ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number one cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. (1)(2) The annual cost (direct and indirect) of treatment of CVD is over $320 billion USD. (2) One in every three deaths is a result of CVD and over 2200 US citizens die from stroke or MI each day. (2) (3)(4)(5) More than four hundred CHD risk factors have been defined. (2) Most CVD can be prevented by addressing behavioral risk factors such as tobacco use, optimal nutrition, obesity, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol using population-wide strategies. People with CVD or who are at high cardiovascular risk (due to the presence of one or more risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia or already established disease) need early detection and management. Approximately 80 percent of CHD can be prevented by optimal nutrition, regular aerobic and resistance exercise, ideal body weight and body composition, limited alcoholic intake, and avoiding all tobacco products. (1) There are numerous insults to the cardiovascular system but there are only three finite vascular responses which include inflammation, oxidative stress and vascular immune dysfunction which lead to the atherosclerotic process and plaque, CHD and MI.
