Physical Activity: The Heart Connection
Physical inactivity greatly increases your risk of developing heart disease.

Physical activity both directly reduces your heart disease risk and reduces your chances of developing other risk factors for heart disease. For example:

• Regular physical activity may reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol, increase HDL (good) cholesterol, and lower high blood pressure
• Physical activity can protect your heart by helping to prevent and control diabetes
• Physical activity can help you to lose excess weight or stay at your desirable weight, which will also help to lower your risk of heart disease

Heart disease occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become hardened and narrowed, due to a buildup of plaque on the arteries' inner walls.

Plaque is the accumulation of fat, cholesterol, and other substances. As plaque continues to build up in the arteries, blood flow to the heart is reduced.

Heart disease can lead to a heart attack.

Heart Attack
A heart attack happens when a cholesterol-rich plaque bursts and releases its contents into the bloodstream. This causes a blood clot to form over the plaque, totally blocking blood flow through the artery and preventing vital oxygen and nutrients from getting to the heart. A heart attack can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle.

Some people aren't too concerned about heart disease because they think it can be cured with surgery. This is a myth. Heart disease is a lifelong condition. It's true that certain procedures can help blood and oxygen flow more easily to the heart. But the arteries remain damaged, which means you are still more likely to have a heart attack. What's more, the condition of your blood vessels will steadily worsen unless you make changes in your daily habits and control other factors that increase risk.

Heart disease is a serious disease, and too often, a fatal one. It is the number one killer of Americans, with 500,000 people in the United States dying of heart disease each year. Many others with heart problems become permanently disabled. That's why it's so vital to take action to prevent this disease. Getting regular physical activity should be part of everyone's heart disease prevention program.

Certain risk factors for heart disease, such as getting older or having a family history of early heart disease, can't be changed. But physical inactivity is a major risk factor for heart disease that you have control over.

You Have Control

• Become, and stay, physically active.
• Quit Smoking
  People who smoke are up to six times more likely to suffer a heart attack than nonsmokers, and the risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked each day. Quitting will greatly reduce your risk. Check with local community groups for free or low-cost programs designed to help people stop smoking. Avoid other people's smoke if you can.
• Control High Blood Pressure
  Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and congestive heart failure. Your health care provider can check your blood pressure by means of a simple test using an inflatable arm cuff. Blood pressure often can be entirely controlled by getting regular physical activity, losing excess weight, cutting down on alcohol, and changing eating habits, such as using less salt and other forms of sodium. For some people, medication is also needed.
• Control High Blood Cholesterol
  High blood cholesterol can lead to the buildup of plaque in your arteries, which raises the risk of a heart attack. Starting at age 20, everyone should have their cholesterol levels checked by means of a blood test called a lipoprotein profile. You can lower high blood cholesterol by getting regular physical activity, eating less saturated fat and trans fat, and managing your weight. In some cases, medication is also needed.
• Lose Weight if You Are Overweight
  If you are overweight or obese, you are more likely to develop heart disease even if you have no other risk factors. Ask your doctor to help you determine whether you need to lose weight for your health. The good news: Losing just 5 to 10 percent of your current weight will help to lower your risk of heart disease and many other medical disorders. Choose foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sugar, and salt. Enjoy more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
• Control Diabetes
  Diabetes greatly increases your risk for heart disease, stroke, and other serious diseases. Ask your doctor whether you should be tested for it. Many people at high risk for diabetes can prevent or delay the disease by reducing calories as part of a healthy eating plan, and by becoming more physically active. If you already have diabetes, work closely with your doctor to manage it.

Every risk factor counts. Research shows that each individual risk factor greatly increases the chances of developing heart disease and having a heart attack. A damaged heart can damage your life, by interfering with enjoyable activities and even keeping you from doing simple things, such as taking a walk or climbing steps.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/

Hi Ziggy,

I remember reading somewhere that 30% of what determines your health is predetermined in your genes and the other 70% is lifestyle choices. So if you were born into a family with great health and no heart conditions, if you make bad choices you still have a high chance on developing heart disease... conversely if you were born into a high risk family, with the right choices you can mitigate your chances of developing problems down to 1/3.

I agree. It is all about the choices you make. Make good choices and you will be healthy, regardless of your family history.

If you are smart and proactive in your health, you can avoid a lot of health related issues. Unfortunately, our society doesn't promote healthy choices and lifestyles. That is why, with all of our technology and knowledge of what is good and healthy, this is the first generation in american history that our younger generation is expected to have a shorter life span than the previous one! First time ever in our history!EVER!

Wow, that is sad, but it makes sense. Just look at how many overweight and obese children there are out there. I saw on the Dr. Phil show the other day a 4 year old child who weighed 150 pounds! That is just crazy. He was taller wide than he was tall and he could barely stand up because of all of the extra weight. The mom kept saying how she thinks there is some medical issue relating to it and that she doesn't feed the kid any junk at all. But then they had video of her giving her son a treat because she couldn't say no to him. Dr. Phil was convinced there was no medical issue and it all had to do with the choices the mom made for him. I agreed with Dr. Phil.

I think we are in the generation that grew up with moms who had jobs and didn't stay at home. They knew how to cook because their moms showed them... but I don't think our generation knows how to cook because we were raised on fast food... and when kids want snacks we turn to McDonalds or Hostess instead of nutritious foods. I seriously think we need to bring Home-ec (sp) is it bad that I don't even know the proper spelling of that... wasn't in my time... to show kids at an early age there are healthy choices to be made while eating!

I had home economics when I was in Jr. High School, but it didn't teach me anything about nutritious cooking. We may have made a couple foods... probably something like jello, but what I remember most about my home economics class was all of the sewing that we did. I remember making a sweatshirt.

I think there is a serious lack in cooking education in our society... I am thinking about taking a cooking class... I only learned how to cook the bad stuff from my mom... No one ever taught me how to cook the healthy stuff... I seriously think that should be part of highschool education!

There are millions of healthy recipe books out there, maybe you could start with a good recipe book rather than a class? Most recipes are easy to follow, from my experience.

I want to know how to use my spice rack... I have had it for a while and never used it... it is decoration in most people's kitchen... the art of cooking at home is dead. I want to create my own dishes, not just follow directions. Show a man how to catch a fish in a paticular pond, and he can fish in that pond... but show a man how to use stuff in his tackle box and he can catch a fish anywhere he wants... and get a bigger tackle box!!!

All right! Then maybe you do need to take a cooking class then!