According to a recent story in the New York Times, given the great strides that have been made in preventing and treating heart disease, what explains Tim Russert’s sudden death at 58 from a heart attack?
“The answer, at least in part, is that although doctors knew that Mr. Russert, the longtime moderator of “Meet the Press” on NBC, had coronary artery disease and were treating him for it, they did not realize how severe the disease was because he did not have chest pain or other telltale symptoms that would have justified the kind of invasive tests needed to make a definitive diagnosis. In that sense, his case was sadly typical: the American Heart Association states that 50 percent of all men who die of coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms.
More here…
Their article summarizes what I have been telling my clients for years. Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in our country. In fact, heart disease kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. And yet we women worry so much more about breast cancer, don’t we? According to the American Heart Association, 80 million people in U.S. have some form of heart disease. That’s a huge number!
So what can we do about it? The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars trying to find a cure for heart disease as well as cancer and other major diseases. Their conclusion is that disease is easier to prevent than it is to cure.
Their recommendation is that we eat 7-13 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. It keeps the circulatory system clear so that blockages are less likely to occur.
The challenge is, almost nobody does it! That’s why I recommend some simple steps to achieve this goal. Start with the goal of adding just one fresh fruit or vegetable serving to each meal. That could mean putting bananas or raisins on your cereal, a salad with lunch and a salad plus another green vegetable with dinner. For snacks, reach for fruit rather than chips or other snack foods. That will at least get you halfway to the ideal and then you can set subsequent goals of adding two servings to each meal. Or you could work on adding just one serving per day every day until you reach your goal. I also recommend adding a quality whole food supplement in order to bridge the gap between our best intentions and our actual results each day. Heart disease is no laughing matter and often the first symptom of it is a fatal heart attack. What are you doing to protect yourself and reduce your risk? The time to start making changes is TODAY.
For more ideas on how to improve your diet and reduce your risk of disease, email me or visit my website at www.GoodHealthMadeSimple.com.
Michele Curtin
Wellness Coach
One Response
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Michele, I couldn’t agree more. I used to work for the American Heart Association. So many families of heart disease victims experience needless tragedy. Just paying attention to diet and exercise and getting the right care when your genetic factors are historically not in your favor can make a huge difference. Thanks for bringing this to everybody’s attention.
Jeri