We’re still not getting there!
Heart disease is our leading cause of death, men and women.
Now let me hit you with some cold hard data I’ve collected between the CDC, the Center for Disease Control and the American Heart Association.
Since 1984, more women have died of heart disease than men.
According to Columbia University, 62% of women thought that breast cancer was the leading cause of death. Only 10% of women were aware of the epidemic we have of heart disease that kills women. The saddest stat from that survey was that only 12% of women had discussed their heart disease risk with their doctor.
In 2007, heart disease killed 7.5 times more women than breast cancer.
In the same year, 15,863 women under the age of 45 died of heart disease, 8,487 of breast cancer.
In 2010, it was estimated that the US spent $316 billion on heart disease.
The most tragic part of all this, ask any heart specialist, a large number of these deaths could have been prevented. These numbers I gave you are for deaths… there are still an estimated 13 million people in the United States with heart disease – a ticking time bomb.
By the way, ladies, many women did NOT have symptoms of heart disease: the first symptom was sudden death. That does NOT mean it started with the heart attack, it means the symptoms are silent killers and we need to be much more vigilant about prevention. Chances are you will NOT feel that elephant crushing your chest as so often described.
Trust me, I fear breast cancer as much as any other woman. However, this is the most devastating part of all. It is the same recipe to fight heart disease, many types of cancer, depression, IBS, many gastrointestinal problems, obesity, diabetes… the recipe is the same:
Do not smoke
Healthy level of body fat: body weight is not the best indicator
Eat a healthy diet – cut out the sugar and stop eating fatty foods – an amazing start
Physical activity for a MINIMUM of 150 minutes per week – obviously the more the better.
This is a preventable disease – 80% of the time!!!!! Oftentimes, it’s poor lifestyle choices that get passed down the generations, NOT heart disease. Accept responsibility and stop using genetics as the universal scapegoat.
By the way, further research led by exercise physiology guru Dr. Steve Blair, the medical community has embraced his research which showed that our #1 lifestyle killer is sedentary behavior…sitting on your butt and not moving enough. He goes to get you a pedometer. Put on the moment you get out of bed in the morning. You must walk a minimum of 10,000 steps per day. As we all say in the fitness business…walk the dog even if you don’t have a dog to walk.
People, I implore you. There are forces much bigger than us. Stop trying to fight the system: Nature’s system will prevail. I’m getting a little tired of the “love yourself the way you look” rhetoric, it’s not how you look that matters. If you want to love yourself, then love yourself to be healthy and fit so that you can stay alive longer.
There is absolutely no better way to show love for another person than by contributing to their health. I am NOT the grinch who stole romance, I just have a very real definition of romance. Valentine’s chocolates, flowers, are superficial. Make it happen, make your Valentine’s gift a heart-healthy gift, from heart to heart.
At Eat Exercise Live, join me with these top professionals who want to contribute to your health.
Dr. Holly Andersen – New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell – America’s #1 Cardiologist
Dr. Steve Blair – Research Guru Exercise Physiologist – The Man Who Sets the Standards for Exercise Prescription, Surgeon General Awards University of South Carolina
Dr. Tim Church: Director of the Preventive Medicine Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Specialty: The effects of resistance training on health.