The value of prevention

07 Jun The value of prevention

Treating heart disease is expensive. Adopting heart-healthy habits can save money as well as lives.If you exercise, eat right, and follow other heart-friendly habits, you’re probably less likely to end up in the hospital with a heart problem. And, no surprise here, that translates to far lower health care costs.

A recent report shed light on the magnitude of the savings realized from heart disease prevention strategies. The study, published in the February, 2017, by the American Heart Association, claims for more than 6,200 people over age 65. Health care costs were about $5,000 less per year in people with the most heart-healthy factors.

If all study beneficiaries followed seven key heart-healthy habits to reduce cardiovascular disease, it would save more than $41 billion a year, the study authors estimated.

” Fortunately, as regards the heart diseases is that there are lots of things you can do on your own to reduce your risk substantially,” says cardiologist Dr. Jason Wasfy, director of quality and analytics at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. Research suggests that about 70% of all heart disease could be prevented if people addressed their underlying risk factors.
For instance, regarding quitting smoking, Americans are on the right track. Among adults, rates of this heart-damaging habit have plummeted from 42% in 1965 down to just 15% today.

When it comes to physical activity, however, there’s a lot of room for improvement. Nearly a quarter of adults worldwide are inactive. The physical exercise is a remarkable tool for heart disease prevention, and it don’t even need a big effort. You can enjoy results even at a low level of physical exercise. If you’re not active but you start walking for 20 to 30 minutes twice a week, that can make a difference. You don’t need to run or to spend a lot of money on fancy gear — just get a decent pair of walking shoes.

Benefits of exercise

Physical activity and exercising have four main benefits: losing weight, reducing blood sugar, managing blood pressure and controlling cholesterol levels. Exercise also helps relieve stress, another critical yet underappreciated risk factor for heart disease. Emotional stress from work, family, or financial issues is common and often unavoidable. But easy strategies such as exercise or practicing meditation can help people to better manage their stress.

The 7 healthy habits mentioned above, emerging from the American Heart Association study to improve cardiovascular health are:

Changes you can make

1. Stop smoking
Target for ideal heart health: Having never smoked, or having quit smoking for more than a year

2. Reduce blood sugar
Target for ideal heart health: Fasting blood glucose below 100 mg/dL

3. Control cholesterol
Target for ideal heart health: Total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL

4. Manage blood pressure
Target for ideal heart health: Blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg

5. Lose weight
Target for ideal heart health: Body mass index (BMI) in the normal range (18.5–25)

6. Get active
Target for ideal heart health: At least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intense exercise per week

7. Eat better
Target for ideal heart health: A diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, and nuts and limits red meats and sugar



Metamorfoza Wellington & Max Relax a început!
Ne întoarcem în curând cu noua noastră identitate.

 

This will close in 5 seconds