Exercise and Proper Diet: Solutions to Circulatory System Health and Coronary Heart Disease Management

Coronary heart disease is the nation's single leading cause of death." For American Heart Association's 2003 report on Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, coronary heart disease will prove to be significant and responsible for almost 1.1 million Americans that have the potential of having "recurrent coronary attack." This figure implies the degree of significance that heart diseases does to the increasing mortality rate and deteriorating health of many Americans. Coronary heart disease is a "chronic illness in which the coronary arteries become narrowed and unable to carry a normal amount of blood" (Microsoft Encarta 2002). Heart diseases occur precisely because there occurs a clogging of the arteries that are vital for the regulation, supply, and flow of oxygen-containing blood in the circulatory system.

Two of the most common and prevalent cases of coronary heart diseases are coronary artery disease or angina pectoris and heart attacks. In angina pectoris, the hardening and the blocking of arteries happens because of fatty deposits within the walls of the arteries (Weston 1993 170). The organs and parts of the circulatory system concerned with this disease are the arteries and the heart. Coronary heart disease is characterized by the occurrence of angina pectoris, wherein the heart is not able to get sufficient oxygen supply from the blood. Furthermore, since the arteries are clogged with fatty deposits, blood does not flow easily to the heart. The blood is significant for the circulatory system's functioning because it carries with it the oxygen needed for the heart's activities. When these fatty deposits clog most of the blood supplied to the heart, the circulatory system will then be devoid of oxygen that will keep the heart functioning especially when a person performs a strenuous task.

One important symptom of coronary heart disease is the occurrence of heart pains and eventually, heart attack. Heart attacks almost always happen due to oxygen loss in the heart because of the blocking of oxygen-carrying blood in the circulatory system. Heart attacks, also known as myocardial infarction, "occurs when a blood clot forms inside a coronary artery... [t]he blood clot severely limits or completely cuts off blood flow to part...

Heart attacks are often characterized by periods of breathlessness and followed almost simultaneously by a pain in the chest, primarily because of the lack of oxygen in the heart. Breathlessness also happens because the failure of the circulatory system to pump blood for the heart results to the accumulation of fluid in the lungs, leading to breathlessness (Weston 1993 171).
There are many causes that give rise to the development and occurrence of coronary heart disease. Aside from the physiological state of the circulatory system, cardiovascular diseases result from an improper handling and management of individual health and lifestyle. However, coronary heart disease stems from three (3) main "risk factors" that help explain the inevitability of the disease occurring to the older and male gender population. These three main risk factors are Age (increasing age), Gender (male sex), and Heredity. The risk of having a coronary heart disease increases as an individual grows older. This happens mainly because the body's immunity from diseases and functioning of the body deteriorates as the physical body grows older in age. The male sex, meanwhile, is susceptible to have heart diseases than women. However, research also states that women after menopausal stage become more vulnerable than men to have coronary heart diseases (AHA 2002). Finally, hereditary is another risk factor that makes heart diseases inevitable to individuals who have had histories of heart diseases occurring within their family/ies. Individuals who have parents that suffer from heart diseases are more likely to get and develop the same ailment ("Risk Factors" AHA 2002).

However, despite the risk factors enumerated above, heart diseases still develop among millions of Americans because of their inability to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Most of the people afflicted with heart diseases have it not necessarily because they are male, older, or have a history of heart disease in their family. Heart diseases happen also when individuals cannot control their smoking, physical inactivity, and improper food diet ("Risk Factors" AHA 2002). Smoking causes coronary heart disease when the lining of the coronary arteries are "injured" or affected due to the absorption of nicotine and other harmful chemicals in cigarettes to the bloodstream. It also…