Time to Fight Back Against Heart Disease

Heart treatment professionals have defined a number of significant factors contributing to Cardio Vascular Disease. These include: High Blood Pressure (impacting some 65 million Americans); Tobacco Use; High Blood Cholesterol; being Overweight or Obese; Inadequate Levels of Physical Activity; and Diabetes. Medical professionals campaign actively in all of these areas, as they attempt to reduce the occurrence of these conditions.

Perhaps the best place to start here is to look at the occurrence of HEALTHY LIFESTYLE INDICATORS, taken from the 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System study. These factors are considered positive and preventative, effectively the opposite of Risk Factors. While there are some good statistics (for example, the number of Non-Smokers at 76%), most of the indicators are disappointing. These include: Americans at a Healthy Weight – 40.1%; Consumption of Five Fruits and Vegetables Per Day – 23.3%; and Regular Physical Activity – 22.2%. The overall occurrence of ALL 4 of these Healthy Lifestyle INDICATORS was only 3%. By deduction, this indicates that 97% of the population are not doing all of the ‘right’ things to optimize health, and minimize exposure to Cardiovascular Disease. There is massive room for improvement here!

My newsletter provides heart patients with a positive and proactive approach to the battle against heart illness. It is free, published quarterly (perhaps more often is there is sufficient interest), and addresses both challenges and opportunities facing heart patients. After 39 years of personal and family battle with the illness, I am still here, still battling, and I want to see others do the same.

The newsletter is an easy read. It is a four page document, and highlights issues that deal with Lifestyle Impacts, Emotional Stress, Peer Support, and Health & Nutrition. It is available by clicking to : Heart Newsletter Fall 2006 .

Future blogs will deal with these topics in more detail!