- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- iparenting fitness articles
- iparenting fitness q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
A Healthy Heart
Cardiovascular Health for Men
By Teri Brown
When you think of Valentine's Day, your mind probably conjures up images of roses, hearts and boxes of chocolates. Men, especially, are under pressure to come up with something romantic for those they love. But confections and flowers aside, perhaps the most loving thing men can do for their family is to take care of their own hearts.
Randy Bozeman from Warner Robins, Ga., had his first heart attack at 32 years of age and had open-heart surgery at 51. Bozeman, like many men, had a difficult time changing his lifestyle to promote good heart health, and his wife of 27 years, Glenda Dickey, had a hard time dealing with the fact that he continued to put his health on the back burner.
"It's really sad," Dickey says. "He had angina all the time, he was irritable and eventually had to take more and more medication. Now there is nothing more they can do for him."
According to the American Heart Association, coronary heart disease is the single largest killer of American males and females. About every 26 seconds an American will suffer a coronary event, and about every minute someone will die from one. About 42 percent of the people who experience a coronary attack in a given year will die from it.
The best way to prevent coronary heart disease is to eliminate the risk factors. The leading cause of heart attacks in both men and women by far and away is smoking.
Dr. Renato Santos, interventional cardiologist at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., says that 40 percent of all heart disease is directly related to smoking. "There is no single thing as physicians that we can do to improve a person's risk for coronary artery disease than to get them to quit smoking," Dr. Santos says.
The other major risk factors for heart attacks are diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
"An emerging condition that is being recognized as a major risk factor for heart disease is the metabolic syndrome," Dr. Santos says. "It appears that physical inactivity and obesity plays a central role in development of the metabolic syndrome."
