| Heart Disease & Men
Most Male Heart Attacks Can be Prevented
It's an incredible fact that roughly 25 percent of the men who die this year will be killed by heart disease. They will be husbands, fathers, single men, all major contributors to their workplaces and communities.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says that in 2006, some 315,706 males in the United States died from coronary heart disease. That's the bad news. The good news is that many, if not most, of those deaths could have been prevented with what we know now.Change What You Can!
Heart attack risk factors include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking, overweight/obesity, poor diet, physical inactivity and alcohol use. HHS says nine of ten patients have at least one of the risk factors. Most have more than one.
If cardiovascular disease runs in your family, doctors recommend that you treat yourself as high risk. Make some changes. Beginning today.
Heart to Heart subject Hurst Bousegard of New Orleans, LA
Hurst Bousegard, a heart attack survivor from New Orleans knew he was a candidate for a coronary. In Chapter 4 of Heart to Heart, Hurst recalls for author C. Bruce Johnson how his grandfather died at age 35 of a heart attack and how his father,"Big Hurst," succumbed to the same disease, "due to his heavy smoking, family history and lack of physical activity." These are among the classic heart attack risk factors. Heart to Heart subject Neal Gregory of Washington, DC
Neal Gregory, another survivor, now living with a pacemaker, is featured in Chapter 10 of Heart to Heart. A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, Gregory recalls that his mother, like his aunts and many family friends, was a great southern cook. "The family ate lots of fried foods and all of the vegetables were cooked in pork fatback with a sliver of lean meat. Everything was fried, biscuits, gravy. Lots of rich desserts."
Know the symptoms of an oncoming heart attack. Half of the victims say they had no warning signs or perhaps didn't heed them.
The American Heart Association says the warning signs for men include chest pain and/or discomfort, pain in one or both arms, shortness of breath, cold sweat, nausea, and lightheadedness.
In Chapter 2 of Heart to Heart, Steve Sobleman, a Baltimore psychiatrist, recalls how he ignored his early warning signs. He was attending an Orioles baseball game. Johnson writes, "At one point, Steve got up up to go for a beer. The short climb up the stairs to the concession stand left him grasping for air. 'God am I so out of shape,' he told his friend. 'I am so out of breath.' "
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