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; Two people can
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|. Quality of your life...

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RERSOR

HOW can I prevent a
heart attack?

The risk factors for a heart
attack can be divided into wo
categories: ones you cannot
change and ones you can.

There are some risk factors
for heart attack you cannot
change.

They are:

Family background

A history of heart disease
or stroke within your immedi-
ate family (grandparents, par-
ents, siblings).

Age

Your risk of both heart dis-
ease and stroke rises as you get
older. Men are more likely to
develop heart disease at an
earlier age than women. Yet
more women than men dic
from heart discase and stroke

There are many more risk
factors you can change.
Focusing on these factors can
help you lower your risk a
great deal. Risk factors
include:

Smoking

Chances of developing
heart disease go way up if you
smoke.

High blood pressure
High blood pressure is also

_ known as “hypertension.” It

puts a person at risk for both
heart disease and stroke. Have
your blood pressure checked

yy your doctor, and ask what

’ the figures mean. If your doc-
tor prescribes medication to

ould like to thank all of our valued customers for
support during: the last:six years. We would also. -

lower your blood pressure, be
sure to. take it as directed.
High blood cholesterol

The most important things
you can do to lower your
bleod cholesterol are:

@ fimir the amount of far in
your dict;

@ increase the fibre in your
diet;

@ be physically active.

Again, have your blood
cholesterol checked by your
doctor and ask what the fig-
ures mean. Talk with your
doctor about how often you
should have your cholesterol
checked. If you have medica-
tion to lower your blood cho-
lesterol, be stwre to take it as
directed.

Diabetes

About five out of every
100 Canadians are affected by
diabetes. This is equal to 2.5
million people. People with
diabetes have a higher risk of
heart disease, but you. can
reduce this risk by:

B taking your insulin (or oral
drug) i prescribed, to keep
your blood sugar level under
control; co,

& managing your diet careful-

Y5 .
& being physicaily active regu-

¥3

{maintaining the body

weight that’s right for you.
inactive lifestyle

The heart is ‘like every -

other muscle in your bady. It
needs regular exercise to stay

healthy. You can help reduce
your nisk with regular physical
activity(light te moderate).

Try to be active 30 to 60
minutes a day, every day of
the week. Build physteal activ-
ities into your daily routine.
Just add it up in periods of 10
minutes each throughout the
day. :
Overweight

An excess of body fat does-
nt just increase your risk of
heart disease. ft also puts you
at risk for diabetes and some
types of cancer. To achieve a
healthy body weight, it works
best to combine:
@ regular moderate physical
activity, and
a healthy balanced diet thar
is high in whole grains, veg-
etables and fruit, and low. in
fat. . -
For details on what makes
up a healthy balanced diet,
take a look at Canada’ s Food

Guide te Healthy Eating.

The Heart and Stroke
Foundation of Canada also
provides useful nutrition
information.

Stress ;

“Researchers are studying
the link between stress and
heart disease. Still, it is known
that for some people stress
causes higher blood choles-
terol, higher blocd pressure
and blood platclets that are
more likely to clot. This is
made worse if people smoke
or eat a high fat dict...

ur heartrisks |

Women’s watch

Although most of che risk
factors for heart disease are -
the same for men and women,
there are special factors that
women should be aware of.

Heart discase is the leading
cause of death for women in
Canada. More than one in
three women die from heart
disease or stroke. This is
slightly higher than the num-
ber of men. On_ average
women five longer than men.
Women tend to be older when
they have a heart attack, and
often are more likely to dic
from it. :

Women are much more
likely to develop heart disease
after menopause. The risk
gocs up because their bodies. |
doesn’t produce as much: :
estrogen, a hormone that pro-
tects the heart and blood ves
sels. If you have gone through
menopause, you may want to
talk with your doctor about
hormone replacement, the

¥ Women who smoke are
least cwice as likely to have:
heart attack or stroke. \:
For those who smoke an
take birth control ‘pills, th
risk goes up 30 times if th
are under 35, and as much.
400 times for those. 3