For heart health, lifestyle change is better than drugs

If you think that you could get away from doing regular exercises and adhering to healthy diet simply because you are on cholestrol reducing medications, you better think again!

A new study in the Journal of the American Heart Association concludes that healthy diet and lifestyle change must not be overlooked despite the consumption of the most powerful drugs. In fact, these drugs should be supplemented with exercises and good diet.

Taking prescription medications to help lower cholesterol and manage blood pressure should be only one part of a comprehensive treatment of heart problems. The researchers found that through positive lifestyle change, patients who took prescription heart medications could further lower their risk of heart disease by about 60%.

These researchers therefore strongly recommended regular exercise, drinking in moderation, avoiding tobacco products, and cutting refined sugars and saturated fats. Do not depend on drugs alone!

Men die faster than women because of their risky lifestyles!

Recent findings by the researchers from Leeds Metropolitan University in England indicate that young men throughout the world have higher death rates than women because of their riskier lifestyles.

Deaths from illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and chronic liver disease rise sharply in 35- to 44-year-olds. The researchers said deaths due to cancer, heart disease and chronic liver disease showed the importance of lifestyle habits such as smoking and alcohol consumption which are known to raise the risk of developing the disorders.

Men tend to have higher chances of developing the majority of cancers. Also, they are dying from it sooner.

Five important factors affecting your heart

1) Age and gender.
The chances of getting heart disease increases with age of individuals. Be extra careful if you are a man of age more than 45 or a woman more than 55 years of age.

2) Smoking.
If you are a smoker, quitting smoking is the most important step you should take to reduce your risk.

3) Systolic blood pressure.
Systolic blood pressure is the first number of your blood pressure reading. If your reading is 120/80, your systolic blood pressure is 120. Control it to below 120.

4) HDL cholesterol.
HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, is the "good" cholesterol because it helps prevent cholesterol from building up in your arteries. Therefore, the higher your HDL, the better it is for you. An HDL of 60 mg/dL and above protects against heart disease. If you have an HDL of less than 40 mg/dL you are at greater risk of heart attack.

5) Total cholesterol.
Total cholesterol is the sum of all the cholesterol in your blood. The higher your total cholesterol, the greater your risk for heart disease. Try to keep this below 200 mg/dL. Anything above 240mg/dl would put you at twice the risk of heart disease compared with someone whose cholesterol is below 200 mg/dL. Individuals with less than 200 mg/dL have lower risk for heart disease.