Prevent Heart Disease

I went to hear Dr. Max Gomez from WCBS-TV speak yesterday. He talked about the need for prevention of heart disease and stroke. Where I live in Dutchess County, NY, 140 people die of heart disease every year.

One misconception that people often have is that heart disease happens suddenly. People think that one day you are fine, and the next day you have a heart attack. Gomez emphasized that this is not the case. He mentioned the Bogalusa Heart Study (1972 - 2002) where thousands of children from a biracial community participated. The study showed that heart disease is present in the arteries in youth. Indeed, a more recent report indicated that obese children can have arteries of a 45 year old.

Gomez is concerned about the increase of obesity, physical inactivity, and Type II diabetes. This, combined with the aging baby boomer population, will cause health insurance to be unaffordable. We simply need to prevent the diseases of the vascular system better.

Gomez suggested self-care measures:
1. Get tested. Get a Coronary Calcium Scan, C-reactive protein, and blood pressure tests. It is an important self-care step to get tested regularly because even very physically fit and nutrition conscious people can be the victim of heart disease because of genetic problems, for example.
2. Control your weight. (Let's assume he meant that nutrition is important!)
3. Exercise.
4. Quit smoking.

I would also add another self-care item: work on stress reduction.

These self-care measures are critical because they not only work for heart disease, but will help with all chronic degenerate diseases. The great thing about self-care is that overall it costs less, and makes life better because nutritious food tastes delicious, satisfies you on many levels, and makes you feel good. Not only is exercise is good for your body, but it improves your mood because endorphins, the "feel good" hormones, are released and the "stress" hormones, like cortisol are decreased.

Make self-care a priority. Prevent heart disease and improve your health, in general. You are worth it!