You might think that heart disease is something you don’t have to worry about until you’re much older, but many of the habits you develop now are major risk factors for heart disease. Heart disease, also know as cardiovascular disease, is the number one killer of Americans, accounting for 41 percent of all deaths in the U.S. Deaths by CVD are nearly three times the rate of lung cancer, the number two cause of death.
More people die from CVD than from all other causes combined!
In addition to heart attacks, CVD includes a range of diseases such as stroke, hardening of the arteries, and high blood pressure.
CVD is often referred to as a “lifestyle” disease because many of the factors that increase your risk are within your control.
These external risk factors, as opposed to internal risk factors such as genetics, and age, include smoking, being overweight and being inactive.
What can you do to reduce your risk of CVD?
1. Don’t “super-size” it! “Super-sizing” your fries, or getting a second burger or larger size smoothie for just pennies more may sound good to your wallet, but it’s not good for your waistline. In the end, the only winners are the restaurants. It’s actually cheaper for them to give customers 30 cents’ worth of more food than to cut their prices by a dollar.
2. Don’t just sit there; get moving! Cars, remote controls, drive-thrus, and computers all may make our lives easier, but they also make us less active. Most of us have to build exercise into our day because we don’t get it during our daily activities.
Exercise improves cardiovascular health, helps keep weight off, reduces stress, and enhances your overall physique. If you don’t currently exercise, one way to help you get started is to do an activity you enjoy.
3. Quit smoking. You already know the association between smoking and lung cancer, but did you know that smokers are 70 percent more likely to develop CVD than non-smokers? When you are interested in quitting smoking, come see me about getting free nicotine replacement patches or gum.
Mary-Jo Lomax is a health educator for De Anza College. If you have any health questions for her, e-mail her at La Voz at managing@lavozdeanza.com or stop by her office at the De Anza Health Center.