In 2016 the total US Population was 323M and 20% of this population died from a heart attack, that’s 630,000 people, that’s 1 in 4 people to put it into perspective, or every 40 seconds. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most racial/ethnic groups in the United States, including African Americans, Hispanics, and whites costing the United States over 200 Billion Dollars per year. Heart disease however has various causes, our food, our lifestyle, for example how we handle stress, lack of exercise, and genetics just to title a few.
The most common type of heart disease is called Atherosclerosis, which is a form of plaque buildup from cholesterol and other substances inside the artery walls causing inflammation and decreased blood flow to the heart muscle. The symptoms are typically chest pain called Angina, to the point of heart failure ultimately causing death.
Your body however could give you a warning sign long before you are categorized as a major risk factor by your doctor. Did you know however if you’re a male one of the strongest indicators (no pun intended) is a weak erection. A special Health Report from Harvard Medical School, atherosclerosis in arteries supplying the penis can prevent the increase in blood flow needed to start or sustain an erection.
In addition, blood vessel issues are the leading cause of erectile dysfunction. That’s why Harvard’s Dr. Michael P. O’Leary,Harvods lead medical editor, says that erections “serve as a indicator for your overall health,” and that erectile dysfunction can be an early warning sign of trouble in the heart or elsewhere in the body. Many other early warnings signs of course are the same for both men and women, such as feeling tired, decreased memory, and shortness of breath are all symptoms.
The common denominator with all heart disease patients is however inflammation. This starts just like getting a splinter, a scrape, or a bee sting. The pulsating swelling of damaging tissue is inflammation; inflammation can be hidden in your arteries at very low levels simply from cholesterol hitting your arterial wall, eventually causing a heart attack.
The answer is “yes” and New Century Labs has that cheap blood test you may have never heard about: HS-CRP (High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein)
High-sensitivity CRP is thought by some experts to be a useful test for determining risk of CVD, heart attacks, and strokes and that hs-CRP can play a role in the evaluation process BEFORE a person develops one of these health problems. Some say that the best way to predict risk is to combine a good marker for inflammation, like hs-CRP, with the lipid profile. Several groups have recommended that this test be used for people who have a moderate risk of heart attack over the next 10 years.
Relatively high levels of hs-CRP in otherwise healthy individuals have been found to be predictive of an increased risk of a future heart attack, stroke, sudden cardiac death, and/or peripheral arterial disease, even when cholesterol levels are within an acceptable range.
People with higher hs-CRP values have the highest risk of cardiovascular disease and those with lower values have less risk. Specifically, individuals who have hs-CRP results at the high end of the normal range have 1.5 to 4 times the risk of having a heart attack as those with hs-CRP values at the low end of the normal range.
The American Heart Association and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have defined risk groups as follows:
These values are only a part of the total evaluation process for cardiovascular diseases. Additional risk factors to be considered are elevated levels of cholesterol, LDL-C, triglycerides, and glucose. In addition, smoking, high blood pressure hypertension and diabetes also increase the risk level.
HS-CRP Blood Test
HS-CRP test can be easily ordered at New Century Labs, results are typically 48 hours and it can be a true life saver for a more awareness and control of your own health, creating a more proactive healthy lifestyle.
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