Heart Disease
Heart disease is well-known as the number one killer of men and women in the United States. Every year, an estimated 910,000 Americans die from the disease; in 1999, it accounted for 40% of all deaths in the United States. The American Heart Association currently estimates that well over 70 million Americans live every day with some form of heart disease, which includes hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular disease, stroke, angina (chest pain), heart attack and congenital heart defects.
Exercise as Prevention
Instead of treating heart disease with prescription drugs and surgery once it arrives, experts agree that the best way to reduce heart disease rates is to take preventive measures. These include not smoking, eating a healthy diet, and of course, exercising! According to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport, physically inactive people are twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease than regularly active people are. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity on most days of the week to maintain good cardiovascular function and health. The human heart is a muscle and exercise helps make it stronger!
Check back next week to see what you can do to prevent heart disease.
Source: http://live.ihrsa.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage.cfm&pageId=19592
