According to the Mayo Clinic (and every other authority for that matter), there has been an upswing in coronary disease over the last 20 years. In fact, a recent study found clogged arteries in young adults, age 16 on up – suggesting heart disease doesn’t only affect men and women in their 50s and 60s. The latest findings mark the first shift since the mid-1960s, when a decline in heart disease began.

In the study, researchers from the Mayo Clinic and University of British Columbia reported that of 515 people, ages 16-64, 82% (425 persons) had “a degree of coronary artery atherosclerosis assessed at autopsy.

The researchers stated that 83% of that group had signs of coronary artery disease (CAD) and around 8% had a high level of the disease. Their 23-year analysis demonstrated three categories of decline: high level, any level, and average degree of CAD. Yet, the degree of these declines stopped after 1995 and may have actually headed upward— after the year 2000.

It is little surprise that there has also been a corresponding rise in obesity and diabetes rates during this same time frame. And the link between obesity, diabetes, and heart disease has already been established through relationships such as Syndrome X.

The introduction of computers and a more sedentary lifestyle, the growth of fast food chains and larger portion sizes, reduced physical education in schools and increased consumption of high-fructose corn syrup have massively contributed to the obesity explosion; which has now become an epidemic in North America.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that in 2003, just over a million American men died. Of these deaths, approximately 80% died of heart disease or one of the nine other leading causes of death among American men (cancer, unintentional injuries, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/COPD, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, suicide, kidney disease, Alzheimer's disease).

The American Heart Association revealed that over 410,000 men died of cardiovascular disease in 2004 and about one-fourth of all heart disease-related deaths occur in men, 35-65. Men typically develop heart disease 10-15 years earlier than women— consequently dying in their prime.

Surprisingly, heart patients rarely change their diet. You’d think they would considering they just suffered a heart attack but apparently old habits die hard. A February 11 Reuters article demonstrates this finding. Dr. Yunsheng Ma of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, conducted a follow-up study of 555 heart disease patients for a year. He and his colleagues discovered that few met “recommendations for fruit, vegetable and fiber intake and were eating a ‘disturbing’ amount of trans fat.”

According to the article, researchers used the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), a measurement of heart-healthy eating, including “fruit and vegetable consumption, amount of trans fat consumed, and ratio of white-to-red meat eaten.”

• The average score was 30.8—out of 80

• Only 12.4% at five or more vegetable servings daily

• Only 7.8% at four or more servings of fruit daily

• Less than 8% met cereal fiber recommendations

• Only 50% exercised for at least 20 minutes at least once in the past 3 months

One of the problems is only 20% had cardiac rehabilitation following an event; those that did, their programs typically focused on exercise, not nutrition.

Keeping Your Heart Healthy

Regardless of your age, you need to start making healthier lifestyle changes now. Here are a number of preventive steps you can take:

• Stop smoking or using tobacco products

• Eat a varied diet rich in living fruits and vegetables

• Minimize consumption of animal fats, trans-fat, and cooked plant fats.

• Minimize consumption of refined sugars.

• Maintain a healthy weight

• Exercise at least 30 minutes every day

• Have your cholesterol and blood pressure tested

• Diabetics should keep blood sugar under control through proper nutrition, regular exercise, and positive lifestyle habits.

Fish oil can reduce the symptoms of exercise induced asthma to below the threshold for diagnosing it and at the same time lower the need for emergency medication according to the results of a trial carried out by Indiana University in Bloomington, USA.

The trial was a randomised double blind cross over study and involved 16 people who had mild to moderate asthma and who normally took medication on a daily basis to control it. During the trial those taking part were given either fish oil or a placebo for a period of three weeks. The dose of fish oil was quite high containing 3.2gr of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 2gr of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Both at the beginning and at the end of the trial, the participants were subjected to lung efficiency tests and had their sputum analysed for pro inflammatory cells and markers. Those who were given fish oil showed improved lung efficiency of about 64% and reduced their need for emergency medication by around 31%. They also had a lower level of pro inflammatory cells and markers in their sputum. These promising results are believed to be due to the anti-inflammatory effect of the Omega 3 fatty acids that are present in fish oil.

What is exercise induced asthma?

After exercise and sometimes even during exercise, the airway passages in people with exercise induced asthma become inflamed and narrower resulting in decreased lung efficiency, often making it necessary to use inhalers. The constriction of the airways causes various symptoms including coughing, tightness across the chest, wheezing and shortness of breath. These symptoms generally start to ease off gradually over a period of half an hour or so following exercise.

No one really knows what causes it but it is thought to be triggered by the drying out and cooling of the airway passages which results in the cells releasing pro inflammatory chemicals which then causes a narrowing of the airways. Consequently, exercising in cool and dry conditions outdoors is more likely to result in an attack of asthma than physical activities such as swimming where the air is moist and warmer.

One major problem with exercise induced asthma is that it can be a barrier to exercise for many people, particularly youngsters who can be put off sport and other physical exercise because of it. It is also on the increase and the reason for this is thought to be linked to an increased consumption of Omega 6 fatty acids in the diet along with a reduction in the amount of Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 6 is known to be pro-inflammatory whereas Omega 3 has anti-inflammatory properties and it is this difference in ratio that is thought to be responsible for a rise in a number of health problems.

Omega 6 is found in processed foods, vegetable oils, meats and dairy products so there is an abundance of them in our diet. The Omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA on the other hand are only found in oily fish or fish oil as plant sources of Omega 3 do not contain EPA and DHA, they are in the form of Alpha linolenic acid or ALA, but the problem with ALA is that our bodies cannot easily process it to produce EPA, which is the fatty acid best known for its anti inflammatory effects.

You would have to eat an awful lot of fish to get the same amount of EPA that is present in fish oil, which isn't a good idea due to the potentially harmful toxins, including mercury, that are found in our fish. So, for this reason, fish oil offers a viable and safer alternative. Another point worthy of consideration is that long term use of medication for asthma can make it less effective and of course as with any medication there can also be unwanted side effects so if fish oil can reduce the need for medication and inhalers in people with exercise induced asthma, then that is exciting news indeed.

Conclusion

Fish oil is already known to offer both preventative and therapeutic health benefits for a number of conditions and so is an excellent supplement to promote good health in general. However, a word of caution, if you are thinking of trying fish oil supplements it is essential to opt only for the best quality fish oil known as pharmaceutical grade fish oil due to the potentially harmful toxins that can be present in lesser grade fish oils.

Adult onset asthma means that you used to be asthma free but at some point after becoming an adult, you suddenly developed asthma. This can be a very frustrating and even a traumatic experience for an adult.

Not only will you now have to deal with the different signs and symptoms of asthma, but you will probably have to make some considerable lifestyle changes as well.

What is Asthma?

Getting adult onset asthma means that you now have asthma. Not much help there, so let me explain in basic terms what asthma really is. Having asthma means that your airways (or breathing tubes going from your nose/mouth to your lungs) are now extremely sensitive to certain 'things'. We call these 'things' your asthma triggers, which we will talk about in a minute. When you have asthma, you also get your own personal list of asthma triggers to go along with it.

Coming into contact with anything on your asthma triggers list starts a chain reaction of unwanted events. Unfortunately, once this chain reaction starts, there is no backspace button. You can't undo what you just started. The three events listed below are the first part of this chain reaction and you won't even know they are happening until they reach a certain point.

1. The insides of your airways get very sensitive and also start to swell up. This reduces the amount of space for the air to get through when going back and forth to your lungs. As the swelling continues to increase there is less and less room for the air to get through.

2. The muscles around the outside of your airways start to get real tight and begin trying to squeeze your airways shut. They more they squeeze the smaller they make your airways. This keeps reducing the space that your air uses to get through to your lungs.

3. The insides of your airways now start to fill with what I call gunk. You might also hear the term mucus or phlegm being used. Whatever it is called, it begins to plug up your airways. With your airways getting smaller and smaller and now starting to get plugged up, there is not much room left for the air to get back and forth to your lungs.

You probably won't even be aware that bad things have started to happen. Sometimes they will continue to get worse very slowly and you might not notice them for a day or two. Other times they will get very bad almost immediately.

Once they get bad enough, you will start to have the usual outward asthma signs and symptoms that are common to most types of asthma. I have listed the four most common symptoms below.

1. Coughing - with the insides of your airways now very sensitive, you will develop a chronic cough, with all that gunk coming out when you do.

2. Wheezing - this happens more often when you breathe out or exhale. It is from the air trying to get through what are now your very small airways.

3. Tightness in the Chest - this tightness can sometimes be painful. The muscles squeezing your airways shut are responsible for this feeling.

4. Shortness of Breath - you just can't take a deep breath anymore.

Having these symptoms is what we call having an asthma attack. Sometimes these symptoms aren't real bad but other times they get so bad that you can hardly breathe.

Age does not appear to be a factor as to when you can get adult onset asthma. You are just as likely to develop it as a 25 year old as you are as a 65 year old. One interesting statistic is that more women develop adult onset asthma than men.

There Do Appear to be Some Increased Risk Factors For Getting Asthma as an Adult

Nobody has come up with a definite reason as to why some adults suddenly develop asthma. However, there do appear to be some common factors that increase an adults chances of getting it. These are listed below:

1. Environmental Conditions - Long term exposure to various environmental conditions at work could lead to more asthma cases.

2. Infections - Coming down with other conditions such as infections, a cold, the flu, etc., seems to increase your chances of developing asthma.

3. Allergies - Half of those who developed adult onset asthma had prior allergies.

4. Estrogen Supplements - Women taking estrogen supplements for more than ten years after menopause are fifty per cent more likely to get adult asthma.

5. Cat Allergies - If you have cat allergies you are more likely to to be a candidate for adult onset asthma.

6. Obesity - Being obese also increases your odds of getting asthma as an adult.

7. Medications - People taking certain medications have a higher risk for adult asthma. Some examples are anti-inflammatory drugs, oral beta blockers, beta blocker eye drops for glaucoma, and even aspirin.