HOW TO PROTECT YOUR HEART AND BRAIN

Nowadays we know many risk factors which have a connection to cardiovascular diseases. These risk factors enhance the development of damages to the walls of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and the incidence of coronary heart disease, heart infarction and cerebral stroke. The most common risk factors mentioned in the medical literature are:

Uncontrolled diabetes or elevated blood sugar levels
Smoking
Elevated blood pressure
High blood lipids (esp. high LDL cholesterol)
Lack of physical activity
Obesity
Mental stress
Inheritance

Accumulation of several risk factors in the same person may increase the risk to get heart infarction or stroke up to 40-50fold in comparison to a normal healthy person. Especially dangerous seems to be a combination of diabetes and smoking.

You can influence all the risk factors, increasing or decreasing them, by your own habits, way of life or medication. The only exception is your genetic background, the inheritance, which you cannot change.

You may be aware about some of your risk factors but your spouse may be more worried about some of them than you do. As human beings we also easily ignore unpleasant facts. According to several studies many people at risk do not know about their elevated blood pressure, blood sugar or cholesterol values.

What could you do to protect your heart and brain? You should know your risk factors to be able to reduce them. You should have your blood pressure measured to get an idea about its level and your blood lipids and sugar should be tested in a laboratory.
Perhaps you have to see your doctor to discuss the management of your situation. Often a combination of diet, physical activity and medication is a good way to improve your life expectancy.

Dr. Eero Timgren
General Practitioner
Chief Medical Officer
Eur Am International Medical Center

This article has been published on GWIC Magazine March 2006