Heart Disease is a range of conditions that can affect the heart. Even though Heart Disease is often used interchangeably with cardiovascular disease, the formal umbrellas blood vessel diseases such as coronary artery disease, heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias) as well as congenital heart defects.
Cardiovascular diseases on the other hand refer to conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack, chest pain (angina) or stroke. Other conditions, including those that affect the muscle of the heart, valves or rhythm, are also considered forms of heart disease.
Heart disease symptoms depend on the type of heart disease and the symptoms sometimes vary in men and women. For instance, men are more likely to experience chest pain, while women are more likely to have other symptoms along chest discomfort like fatigue, shortness of breath and nausea. That being said, some of the most common symptoms of Heart Disease include chest pain/tightness, shortness of breath, pain in the neck, jaw, and throat, numbness, weakness, lightheadedness, dizziness, fainting, slow heartbeat, racing heartbeat, fluttering in your chest.
The cause of Heart Disease usually varies depending on the particular type of disease, some of the most common causes of Heart Disease include high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, drug abuse, stress, connective tissue disorders, bacteria, viruses and infections.
The risk factors for developing Heart Disease include, aging, being male, smoking, having a family history of Heart Disease, poor diet, poor hygiene, stress, obesity as well as certain diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. It should be noted that a heart disease could result in complications such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest as well as peripheral artery disease.
The treatment of Heart Disease typically varies by condition, but the most common treatment options include medications, and medical procedures or surgeries. Changes in lifestyle could also go a long way to control Heart Disease.
CBD has however been shown to be effective in sustaining the cardiovascular system. A major cardiovascular benefit of CBD is its ability to reduce resting blood pressure, as well as blood pressure when faced with stressful stimuli.
A 2017 paper that was published within the journal JCL Insight corroborated the claim that CBD could be effective in reducing blood pressure. It should be noted that this study aimed at investigating whether or not CBD had blood pressure lowering effects on humans. During the study, the nine healthy, male participants were given 600mg of CBD or a placebo. The results from this study showed that CBD reduced both resting systolic blood pressure and stroke volume. Of course, the findings from this study have important implications for high blood pressure is a contributing factor to ischemic Heart Disease.
The findings from the 2017 study further revealed that CBD could be effective is reducing the blood pressure response to stress. This finding is equally important because even though stress is often perceived as a mental problem, it could also result in long term physical problems and is also associated with the development of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, research has also shown that stress can change the way blood coagulates, thereby increasing the risk of a heart attack.
Another study that was conducted in 2012 also pointed to the fact that CBD had anti-anxiety effects. This finding is however considered to be another mechanism by which CBD benefits the cardiovascular system. This assertion can be explained by the fact that anxiety is a contributing factor to stress and stress is in turn known to result in cardiovascular diseases.
Moreover, a scientific publication in the journal Pharmaceuticals (Basel) also revealed that CBD had therapeutic potential for ischemic stroke, which is considered a risk factor for Heart Disease.
That being said, there is a need for pharmaceutical companies to invest in more research on the effectiveness of CBD in treating the different kinds of heart diseases.
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