Entry #2: Preventing the Leading Cause of Death
Welcome to Dom’s Fitness Life Journal where I discuss fitness and health topics currently being implemented in my life.
Today I am studying a lesson on coronary artery disease and its relationship to exercise and a healthy diet.
According to the CDC at the time of writing this, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.
Of all the heart diseases, the most common type of heart disease for both both women and men is coronary artery disease. This is a serious disease that occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart become clogged with fat deposits also known as plaque.
Fatty deposits can develop inside our blood vessels due to something called dyslipidemia - more commonly referred to as elevated cholesterol.
Many hear about cholesterol all the time but probably never really thought about what it is. Well, cholesterol is a waxy substance in blood vessels made of fat and proteins (or together referred to as lipoprotein). The body actually produces its own cholesterol with a healthy diet because the body needs cholesterol to build cells. However, there is “good cholesterol” and “bad cholesterol”.
“Bad cholesterol” is called Low Density Lipoprotein (or LDL) and this makes up the plaque that clogs the arteries. “Good cholesterol” is called High Density Lipoprotein (or HDL) and doesn’t tend to clog arteries like LDL. HDL actually helps to remove LDL from the body.
Exercise reduces high cholesterol by stimulating enzymes that help move LDL (“bad cholesterol) out of the blood stream and into the liver where it will be converted into bile and emptied from your body [WebMD - Exercise To Lower Cholesterol].
Coordinating with your doctor and a personal trainer can help determine both if a person has elevated cholesterol as well as what types of dietary changes, exercises, and medications can be applied to lower your cholesterol to a healthy level as well as reduce the possibility of developing coronary artery disease.
Though I do these journals because I enjoy doing them, I hope they can serve a purpose to you as well. I am not a doctor, but I am someone who is enthusiastic about learning and sharing what I am implementing in my own life as well as what I am curious about. Hope you’re well and healthy. Thanks for reading.