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Heart Attacks And Its Causes - College Essay

Heart Attacks And Its Causes

For years, heart attacks have struck fear into the eyes of Americans. All cardiovascular diseases together are the widest cause of death in the country, with heart attacks alone accounting for about twenty-three percent of all fatalities (Staff,1997). Doctors have tried to reduce this risk over time by advising patients about lowering cholesterol levels, for high cholesterol has long been thought a major contributor to heart-related deaths. Although controversy surrounds recent discoveries in biology and health, new studies have lead scientists to believe that heart disease is not necessarily cholesterol related, but connected to levels of homocysteine in the blood.
Even though many ...

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hypothesis that high levels of cholesterol cause heart attacks may be attributed to this: LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, induces cells to produce proteins in the arterial walls of the heart and the veins leading to the heart. Macrophages eat the fatty substances in the heart and then die, causing a build up in the veins. Conventionally speaking, the blockage of LDL would be the onset of a very fatty diet. However, it has never been proved that the cholesterol is the cause of the injury to the arterial wall. Dr. Kilmer McCully has his own theory: high homocysteine levels are what make the veins and heart vulnerable to the harmful effects of cholesterol. Homocysteine corrodes the arterial walls and makes them susceptible to the effects of cholesterol (Clarke, 1997 ).
Homocysteine is an amino acid that is used to build and nurture proteins. This amino acid is nonessential to sustain life, and it accumulates in the body when folate levels are exceptionally low (Kasabien, 1997). It ...

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 11/1/2007 04:59:03 AM
Category: Health & Medicine
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 950
Pages: 4

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