How to lower your risk of heart disease?

What can cause heart disease or high blood pressure and how can you lower your risk of heart disease?

What are the symptom of heart disease is pericarditis or aortic dissection it.

Hi I work for a health video website called http://icyou.com. Below are the links to 2 videos on our site. The first video gives the signs and symptoms of heart disease and the second video talks about preventative measures you can take to lower your risk for heart disease:

http://www.icyou.com/topics/cardiovascul...

http://www.icyou.com/topics/diseases-con...

Hope this helps!~

Lifestyle changes are very important. Your doctor may tell you to:
* Avoid or reduce the amount of salt (sodium) you eat
* Eat a heart healthy diet -- one that is low in saturated fats, cholesterol, and trans fat
* Get regular exercise and maintain a healthy weight
* Keep your blood sugar strictly under control if you have diabetes
* Stop smoking
Pericarditis is a condition in which the sac-like covering around the heart (pericardium) becomes inflamed. The condition can occur in the days or weeks following a heart attack.
Bacterial pericarditis is irritation and swelling of the sac that surrounds the heart (pericardium), due to infection by bacteria.
Constrictive pericarditis is long-term (chronic) inflammation of the sac-like covering of the heart (the pericardium) with thickening, scarring, and muscle tightening (contracture).
Symptoms of pericarditis:-
* Ankle, feet and leg swelling (occasionally)
* Anxiety
* Breathing difficulty when lying down
* Chest pain, caused by the inflamed pericardium rubbing against the heart
# May radiate to the neck, shoulder, back or abdomen
# Often increases with deep breathing and lying flat, and may increase with coughing and swallowing
# Pleuritis type: a sharp, stabbing pain
# Usually relieved by sitting up and leaning forward
* Dry cough
* Fatigue
* Fever
* Need to bend over or hold the chest while breathing
Aortic dissection is a potentially life-threatening condition in which there is bleeding into and along the wall of the aorta, the major artery leaving the heart.
Symptoms of aortic dissection:
The symptoms usually begin suddenly, and include severe chest pain. The pain may:
* Be described as sharp, stabbing, tearing, or ripping
* Be felt below the chest bone, then moves under the shoulder blades or to the back
* Move to shoulder, neck, arm, jaw, abdomen, or hips
* Change position -- pain typically moves to the arms and legs as the aortic dissection gets worse
Other symptoms may include:
* Changes in thought ability, confusion, disorientation
* Decreased movement, any part of the body
* Decreased sensation, any part of the body
* Dizziness
* Dry mouth
* Dry skin
* Fainting
* Intense anxiety, anguish
* Nausea and vomiting
* Pallor
* Profuse sweating (clammy skin)
* Rapid, weak pulse
* Shortness of breath -- difficulty breathing when lying flat (orthopnea)
* Thirst