10 Reasons You Could Have a Heart Attack or Stroke (Prevent Heart Attack & Strokes)

Hello, Dr Joe here of TheDrJoe.com and The2020Pharm.com In today's video, I'm going to give you 10 reasons why you could develop a heart attack or a stroke After I've given you the reasons in this video I'm going to give you a brief explanation As to the anatomy and the pathophysiology of how heart attacks and strokes come about So, it promises to be exciting and by the way The reason for this video is that you become aware of these reasons and you can do something about them So without further ado, let's get started. Here are 10 reasons why your arteries may get clogged up leading to a disease heart attacks and strokes reason number one low vitamin k levels Vitamin k is important in the health of your arteries Studies have shown that vitamin k in particular vitamin k2 does prevent calcifications in the arteries therefore Low levels of vitamin k is a punch on your arteries that is easily preventable Reason number two why your arteries may get clogged up low free testosterone A low level of free testosterone puts you at risk of having calcium deposits in your arteries In particular the coronary arteries supplying blood and nutrients to your heart And the carotid arteries supplying blood and nutrients to your brain the fact that low free testosterone can cause calcification in your arteries Is supported by studies Reason number three why your arteries may get clogged up excess triglycerides We tend not to talk much about triglycerides But these fats are just as bad if not worse than cholesterol in terms of how unfriendly they are to our arteries High triglycerides contribute to hardening and thickening of our arteries You need to watch your triglycerides very closely Reason number four why your arteries may get clogged up excess homocysteine High homocysteine level is associated with heart disease and strokes High homocysteine levels in the blood can damage the lining of the arteries High levels of homocysteine may also make the blood clot more easily than it should This increases your risk of blood vessel blockages leading to strokes and heart attacks A common cause of excess homocysteine level is vitamin b12 deficiency Reason number five why your arteries may get clogged up is excess cholesterol Why some people in our society remain in denial about the role of cholesterol and heart disease because of their dietary preference Let it be known to you that cholesterol is a necessary ingredient in the inflammation that leads to hardening of your arteries Please do not get dragged into their belief system High cholesterol is bad for your heart and is bad for your brain health Reason number six why your arteries may get clogged up high oxidized LDL People with coronary artery disease have high levels of oxidized LDL And this is an independent risk factor in heart disease Oxidized LDL is a product of inflammation lifestyle habits like smoking that promote free radicals Cause inflammation leading to high oxidized LDL Reason number seven excess insulin We need insulin to survive, but we don't need a huge amount Excess insulin levels occur in insulin resistance This happens in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes Insulin resistance causes the release of free fatty acids into the blood circulation The liver cannot deal with the huge fatty acid load Leaving a lot of free fatty acids in the blood circulation These free fatty acids in the blood circulation cause hardening of the arteries And over time leads to heart disease reason number eight excess glucose A diet high in sugar will ultimately result in insulin resistance Insulin resistance causes high glucose levels High circulating glucose in the blood leads to heart disease through the mechanism of insulin resistance and inflammation Reason number nine why your arteries may get clogged up high blood pressure People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop heart disease and strokes High blood pressure puts added force against the walls of your arteries over time This extra pressure can damage the arteries Making them more vulnerable to the narrowing and plaque buildup Causing hardening of your arteries. Reason number 10 why your arteries may get clogged up physical inactivity Being physically inactive can lead to fatty material building up in your arteries We also know that sedentary lifestyle causes high blood pressure If the arteries that carry blood to your heart and brain get damaged and clogged It can lead to heart attack and strokes the good news is This is a modifiable risk factor within your control So now let's talk about the anatomy and the basic pathophysiology of how heart attacks and strokes come about so here is a graphical Representation of an artery. Okay. So as you can see here, this is a clean artery Okay, the walls are completely free of plaques. There are no plaques on the wall of the artery and the lumen Is also free which means blood can flow through the lumen of the artery Completely unhindered. Okay, so you compare that to This one here. Okay. Look at the wall here. This has got a plaque on it. All right Now if the insult that led to this plaque buildup continues Then what's going to happen eventually is you're going to have more plaque developing Circumferentially around this artery and As of this moment The lumen is partially obstructed Now if that insult continues and you have a continuous plaque buildup, which is what you expect If the insult continues unabated then This plaque will continue to build up and then you have a complete obstruction Okay, complete obstruction So Your arteries, they are your lifeline Literally, they are your lifeline. So you've got to look after them And they receive blood from the heart So let's move on to the heart. Okay, the heart is the pumping station So let's move on to the heart. So here we have the heart. Okay And the heart muscle is here and you've got the vessels coming out of the chambers of the heart so the heart muscle itself Has to receive oxygen and nutrients. Okay, it's got to receive oxygen supply and nutrients And the vessels that supply the oxygen and the nutrients of the heart muscle are called coronary arteries Okay, so you got the coronary Arteries here. These red ones. These are the coronary arteries So they are the ones supplying blood to the heart muscle because the heart muscle needs Nutrients, needs oxygen for it to do its job properly and So if what happens here, okay this plaque buildup Happens in any of these coronary vessels. Okay, if it happens in any of these coronary arteries Then you could have a complete obstruction. Like I said earlier on. Okay, when you have a complete obstruction Then the area that is supplied beyond that point of obstruction Will be deprived of oxygen and then it will die. Okay, and when that happens That is what we call a heart attack Yes, that's what we call a heart attack Okay, so if there's an obstruction at this level then this area that is supplied by this vessel here Will die because of oxygen deprivation So that's the heart there. If that happens in the vessels of the brain That part of the brain that is supplied by that artery Will also be starved of oxygen And it will die off and that's what we call a stroke Okay, so when we talk about heart attacks and strokes, this is what we mean. Okay, it all starts with plaque buildup the vessel getting obstructed Either by plaque or sometimes a blood clot If that happens to the heart muscle, you have a heart attack. If that happens to The vessel supplying part of the brain, the artery supplying the brain, you end up with a stroke So now we're up to speed with heart attacks and stroke now What do we mean by cardiovascular disease? Where cardiovascular disease refers to diseases affecting the heart Cardio, heart and blood vessels vascular, okay So cardiovascular disease refers to diseases of the heart and blood vessels So good Now that we have a basic understanding of the anatomy and the pathophysiology of how heart attacks and strokes come about The next question is what should you do next? Well, the reason I actually shot this video is because I want you guys to get tested for all of those things that I mentioned in the video earlier on Indeed all of them can be tested for Apart from things like physical inactivity, which you can easily self-diagnose So and I also know that yes, some of those tests may not be available in every neighborhood But the ones that are available where you are, see your doctor to get tested for them so that you can rectify the problem Okay, that's the reason behind this video Talking about physical inactivity Those of you who are participating in the 30-day challenge You know the 30-day challenge for heart health Well done. You are 21 days into it now. Well done. Very well done And keep going. I'm rooting for you. You've got 9 days to go and hopefully after the 30 days are over Then of course You can now get into really getting active going forward. That was the whole idea behind the challenge So well done for participating and well done for coming this far So hopefully you got some value from this video. If you did, please give the video a thumbs up. Please like the video And also, please share this video with your friends, family and colleagues If you're participating in the 30-day challenge, let me know how well you're doing Are you racking up those steps? Racking up those reps? Let me know how well you're doing in the comments below And also, I know that some of the risk factors that I mentioned in the video, you need to get tested for them But just by superficially looking at all of those reasons that I mentioned How many do you think may apply to you? Do you think 3 or more may apply to you? If that's the case, also, please do let me know in the comments section Right, so there should be 2 videos on your screen now. Go ahead and click to watch any of those 2 videos And if you haven't joined us yet at the 2020 Forum Platform, go ahead and join us there I think that's about it in this video Until next time. Well, this is Dr Joe signing out