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Are you having back pain with any of the following?
- Severe pain, weakness or tingling in your leg(s).
- Difficulty stopping urination or loss of control of bladder or bowels.
- Unexplained fever, nausea or vomiting.
- A history of cancer or unexplained weight loss.
We understand that you are experiencing one or more of the health issues that might be impacting your back pain.
We recommend that you discuss these health issues with your doctor before proceeding with this program.
Once you are cleared by your doctor to do this program, we hope it helps you find relief from your back pain.
Introduction to Heart Health
Overview
Your heart is the center of your circulatory system, which supplies your body with blood and oxygen through a series of arteries and veins.
When your arteries are healthy, their insides are smooth and elastic. Healthy arteries enable your body to respond well to periods of stress and changes in your blood pressure, while still continuing to supply your organs with the oxygen and nutrition they need.
As you age, fatty deposits called plaque can form inside your arteries. Some people may have no symptoms, while others may experience chest pain during exercise or other stress on the heart. In addition, having arteries that are narrowed by plaque puts you at a greater risk for heart attack.
Keep your heart healthy
There are many things that affect the health of your heart. You might be at a higher risk for heart disease because of factors you cannot control, like your family history of heart disease, your age, or your gender.
The good news is that there are many things you can do to keep your heart healthy and reduce your risk for heart disease. A healthy diet and regular exercise, for example, can go a long way to keep your heart and arteries healthy.
The image on the left is an example of blood flowing through a normal artery. The artery on the right is narrowed by plaque from atherosclerosis.
Risk Factors for Heart Disease
Your risk of developing heart disease depends on many things. You are at greater risk if you:
- Are male
- Are female over the age of 55 and/or in menopause
- Have a family history of heart disease
- Have high cholesterol
- Have high blood pressure
- Have an inactive lifestyle
- Use tobacco
- Have diabetes
- Are overweight
Some of these risk factors you can change and improve, while others you can't. Your gender, your age, and your family history of heart disease are factors that you can't do anything about, so it's even more important to manage the risk factors that can lessen your chances of having a heart attack.
Important Heart Health Screenings
Part of staying healthy is recognizing the early signs of disease before you have any symptoms. There are some simple screening tests that you can do to identify risk factors that can lead to heart disease. Get screened for:
- Cholesterol at least every 5 years.
- Blood pressure every 1 to 2 years, more frequently if your blood pressure is higher than 120/80.
- Blood sugar at least every 5 years and every year if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or prediabetes with a fasting blood sugar more than 100.
- Kidney disease yearly if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a family history of kidney disease. Kidney disease can cause high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.
More frequent screenings may be necessary if you have certain medical conditions or risk factors. We can make a plan for screening that is a good fit for your health.
Know the Signs of a Heart Attack
Knowing the early signs of a heart attack can help you get the care you need as quickly as possible. Remember that these heart attack symptoms may or may not be brought on by activity. Early signs may include:
- Sweating, often described as a cold sweat
- Aching, crushing, or squeezing feeling over the chest
- Severe burning over the chest or upper abdomen
- Unusual shortness of breath
- Dizziness or fainting
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Unusual weakness
- Fast or irregular heartbeat
- Change in heart rate or rhythm
- A sense of impending (coming) doom
If you have these symptoms:
- Call 911 emergency services before you call anyone else if your symptoms are not relieved in 3 to 5 minutes.
- Keep taking nitroglycerin if you have it every 5 minutes.
- Stop what you are doing.
- Sit or lie down.
- Do not drive yourself to the hospital.
- Chew one adult strength (325 mg) aspirin or 4 baby (81 mg) aspirins if you have them, are not allergic to aspirin, and are not already taking daily aspirin.
The dark pink color indicates the area where chest pain may occur.
Additional References:
Related Health Tools:
If you have an emergency medical condition, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital. An emergency medical condition is any of the following: (1) a medical condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in serious jeopardy to your health or body functions or organs; (2) active labor when there isn't enough time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery, or if transfer poses a threat to your (or your unborn child's) health and safety, or (3) a mental disorder that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity such that either you are an immediate danger to yourself or others, or you are not immediately able to provide for, or use, food, shelter, or clothing, due to the mental disorder.
This information is not intended to diagnose health problems or to take the place of specific medical advice or care you receive from your physician or other health care professional. If you have persistent health problems, or if you have additional questions, please consult with your doctor. If you have questions or need more information about your medication, please speak to your pharmacist. Kaiser Permanente does not endorse the medications or products mentioned. Any trade names listed are for easy identification only.