February is the month the American Heart Association chooses
to highlight heart health for women with the "Go Red For Women"
Campaign. But as it turns out the holidays, Thanksgiving through New Year's may
trump that idea. Stress and heart attack go hand in hand and heart disease is
the number one killer of women and so it is right to highlight this population.
The holiday season is often a high stress time for families in general and
women in particular. It is also true that the symptoms of heart attack for
women are not the "Hollywood" image of crushing chest pain, so taking
serious any out of the ordinary jaw or neck pain, indigestion or other related
symptoms is important. I noticed we do not hear about heart health for men much
anymore, although it is still a problem for them too. In my family, early heart
attacks among men in their middle age still seem to occur, despite all the
discussion and pleading by spouses and siblings to take better care of
yourself.
 |
| Holiday Stress |
Check this Article: Cosmetic Penile Surgery in India
I recently lost my beloved brother and thirty years ago lost
my father both at the age of 59 years due to heart attack. What did we know
thirty years ago about men and heart attack and have we learned anything new?
Last week my friend and I had a conversation at dinner where he , having lost
both parents relatively early, has come to a personal belief that genetics
rather than lifestyle choice will determine his fate. As a Registered Dietitian
Nutritionist, I still believe that lifestyle choices might have some say in his
longevity and looked at the research to prove my point. So before I concede to
genetics domination, where there is no gain in following a healthy lifestyle,
and by that I mean following a healthy diet and trying to, at least, getting in
those ten thousand steps per day, I will share with you the information I have
found.
1) Check you Blood Pressure- it
matters and it needs to be controlled with medication for the rest of your
life, even if elevated before, but normal after weight loss, if there is a
family history. Think of it as an insurance policy but more importantly talk to
your doctor.
2) Quit smoking-there is nothing healthy about it, period.
3) Normal blood
sugar values-Diabetes is intimately related to
heart health, so if you have been putting off getting your blood sugar checked,
do it now!
4) Healthy body weight-the hardest thing to figure out. Television
ads, long work hours, no family dinners, processed foods and high stress all
contribute to an unhealthy diet. Unavailable fresh fruits and vegetables, and
expensive healthy options do not make life easy for the average person to stay
healthy in today's market.
5) Exercise-we
have been hearing about it for over ten years counting your steps up to 10,000
per day. This has been one successful method for delaying poor health.
Technology has bridged the gap to make doing this so easy there is no excuse
not to anymore. Fit devices you wear on your clothes or shoes even the new
smart phones have built in fit devices that give you reminders to get up and
move when you have been sitting too long during the day. Above all try to get
150 minutes of exercise per week.
 |
| Holiday Heart Stress |
6) Stress-we
always seem to underestimate how stressful our lives our now. Everything is
faster with less time to enjoy our lives in the present. Laugh therapy is turning out to be a positive thing to help
bring down stress levels which brings down blood pressure and could perhaps
save lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment