Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. Heart disease is more difficult to diagnose in women than in men.
Heart disease refers to any condition affecting the structures or function of the heart and cardiovascular system.
Coronary artery disease (including heart attacks), abnormal heart rhythms, congestive heart failure, heart valve disease, congenital heart disease, heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy), pericardial disease, aorta disease, and vascular disease (blood vessel disease) are all types of heart disease.
It also is a leading cause of premature death and disability in both men and women. Heart disease affects more than 70 million Americans, and about 950,000 Americans die of heart disease each year, which amounts to one death every 33 seconds.
It is estimated that the total costs of heart disease in 2005 was $393.5 billion for health-care expenditures and for lost productivity from death and disability.
Reduce Your Risk
* Eat a diet low in fat; specifically, low in saturated fat. * Eat foods that are low in cholesterol. * Eat at least five servings of fruit every day, especially citrus fruits, which have a lot of vitamin C. * Eat dark-green and bright-colored vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and Brussels sprouts (which have vitamin E), as well as carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash (which have vitamin A). * Eat no more than 1 teaspoon of salt (sodium) per day. * Eat foods that are high in fiber such as whole-grain cereals, breads, and rice. * Eat foods that have unsaturated fats in them such as soy, canola, olive, and fish oils. * Engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. (Not food, we know, but exercise and diet go hand in hand and are equally important in this instance.)
Cancer
Whether chemotherapy or radiation therapy, even these cures for cancer are brutal on the human body.
The word cancercancer:
A group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells in the body. is derived from the name of a mythological crab who was sent by a jealous god on several occasions to harass the hero Hercules. Eventually, Hercules crushed the crab under his heel. Unfortunately, cancer is not as easy to get rid of in modern times.
Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells in the body. If the spread is not controlled, it almost always results in death.
Cancer is the second-most common disease in the United States. Almost 1.4 million new cases were diagnosed in 2005. That same year, more than 500,000 Americans died of cancer, which equals 1,500 people a day. The National Institutes of Health estimates that the overall costs for cancer in the United States in 2004 was $289.8 billon, a beastly sum.
Cancer can be caused by many factors, both external and internal. You've heard of the most obvious cause — tobacco — but other factors include chemicals, radiation, and infectious organisms, as well as various genetic factors.
Reduce Your Risk
You can reduce your risk for cancer the same way you reduce your risk for heart disease, which is quite convenient. Here is the list again. * Eat a diet low in fat; specifically, low in saturated fat. * Eat at least five servings of fruit every day, especially citrus fruits, which have a lot of vitamin C. * Eat dark-green and bright-colored vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, and Brussels sprouts (which have vitamin E), as well as carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash (which have vitamin A). * Eat foods that are high in fiber such as whole-grain cereals, breads, and rice. * Eat no more than 1 teaspoon of salt (sodium) per day. * Engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Diabetes
They're tools of the trade.
If you have diabetesA disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar,