One expert stated that merely performing 10-minute exercise bouts for at least 30 minutes a day would work on lowering fats in the blood as opposed to no exercise at all. Not enough hours in the day to exercise no longer holds as a valid excuse as these short 10-minute bursts of exercise have proven to help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Experts also noted that taking a leisurely stroll around the block wouldn’t qualify as meeting this cardiovascular benefit. Instead, they suggested walking at a moderate pace or taking a light jog. The negative cardiovascular consequences of eating a high-fat meal happens when there is an abnormally high increase in fat, a condition known as postprandial lipemia, which has been linked to increasing the risk of heart disease.

Researchers tested the effects of short-term exercise in a study on 18 men and women who didn’t follow a daily exercise routine. The participants were given a high-fat meal consisting of a milk shake with heavy whipping cream on three separate occasions for the next few weeks.

The duration of exercise before meals were divided into three categories:

• The participants exercised continuously for 30 minutes
• The participants exercised for 30 minutes in three 10-minute increments
• The participants didn’t exercise at all

Before and several times after each meal measurements of triglycerides and other blood fats were taken.

Overall, total cholesterol levels remained the same, however it did appear that triglyceride levels were less pronounced after a bout of exercise as opposed to no exercise at all. This led researchers to believe that exercise did have a positive influence on keeping triglyceride levels from rising after a high-fat meal.

However, as the morning progressed, the pain didn’t go away and indeed got worse. Finally, the then-46-year-old sought out a physician who was a church member, who recommended she go straight to the emergency room.

At the hospital, her blood pressure was a very elevated 186 over 110 and she was given nitroglycerin, a drug that relaxes blood vessels and can often help restore blood flow to the heart in heart attack patients. The medication gave her a whopping headache, a common side effect of the drug. Then the ER staff told her that she was not, in fact, having a heart attack. Further testing showed that Williamson was suffering from acid reflux and had inflammation in her esophagus—a sign of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD.

Williamson’s experience is not an uncommon one; chest pain can turn out to be a heart attack or a less serious condition, such as heartburn—but it can be really tough to tell the difference. However, the symptoms do differ. The more you know, the easier it is to avoid heart damage if chest pain does turn out to be a heart attack or unnecessary panic if it doesn’t.

Brain can mix-up pain signals from chest, stomach
GERD and other gastrointestinal problems such as ulcers, muscle spasms in the esophagus, a gallbladder attack, and pancreatitis can all cause chest pain and other symptoms that mimic those of a heart attack or angina, a crushing type of chest pain caused by decreased blood flow to the heart. Some people with angina say it feels like an elephant is sitting on their chest.

About 300,000 new cases of noncardiac chest pain are diagnosed annually in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic. Studies have shown that anywhere between 22% and 66% of patients with noncardiac chest pain have GERD, which is caused by chronic acid reflux from the stomach into the esophagus.

The ambiguity in symptoms is caused by the fact that the nerves in the stomach and heart don’t clearly signal to the brain where pain originates.

Nerves in the chest are not as specific as nerves in, say, the hand, says Stephen Kopecky, MD, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Dr. Kopecky says if someone were to get hit with a hammer on their little finger, the person would be able to identify which finger was injured. But if someone were hurt in the heart, lungs, pancreas, esophagus, or stomach, in each case they may just feel pain coming from the chest.

For More information on Difference Between Heartburn or Heart Attack

Your body needs some cholesterol. But if you have too much, it starts to build up in your arteries. (Arteries are the blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.) This is called hardening of the arteries, or atherosclerosis. It is usually a slow process that gets worse as you get older.

the buildup of cholesterol narrows your arteries and makes it harder for blood to flow through them. It reduces the amount of blood that gets to your body tissues, including your heart. This can lead to serious problems, including heart attack and stroke.

A simple blood test tells you how much cholesterol you have. The test results are given in mg/dL of cholesterol but most people just say the numbers.

For a general idea about your total cholesterol number, compare your number to the following:

• Best is less than 200.
• Borderline-high is 200 to 239.
• High is 240 or above.

Causes high cholesterol?

• Diet. Eating too much saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol can raise your cholesterol. Saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol are in foods that come from animals (such as meats, whole milk, egg yolks, butter, and cheese), many packaged foods, and snack foods like cookies, crackers, and chips.
• Weight. Being overweight may raise triglycerides and lower “good” HDL.
• Activity level. Not exercising may raise “bad” LDL and lower HDL.
• Overall health. Diseases such as hypothyroidism can raise cholesterol. Smoking may lower HDL.
• Age. Cholesterol starts to rise after age 20. In men, it usually levels off after age 50. In women, it stays fairly low until menopause. After that, cholesterol levels rise to about the same levels as in men.
• Family. Some people inherit a rare disease called a lipid disorder. It can cause very high total cholesterol, very low HDL, and high triglycerides. If you have this problem, you will need to start treatment at a young age.

Reference Site:  health.yahoo.com

1. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are the “bad” cholesterol. LDL is mostly fat with only a small amount of protein. It can clog your arteries. If you have high cholesterol, your doctor will want you to lower your LDL.
2. High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are the “good” cholesterol. HDL is more protein than fat. It helps clear the bad cholesterol from your blood so it does not clog your arteries. A high level of HDL can protect you from a heart attack.
3. Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood that can affect your health. If you have high triglycerides and high LDL, your chances of having a heart attack are higher.

A heart attack is a frightening event, and you probably don’t want to think about it. But, if you learn the signs of a heart attack and what steps to take, you can save a life–maybe your own.

What are the signs of a heart attack? Many people think a heart attack is sudden and intense, like a “movie” heart attack, where a person clutches his or her chest and falls over.

The truth is that many heart attacks start slowly, as a mild pain or discomfort. If you feel such a symptom, you may not be sure what’s wrong. Your symptoms may even come and go. Even those who have had a heart attack may not recognize their symptoms, because the next attack can have entirely different ones.

Women may not think they’re at risk of having a heart attack–but they are.

It’s vital that everyone learn the warning signs of a heart attack. These are:

* Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.

* Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.

* Shortness of breath. Often comes along with chest discomfort. But it also can occur before chest discomfort.

* Other symptoms. May include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness.

Learn the signs–but also remember: Even if you’re not sure it’s a heart attack, you should still have it checked out. Fast action can save lives-maybe your own.

Heart attack survivors talk about their experiences:

Part 1: Bob Weltner

(Video Playtime: 1 minute, 54 seconds)

Part 2: Bonnie and Joan

(Video Playtime: 2 minutes)

Know about the different parts of the heart and how it works.