Preventing Congestive Heart Disease

For most people who have it congestive heart disease is preventable or even reversible if caught early enough. Its causes and effects are directly related to lifestyle choices and in some cases to other underlying diseases that can cause it symptoms. Smoking, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, metabolic syndrome, and diet are all risk factors for this most deadly of diseases.

celiac disease

These risk factors can cause atherosclerosis, which are lesions in blood vessels. This can lead to arteriosclerosis, which is a thickening, hardening, and calcification of arterial walls leading to a decreased blood supply. This affects the ability of the heart to do its job in an efficient manner. These risk factors can also damage the heart, weakening the muscle itself.

DISEASE

Preventing congestive heart disease is a matter of living a healthy lifestyle. By following some rather simple rules the majority of people can keep this disease from ever touching their lives. Here are some things to consider in the fight against this disease.

Eat oatmeal every morning. There are studies that show that oatmeal helps remove excess fat from the body. Not only is it good for your heart but it is high in fiber and complex carbohydrates, helping to provide sustained energy through out the morning.

Eat more Omega 3 fatty acids. These come from fish in the form of fish and are known to fight LDL (low-density lipoproteins) cholesterol and lower triglyceride levels.

With this in mind it makes sense to eat more fish, like salmon, that are high in Omega 3s. These types of fish contain no bad cholesterol, unlike red meat. If you do eat red meat stick with lean cuts to help cut down on the fats and bad cholesterol that is known to clog and harden arteries, which is a leading cause of congestive heart failure.

Getting daily exercise is also a good way to keep the affects of congestive heart disease at bay. Cardiovascular exercise keeps the heart strong and healthy. The heart is essentially a muscle and needs to be worked as such. If your overall body condition is weak chances are the heart is weak as well. Aerobic exercise works the entire cardiovascular system, including the heart, lungs, and circulatory system. It can be as simple as going for a walk or as you get stronger jogging, biking, or even swimming.

Learning to relax is the last thing you can do to help prevent congestive heart disease. Stress is known to increase the risk of congestive heart failure so taking time to de-stress is important in fighting this disease.

Preventing Congestive Heart Disease

DISEASE

Diagnosing and Preventing Mareks Disease in Chickens

If you own chickens, you should be aware of a very common illness called MAREKS DISEASE (MD) that many chickens have.

disease

What is Mareks Disease? It is a virus that causes tumors to grow on the internal organs of chickens and this disease kills more chickens than any other disease. It caused widespread and devastating losses of poultry in years past.

DISEASE

Mareks disease is a very common disease in chicken flocks that is highly contagious. Chicks between the ages of five to twenty four weeks of age are most susceptible to contracting this disease.

Mareks Disease is grouped with the herpesvirus category of viruses. This disease is also commonly referred to as 'Range Paralysis'. Your chickens can catch this disease even they have not been in direct contact with infected birds or people who have touched diseased birds. Birds that are not killed by the tumors this virus causes are lifetime carries. They shed the virus through feather dander that becomes airborne.

Mareks Disease has been very exciting to researchers because it is used to study cancer in all species, including people. Researchers were actually able to create the very first vaccine for any species that was effective to prevent cancer.

This disease is highly contagious and the only way to prevent tumors from growing when your chickens are infected is to vaccinate your birds against this disease. The vaccine doesn't get rid of the disease but it greatly reduces the fatality of the disease and it is much less likely to spread among your flock and others in the area.

The vaccine must be given to day old chicks as close to hatching as possible. Once your chicks are more than twenty four hours old, the vaccine is no longer effective and shouldn't be given. Chicks will become immune within two weeks of being vaccinated. The vaccine has to be given very quickly as it isn't effective after about 30 minutes or so.

Diagnosing and Preventing Mareks Disease in Chickens

DISEASE