SACRED VESSELS
The Lifeblood of Heart Health by Julie Peterson
When people think about heart
“A hundred years ago, we were farming the back 40 with a team of health, what generally comes to mind horses, eating what we grew. Kids don’t is the fist-sized muscle that pumps get out and ride bikes; they’re playing and oxygenates the body’s lifevideo games and eating crap. There’s blood. However, the heart of the very little doubt how we got to this probmatter is not the pump itself, lem,” says John Osborne, M.D., direcbut the vascular system—the tor of cardiology at State of the Heart network of veins, arteri Cardiology, near Dallas. es and capillaries that dis Yet, the nation’s number one tributes blood to every killer, which can fester for decades with cell in the body, out symptoms, is largely preventable delivering and reversible. Only 15 percent of CVD nutrients, is related to genetics; the rest is attrib eliminating uted to lifestyle, and the right choices waste can make all the difference. The key is to adopt heart-healthy habits before the Each human adult harbors body delivers a potentially fatal warning. an astonishing 60,000 miles of blood “The initial presentation of heart vessels—enough to wrap around the disease can be an acute catastrophic planet twice. Keeping these hard-workevent that results in death in half the ing vessels supple and open is the key men and two-thirds of the women. not only to avoiding disease, but also to That’s not treatable,” warns Osborne. ensuring a long and healthy life. The alternative—arterioscleroKnow the Risk Factors sis, or hardening of the arteries—can The first step toward cardiovascular slowly and silently bring on cardiovashealth is awareness. Important indicacular disease (CVD), which can result in a heart attack, stroke, vision loss and tors of CVD risk include: aHigh blood pressure (over 140/90) cognitive decline. CVD is the leading cause of death in the U.S., killing one in a High cholesterol (over 240 mg/dL) aHigh triglycerides (over 200 mg/dL) four Americans, according to the U.S. aHigh blood glucose (over 140 mg/dL) Centers for Disease Control and PreaObesity (BMI over 30) vention (CDC). By 2035, nearly half the population—45 percent—is predicted to aInflammation (hsCRP test above 2 ml/dL) have some form of the disease. aPhysical inactivity (less than 30 minutes a day) When a disease is lifestyle-inaSmoking or vaping (any at all) duced, the only thing that can aChronic stress reverse it is a dramatic change aLoneliness
in diet and lifestyle. We’ve seen over and over again that it works. ~Brenda Davis
Any of these factors can increase the risk of CVD, but possessing a cluster of the first five comprises a condition
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