 From the Cardiologist's Wife Feb 09, 2011
Someone said to my husband the other day that if you put something in your mouth and it tastes good, then spit it out because it must be bad for you. My husband hears similar statements all the time. People have such a misconception about good food and good health. I think our family eats very well; great food and even occasionally, things that are "bad" for us like the chocolate cupcakes we had at our Super Bowl party. That is why I write about good health, exercise and food. It is possible to have a balanced, healthy lifestyle that is satisfying at the same time.
Or is it? I began to wonder recently if my health really is good. I hadn't
had my cholesterol checked in some time and even though I exercise, am I fit or am I fooling myself? What about my husband the doctor? Is our lifestyle really that healthy? So I decided to put our health to the test. Last Friday, my husband and I had our blood drawn for some tests and we had a calcium score done to check for plaque buildup in our arteries, a sign of heart disease. In the coming weeks, we are going to do a fitness test with one of the local trainers to assess our actual level of fitness for our age. When I get the results, I will publish the findings so you can decide whether what we've been preaching is effective.
Meanwhile, I want to continue with more heart health information with some basic risk factors for heart disease:
Smoking - goes without saying, we've all know this for sometime
Diabetes - a big cause of heart disease
Family history - if a close relative such as a parent, had heart disease,
you are more likely to develop heart disease
High blood pressure - don't take this for granted, get it treated
High cholesterol - a sign of fat buildup in your arteries that leads to
blockages
Excess weight, especially around your waist - being overweight leads to so many diseases
High blood pressure, high cholesterol and high levels of blood sugar are risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome, a term used to describe people at risk for a host of problems, especially diabetes and heart disease. A hallmark sign of metabolic syndrome is a waist size greater than 35 for women and 40 for men. The American Heart Association estimates that 47 million Americans are affected by metabolic syndrome.
I'm hoping this bit of information will motivate some of you to take a hard look at your own health. Personally, I don't enjoy waiting at the doctor's office, or worse, time spent in the hospital. I take care of my health so I can do the things I do enjoy and not be relegated to sitting on the sideline, watching life go by.
Check back soon to see the results of our fitness and health tests.
Have a great week,
Lisa
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