Tips for a Healthy Ticker

June 08, 2010, By Charles Manley 0 comments

"Just walk it off."

Every man has heard that tidbit of sage medical advice at one time or another, whether from an athletic coach, father, teammate or older brother. However, walking is not the cure-all it is made out to be especially when it comes to heart disease.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men in America, responsible for more than 1 in every 4 fatalities. When people die in traffic accidents, we do something about it. We add seatbelts, airbags, traffic lights, traffic cops and crash tests; we change the materials in the steering wheel and dashboard, and reengineer the structure of the automobile. Yet when it comes to heart disease, most of us prefer to "walk it off." We roll the dice and hope for the best. A willful ignorance and fatalistic approach in perhaps the most rational, scientific, and advanced culture in history.

Every year, American men make 150 million fewer trips to the doctor than women (and the disparity occurs in every age group, not just the years that women have prenatal checkups). Nearly half of all men who suddenly die of coronary heart disease have never been diagnosed with a heart problem. Escaping a diagnosis is not cheating death. There are even preventative treatments today for individuals with an increased risk of heart disease due to genetics. However, the greatest number of heart health risks still comes from daily lifestyle choices.

Risk Factors

Nine out of 10 men diagnosed with heart disease have at least one risk factor. Having several medical conditions or making several poor lifestyle choices puts you at a much higher risk for heart disease. The greatest risk factors contributing to the development of heart disease are:

• High cholesterol — The American Heart Association recommends a target total blood cholesterol level of less than 5 mmol/L (millimoles cholesterol per liter of blood) or 200 mg/dL (milligrams cholesterol per deciliter of blood).
• High blood pressure, or hypertension, is defined as any measurement greater than 140/90.
• Diabetes can seriously increase your risk of developing heart disease, especially if blood sugar is not well controlled.
• Cigarette smoking — The cause for 20 percent of all heart disease-related deaths.
• Overweight and obesity — Excess weight is the leading cause of high blood pressure. Even losing 10 pounds around the midsection can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease.
• Poor diet — A low-fiber, high-saturated and trans-fat diet contributes to heart disease.
• Physical inactivity — Being a desk and couch junkie contributes to high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.
• Alcohol use — Keeping your alcohol intake to two drinks or less per day decreases your chances of developing heart disease. More than two drinks per day increases your risk of heart disease.

Heartburn or Heart Attack?

Diagnosing a heart attack or heart problem from home can be difficult. Is it indigestion, heartburn or a heart attack? These are all symptoms that should be taken seriously as possible signs of poor heart health:

• Pain, fullness, and/or a squeezing sensation of the chest
• Jaw pain, toothache, headache
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea, vomiting, and/or general upper middle abdomen discomfort
• Sweating
• Heartburn and/or indigestion
• Arm pain (more commonly the left arm, but may be either arm)
• Upper back pain
• General malaise (vague feeling of illness)

5 Daily Habits to Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

Besides visiting your doctor and monitoring your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, here are a few daily habits you can implement to reduce your risk of heart disease:

1. "One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough," -James Thurber

If you agree with celebrated cartoonist and humorist James Thurber's famous quote about drinking, it is important to remember that he died of a stroke and congestive heart failure. Booze is better in moderation. Pickling your liver won't preserve your heart.

2. "The public health authorities never mention the main reason many Americans have for smoking heavily, which is that smoking is a fairly sure, fairly honorable form of suicide," -Kurt Vonnegut

If you are not trying to kill yourself, find a way to quit.

3. "Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness," -Edward Stanley

Bike, run or walk everywhere. Traveling by train or car should be reserved for trips farther than 10 miles. Commute to work every day by bicycle if you can, take the stairs instead of elevators and do jumping jacks beside your desk every time you feel stress. Corticosteroids and adrenaline produced by stress are toxic unless you bring the body back into equilibrium through exercise.

4. Ever look at the bottom of a cooled pan after cooking a hamburger and two slices of bacon? That's the same way saturated fat looks in your arteries unless you have a constant body temperature above 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Avoid foods high in saturated fat and highly processed foods. Drop the dollar menu and the chip and soda aisles of your grocery store. Those calories are cheap because they are heavily subsidized by the federal government. If they have to subsidize agriculture, why not broccoli, green beans and carrots grown by actual farmers and not corporations? It's your money that's funding America's diabetes and obesity epidemic. Do something about it. For the first time in America's history, the current generation of children has a shorter life expectancy than their parents. The costs of fighting illegal immigration, obesity, heart disease and diabetes now vastly outweighs the benefits of below market value, high-fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

5. Foraging is natural, be a smart grocery shopper. The Mayo Clinic recommends eating fish, fruit juice, nuts, olive oil and foods high in fiber such as kidney beans, oatmeal, apples, barley and pears to help lower cholesterol. Replace your snack foods with wholesome foods. It is unlikely that you will head out at 11 p.m. to procure a bag of potato chips if you already have a bowl of pears and walnuts sitting on the kitchen counter.