Your Health is at Risk. Here's What to Do About It

Exercise work zones 

If several of your close blood relatives have had heart at­tacks before the age of sixty, you're likely to have one too unless you eliminate all the other possible risk factors. 

Don't have a fatalistic view about heart disease because so many of your close relatives died young from heart attacks. 

Chances are your ill-fated parents or siblings smoked, were overweight, were diabetic with poor sugar control, had el­evated cholesterol levels, and rarely exercised. 

Genes are only part of the story. Regardless of your genetic vulnera­bility, correcting any obvious abnormalities will improve your outlook considerably.

Regular exercise. Regular exercise that's sufficiently rigorous protects the coronary arteries. 

However, you've got to pay attention to the other risk factors as well. Dr. William Castelli, the di­rector of the Framingham Heart Study, estimates that half the doctors running in the Boston Marathon have abnormal cholesterol levels—and don't know it!

You're most likely to stay with your exercise program if you enjoy it. Few people will continue for very long with a regimen that they find boring. Brisk walking for thirty minutes a day or vigorous gardening are enough. 

If you prefer, you may also run, jog, dance, bike, or swim, pro­vided your doctor has cleared you to do so. 

Walking briskly for about three miles (you can pick any other form of ex­ercise) was found to reduce the risk of a heart attack by 64 percent in male Harvard alumni. (Graduates of Princeton, Yale, and Cornell can probably expect the same good re­sults.)

Aerobic exercises Aerobic exercises such as walking or running (as opposed to stretching and weight-lifting) exert their beneficial effect in several ways: 

• they lower your resting heart rate and blood pressure, thus easing the burden on your heart; 
• they reduce cholesterol and triglycerides
• raise the good lipoproteins and lower the bad lipoproteins; 
• they drop the blood sugar in diabetics; 
• they help prevent osteoporosis; 
• they decrease the proportion of body fat; they reduce stress and improve mood. 
• All in all, exercise is a good prescription against heart attack.

Besides improving your physical health and increasing your longevity, exercise can have short-term and long-term psychological benefits. Physical activity can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve mood and well-being.

What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below.

7 Ways to Stop High Blood Pressure from Killing You

High blood pressure is called the "silent killer." Most people who have it do not feel sick and don't know that they have it. High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, but it can cause serious problems such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack, and kidney failure.

If you've ever tried to run water through a garden hose that's been hardened by age or gunked up with hard-water deposits, you know how hard it is to get a good water flow. Blood flow through your arteries works the same way. 

Stiff or blocked arteries can make your heart strain to push blood through all your blood vessels. The result is high blood pressure, which damages both your heart and your blood vessels. You can control high blood pressure through healthy lifestyle habits and taking medicines.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), almost 67 million Americans have high blood pressure and more than half do not have it under control. Almost 1 in 4 Americans with uncontrolled high blood pressure do not take their medication regularly.

A blood pressure reading can tell you whether you have high blood pressure. The reading uses two numbers, the systolic and dias­tolic pressures, written one above or before the other. A reading of:

• 120/80 or lower is normal· 
• 140/90 or higher is high blood pressure.
• 120 and 139 for the top number, or between 80 and 89 for the bottom number, is pre-hypertension.

If you have high blood pressure (consistently higher than 140/90) and see a conventional doctor, chances are pretty good that the doctor will tell you that you'll have to take drugs, probably for the rest of your life.

If you frequently feel stressed, angry or sad, you may be at higher risk of having a heart attack. Have your blood pressure checked each time you go to the doctor. And, talk to him or her if you cannot get your blood pressure under control.

Here are the 7 ways to stop high blood pressure from killing you:

1.   If your blood pressure is not where it should be, work in close partnership with your doctor to control it. Get your blood pressure checked regularly.

2.  Take all blood pressure medications as prescribed by your doctor.

3.  Request 90-day prescriptions for your blood pressure medication.

4.  Let your doctor know if you experience unwanted side effects from your blood pressure medication.

5.  Eat a healthy, low-salt diet and consume alcohol in moderation. Maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly.

6.  Smoking can increase your blood pressure. Talk to your doctor about a smoking cessation plan for you.

7.   Identify causes of stress, then work to minimize or eliminate those things that cause stress for you.


Your Thoughts? Leave your comments below.

The Benefits to the Body of Specific Types of Physical Activities

Aerobic Exercising

If several of your close blood relatives have had heart at­tacks before the age of sixty, you're likely to have one too unless you eliminate all the other possible risk factors. 

Don't have a fatalistic view about heart disease because so many of your close relatives died young from heart attacks. 

Chances are your ill-fated parents or siblings smoked, were overweight, were diabetic with poor sugar control, had el­evated cholesterol levels, and rarely exercised. Genes are only part of the story. 

Regardless of your genetic vulnera­bility, correcting any obvious abnormalities will improve your outlook considerably.

Regular exercise, that's sufficiently rigorous, protects the coronary arteries. However, you've got to pay attention to the other risk factors as well. Dr. William Castelli, the di­rector of the Framingham Heart Study, estimates that half the doctors running in the Boston Marathon have abnormal cholesterol levels—and don't know it!

You're most likely to stay with your exercise program if you enjoy it. Few people will continue for very long with a regimen that they find boring. Brisk walking for thirty minutes a day or vigorous gardening are enough. If you prefer, you may also run, jog, dance, bike, or swim, pro­vided your doctor has cleared you to do so. Walking briskly for about three miles (you can pick any other form of ex­ercise) was found to reduce the risk of a heart attack by 64 percent in male Harvard alumni. (Graduates of Princeton, Yale, and Cornell can probably expect the same good re­sults.)

Aerobic exercises such as walking or running (as opposed to stretching and weight-lifting) exert their beneficial effect in several ways:
a. They lower your resting heart rate and blood pressure, thus easing the burden on your heart.
b. They reduce cholesterol and triglycerides, raise the good HDL and lower the bad LDL.
b. They drop the blood sugar in diabetic.
c. They help prevent osteoporosis.
c. They decrease the proportion of body fat.
e. And, they reduce stress and improve mood.
All in all, exercise is a good prescription against heart attack.

Finally, besides improving your physical health and increasing your longevity, exercise can have short-term and long-term psychological benefits. Physical activity can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve mood and well-being.