy diet. This is the most important step you can take lowering your risk Lower fat intake. Calories from fat should less than 30% of total calorie intake every day. Lower blood cholesterol to the recommend level.This keep plaque from building up within your coronary arteries.

y Treatment
y y y Factor that increases the risk of heart disease,suck as smoking,poor diet & physical exercise Treatment for heart attack,the choice of angioplasty in a specialist cardiac centre Diagnosis of heart disease and access to diagnostic test

 Blood Constituents and Fuctions

y Red Blood Cells (RBC's) Erythrocytes- Completely dedicated to their job of respiratory gas (oxygen and carbon dioxide) exchange. White Blood Cells (WBC's) Leukocytes Crucial to our defence against disease. Platelets- Essential for clotting process that occurs in plasma when blood vessles are ruptured or their lining injured.

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 Blood Group And Blood Transfusion

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A blood group is a classification of blood based on the presence or absence ofinherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins,carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycolipids, depending on the blood group system. Some of these antigens are also present on the surface of other types of cells of various tissues. Several of these red blood cell surface antigens can stem from one allele (or very closely linked genes) and collectively form a blood group system.[1] Blood types are inherited and represent contributions from both parents. A total of 30 human blood group systems are now recognized by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT).Many pregnant women carry a fetus with a blood type different from their own, and the mother can formantibodies against fetal RBCs. Sometimes these maternal antibodies are IgG, a small immunoglobulin, which can cross the placenta and cause hemolysis of fetal RBCs, which in turn can lead to hemolytic disease of the newborn, an illness of low fetal blood counts that ranges from mild to severe. Blood transfusion is the process of receiving blood products into one's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used in a variety of medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, clotting factors, and platelets.

 Importance of Blood Donation and Handling Donated Blood

y Many patient of different age group requires blood transfusion.This is needed when they undergo major operation,battle,long term diseases, or are there victim of accidents.For example blood is needed during surgery,childbirth,or cancer treatment.As result,hospital Malaysia require a lot of blood to meet the needs for blood transfusion.Blood is a living and renewable tissue.Donating blood does not harm anyone but it can save lives. A healthy person can donate blood every 56 days or about four to six times per year

To ensure that donated blood is safe for transfusion,the donor is interviewed and given medical counseling,test or screened for Hepatits B and C,sexually transmitted diseases and human immunodeficiently virus (HIV).This is to make sure that infected blood is not given. Blood is separated into plasma,red blood ,white blood cells and platelets.The donated blood is collected in a plastic bag which contain a substances that prevents the blod from coagulating.These bags are then sent to the hospitals where there are stored in banks at 4C.Fresh blood can last for 24 hours and stored blood at 4C which can last for 40 days.