Symptoms of heart failure are;

When heart becomes weak, blood flow slows and fluid builds up in heart, lungs, and body tissues while muscles are denied oxygen.

This can result in; Shortness of breath, trouble breathing during activity or rest, a persistent cough or raspy wheezing and breathing, tiredness and fatigue as a result of every day activities, swollen ankles legs or feet, dementia, sudden weight gain due to fluid build up, rapid or irregular beats as heart tries to compensate for inefficient pumping.

Two life style diseases, that lead to heart attack or heart failure are; High Cholesterol, and High Blood pressure.

Have you been told that you have high cholesterol, or high blood pressure? If answer is yes, you will be concerned. The great news is; high cholesterol, and high blood pressure are reversible .

As percentage of elderly people in United States continues to grow faster than any other age group, incidence of CVD grows too. According to Kannel , 1 CVD accounts for 58% of mortality in persons >85 years, and incidence of atherosclerotic disease in persons >65 years is more than double that in middle-aged persons.

Can anything be done to reduce fatal CVD in a population exposed to a lifetime of CV risk factors?

Despite skepticism from some physicians, Kannel thinks CV risk can be reduced in this population (see below); he cites studies showing that correction of hypertension and dyslipidemia reduces morbidity and mortality in both middle-aged and elderly people. The effectiveness of other measures has not been established but appears to warrant investigation, including:

• reducing homocysteine levels • reducing fibrinogen levels • smoking cessation • exercise • weight reduction

Implications of Dyslipidemia in older populations: