Lower Your Risk of the Leading Cause of Death 50%

Dr. Harriott's commentary:

Cardiac disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. In the general population that risk at the age of 40 years old is about 20%. The study below reports that the risk drops to about 10.1% for men who adopt 4 out of 6 of the following lifestyle modifications:

1. Recommended body weight,
2. Non-smoking,
3. Regular exercise,
4. Moderate alcohol intake,
5. consumption of breakfast cereals, and
6. consumption of fruits and vegetables.

So, question for you to ponder if you are not doing this already... What other benefits do you suppose you would enjoy if you were to be in a low cardiac risk category? We always seem to focus on the end, but I want you to think about what happens between now and then. A healthy lifestyle means, more activity, better sleep, better sex, fewer medications, more vacations. Get on the wagon everyone :) !!!!


======================================================================

Relation Between Modifiable Lifestyle Factors and Lifetime Risk of Heart Failure
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/302/4/394?etoc

Luc Djoussé, MD, ScD, MPH; Jane A. Driver, MD, MPH; J. Michael Gaziano, MD, MPH

JAMA. 2009;302(4):394-400.

Context The lifetime risk of heart failure at age 40 years is approximately 1 in 5 in the general population; however, little is known about the association between modifiable lifestyle factors and the remaining lifetime risk of heart failure.

Objective To examine the association between modifiable lifestyle factors and the lifetime risk of heart failure in a large cohort of men.

Design, Setting, and Participants Prospective cohort study using data from 20 900 men (mean age at baseline, 53.6 years) from the Physicians' Health Study I (1982-2008) who were apparently healthy at baseline. Six modifiable lifestyle factors were assessed: body weight, smoking, exercise, alcohol intake, consumption of breakfast cereals, and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Main Outcome Measure Lifetime risk of heart failure.

Results During a mean follow-up of 22.4 years, 1200 men developed heart failure. Overall, the lifetime risk of heart failure was 13.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 12.9%-14.7%) at age 40 years. Lifetime risk remained constant in men who survived free of heart failure through age 70 years and reached 10.6% (95% CI, 9.4%-11.7%) at age 80 years. Lifetime risk of heart failure was higher in men with hypertension than in those without hypertension. Healthy lifestyle habits (normal body weight, not smoking, regular exercise, moderate alcohol intake, consumption of breakfast cereals, and consumption of fruits and vegetables) were individually and jointly associated with a lower lifetime risk of heart failure, with the highest risk in men adhering to none of the 6 lifestyle factors (21.2%; 95% CI, 16.8%-25.6%) and the lowest risk in men adhering to 4 or more desirable factors (10.1%; 95% CI, 7.9%-12.3%).

Conclusion In this cohort of apparently healthy men, adherence to healthy lifestyle factors is associated with a lower lifetime risk of heart failure.