Prevention of medical problems always cost less than correcting the medical problems. Absent any genetic heart conditions, taking care of your body will prevent heart disease. As a nation, we can’t continue to afford the rising medical costs due to heart disease.
You can take steps today to avoid cardiovascular disease:
1. Schedule a free fitness assessment with a personal trainer.
2. Get medical clearance to begin a nutrition and exercise program, if necessary.
3. Get started toward transforming your body to lean and tone. Walking 30 minutes every day is a great start if you have been sedentary.
That’s pretty simple. You don’t necessarily need a personal trainer to exercise. You may just need a workout buddy to help you stay motivated. Whatever it takes, get started already and never stop!
According to a new policy statement from the American Heart Association, our nation is better off if we prevent heart disease. The policy statement, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, summarizes years of research on the value of investing in prevention, particularly through community-based changes to make it easier to live a healthy lifestyle.
The policy statement gives 3 examples of community-based changes that puts the responsibility on everyone.
1. Every dollar spent on building trails for walking or biking saves $3 in medical costs.
2. Companies that invest in workers' health with comprehensive work-site wellness programs and healthy work environments have less absenteeism, greater productivity and lower healthcare costs.
3. Initiating a nationwide plan to drastically cut the amount of salt in the food supply to support an average intake of 1500 mg per day may reduce high blood pressure in the country by 25 percent, saving $26 billion in healthcare costs annually.
"People often don't realize the power to stay healthy is in their own hands," said William S. Weintraub, M.D., lead author of the statement and the John H. Ammon chair of cardiology and cardiology section chief at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Del. "But it's not something many individuals or families can do alone. It takes fundamental changes from society as a whole."
And, in a Mayo Clinic article, “5 Medication-Free Strategies to Help Prevent Heart Disease,” it states the strategies as being: no use of tobacco, exercise of 30 minutes on most days, eating a heart-healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight and getting regular health screenings.
I would add……I don’t have anything else to add. Let’s just start doing what the experts tell us. We can’t afford not to follow their advice.
Sources:
American Heart Association, Policy Statement, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association,
Co-authors are Stephen Daniels, M.D., Ph.D.; Lora E. Burke, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Barry Franklin, Ph.D.; David C. Goff, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.; Laura L Hayman, Ph.D., R.N.; Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D. ; Dilip K. Pandey, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.; Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H.; Andrea Parsons Schram, D.N.P., C.R.N.P.; and Laurie P. Whitsel, Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/231712.php
Mayo Clinic Staff article, “5 Medication-Free Strategies to Help Prevent Heart Disease”
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-disease-prevention/WO00041
Reviewed July 29, 2011
by Michele Blacksberg R.N.
Edited by Shannon Koehle
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES, CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and former NCAA Division I athlete. Mark is the owner of My Fitness Hut, Her Fitness Hut, Sports Fitness Hut and My Nutrition Hut. Mark’s Fat Blaster Athletic Training System has been proven to give his clients the fit, sculpted and athletic-type bodies they want. Visit Mark’s main site:
Your Fitness University http://yourfitnessuniversity.com