Tag: heart

Top Ways To Improve Heart Health According To An Interventional Cardiologist
HEALTH & WELLNESS

Top Ways To Improve Heart Health According To An Interventional Cardiologist

(BPT) - Most of us know that maintaining optimal heart health is essential to living a long, healthy life. Yet still, in the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death, and we are not putting adequate attention toward prevention. Fortunately, cardiologists, heart health experts, and new research have made it easier to take care of our health by providing simple guidelines on how to maintain optimal heart health even as we age. Renowned Interventional Cardiologist and author Dr. Heather Shenkman emphasizes the importance of "making small, easy adjustments to your daily lifestyle that add up to transformative health benefits." 1) Go for daily walks Yes, just going on one walk a day is enough exercise to do your body good. Considering how busy our lives can be, it ...
When It Comes To Heart Disease The Sex Of Your Cells Matter
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

When It Comes To Heart Disease The Sex Of Your Cells Matter

Most mammals, including humans, have two sex chromosomes, X and Y. One sex chromosome is usually inherited from each parent, and they pair up as either XX or XY in every cell of the body. People with XX chromosomes typically identify as female, and people with XY chromosomes typically identify as male. The genes on these chromosomes play a key role in development and function – including how heart disease develops. Before I became a biomedical engineer studying how sex chromosomes affect the heart, I learned about one curious function of X chromosomes in my high school science class, with the calico cat example. Female calico cats almost always have orange and black splotches of fur, because the gene that defines coat color is found on the X chromosome. When an orange cat mates with a bl...