Dr. Morice performs tubal reversal surgery for women from around the world. He also provides thorough OB-GYN care to women in Morgan City, LA. Dr. Morice is proud of the strong relationships he has built with his patients, both local and farther away. One area that he’s particularly passionate about is protecting his patients’ heart health.
February is American Heart Month, a time for all Americans to learn more about heart disease, get examined, and learn how to prevent it. Did you know that more than 25% of deaths in the US are caused by heart disease? Heart disease is the number 1 killer of men and women in the US. Further, heart disease kills more women each year than all cancers combined. This is a serious illness that needs to be avoided at all costs!
What is heart disease?
Heart disease is an umbrella term that describes a diseased state of the heart. It includes heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, and coronary artery disease. It can also include cardiovascular disease, which typically refers to the narrowing and hardening of one’s arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack.
Your heart serves as a pump that carries oxygen-rich blood to all parts of your body. If your pump isn’t working correctly, parts of your body may be oxygen deprived. This can cause serious complications and death.
What causes heart disease?
Heart disease can be caused by many things, including genetics. This article serves to raise awareness about preventable heart disease, however, to help our patients avoid this dangerous condition. There are multiple risk factors that increase one’s risk for heart disease. The best way to avoid heart disease is to avoid these risk factors.
Conditions that increase the risk of heart disease include:
- Diabetes: Patients with diabetes have a higher risk of heart disease.
- Metabolic syndrome: Individuals with fat around the abdomen, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high levels of blood triglycerides are diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. This increases the risk for a variety of problems, including heart disease.
- Stress: Stress can be very damaging to the heart, and it appears to affect women more than men.
- Smoking: Smoking puts extra pressure on the heart, leading to a disease state.
- Lack of Exercise: Exercise conditions your heart. Women tend to be less active than men, and lack of activity increases the risk of heart attack.
- Diets high in saturated fat and cholesterol: A high-fat and cholesterol diet leads to increased plaque deposition within the arteries. This can lead to atherosclerosis and heart disease.
Our next article will discuss the steps you can take to avoid heart disease. (Hint: Daily exercise is very important!)
If you have any questions about heart disease or tubal reversal surgery, call our office at (985) 702-BABY to schedule an appointment with Dr. Morice.
