Just about everyone has heard of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is a support group offered to those suffering from addiction to alcohol. The idea behind the group, is that the members meet regularly to discuss the trials and tribulations of their experience overcoming their addiction. The Alcoholics Anonymous program generally includes: Admitting to the fact that they have no control over their alcohol consumption, and that their life revolves around drinking. Recognizing the key figures in their life that they have harmed emotionally, or even physically through their addiction, and be willing to recover those relationships. Being offered the chance to become religious or turn to God if they choose to do so. Choosing not to regret the past, but rather moving into a brighter future. Above all else, the sole requirement of the membership is to stop drinking. Recommended Read:  The 5-Day Alcohol Detox Program It is based on a 12-step program which was first developed by Bill Wilson and Bob Smith in 1935. The program is governed by the idea that alcoholism isn’t a lack of willpower, but rather a disease. Both of the founders of the 12 step program believed that “Turning one’s life, and will, over to a personally meaning ‘higher power’ is the key to recovery”.

Given that modern medicine is now revealing the many underlying factors of alcoholism, new treatments are offering more success. The modern approach intertwines a number of strategies, rather than relying on one: Medication While this is still a relatively new field to be explored, medications have been developed that block alcohol-brain interactions. There are three leading brands on the market, that have been approved for use by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). They are as follows: Antabuse (disulfiram): If you consume alcohol while being on Antabuse, your body is prevented from breaking down the compounds found in alcohol, which leads to unpleasant side-effects such as vomiting, headaches and even heart attacks. Of course the user has to take the medication each day, for it to be effective. ReVia (naltrexone): Remember that alcohol entices a huge dopamine release? Well this drug works to block that feel-good effect of alcohol, and instead leaves the user feeling not much at all. Campral (acamprosate): Helps to withdraw the craving for alcohol by altering the brain chemistry. It also can help in dealing with the side-effects of withdrawing from alcohol such as insomnia, depression or anger. Recommended Read:  The 5-Day Alcohol Detox Program Cirrhosis treatment With cirrhosis of the liver being one of the most serious consequences of heavy drinking, the need for adequate treatment at the earliest possibility is important for saving remaining healthy tissue within the liver and preventing complete malfunction.

Angina Pectoris is the medical term for chest pain. Angina Pectoris, or chest pain results when there is diminished blood flow to the heart. The most common reason for diminished blood flow is due to the buildup of cholesterol on the inside of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries supply the heart with oxygenated blood. Thus if there is a block, the heart doesn’t get adequate oxygen to feed the myocyte (heart) cells. There are three different types of Angina Pectoris; stable, unstable, and prinzmetal’s angina. Stable angina can be described as it sounds, stable. It is predictable chest pain that occurs when a person is usually doing something physical that increases the requirement of blood and oxygen of the heart. The top three instances in which individuals may experience chest pain include: arguments, sex, and physical activity such as climbing stairs. These three events increase the oxygen and blood demand of the heart and if there is a blockage the heart will not receive enough blood to meet those demands. Thus the individual will experience chest pain. The important thing to note about stable angina is that when the activity stops, usually so does the chest pain. The reason the chest pain stops in stable angina after the activity stops is because the increased oxygen and blood demands of the heart have also stopped.

Causes The most common cause of chest pain is coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is defined as the hardening and blockage of the coronary arteries. This occurs when an individual’s cholesterol levels are elevated over a long period of time and cholesterol continues to build up on the inside walls of the arteries. Cholesterol deposits blocked blood flow to the heart and then to the rest of the body. This build up within the coronary arteries is known as atherosclerosis. As the cholesterol builds and builds, it begins to block more and more blood flow thus increasing the oxygen and blood demand of the heart. When the oxygen and blood demand of the heart is increased and there is blockages within the arteries, the result is chest pain otherwise known as angina pectoris. Recommended Read:  5 Cholesterol Friendly Soup Recipes Symptoms For all the above different types of angina there are some commonalities in terms of the symptoms. Angina can be chest pain, chest tightness, chest heaviness, or chest discomfort. In many cases the quality of the pain is described as pressure, burning, tightness, fullness or squeezing. Often the pain is not only localized centrally and sub-sternal, but also radiates to either arm, neck, mandible (lower jaw), upper back or shoulder.

Risk Factors There are many risk factors that contribute to coronary artery disease and result in angina. As discussed above, the most common reason individuals develop coronary artery disease and subsequently chest pain is high blood cholesterol . Other risk factors include: tobacco use (smoking, chewing, long-term exposure to second-hand smoke), diabetes, hypertension, high triglyceride levels, men greater than the age of 45, women greater than the age of 55, family history of heart disease, obesity, stress and Inactivity or lack of exercise. All of these risk factors point to the buildup of cholesterol within the coronary arteries and contribute to the development of coronary artery disease. Advanced coronary artery disease becomes a life-threatening medical condition when there is greater than or equal to 70% blockage of the artery. This means that even at rest only 30% of blood is able to freely move through the artery. When an individual becomes active, or even at rest with these other risk factors, the lumen of the artery can constrict resulting in complete obstruction of the coronary artery. When there is complete obstruction of the coronary artery, then there is not any blood supply to that specific area of the heart. The difference between Angina “chest pain” and Infarction “heart attack, is that in angina the ischemia is reversible as long as the lumen blockage is removed, but in infarction the heart cells in that region die.