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3 Search Results for ""coronary artery risk""

• A Dose of Walking? A Dose of Walking?

  • From: Jan_Swaney_MD
  • Description:

    Walking as a medication?  Or even better than a medication?

    When it comes to keeping pounds off from as we age, walking is better than any pill out there.  We’ve known for a long time that runners keep their weight off as the years progress, but what about walkers?    

    Until recently, there really hadn’t been any research that demonstrated the effect of walking on weight gain age-related weight gain, but a recent study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that a regular walking can have significant effects on preventing the weight gain associated with aging.

    Participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development for Young Adults (CARDIA) Study were 18-30 years old when the study began and were re-examined after 2, 5, 7, 10 and 15 years.  After accounting for calorie intake and other factors, there was a strong association between walking and the prevention of weight gain; people who walked were less likely to gain weight, and there was predictable dose-response.  The more that people walked, the more likely they were to keep off the pounds; two hours of walking per week was better than none, and four hours of walking per week was even better.

    There isn’t a pill out there that can even come close to showing that kind of benefit.  Commercial weight loss pills are associated with a risk for significant, serious adverse events and their effect seems to plateau at around 3-5 lbs. of weight loss, even when taken over an extended period of time.  Walking is free, safe, and the more you do of it, the more benefit you derive.  Of course, you’ll want to make sure you walk in a safe place, wear a good pair of shoes that fit you well, and take appropriate precautions with sunscreen, a water bottle, and reflective clothing for nighttime conditions.

    Our bodies are literally made to walk and perhaps that’s the reason walking is the exercise of choice for 70% of people.  How does walking make you feel?  Let me hear from you.   And if you aren’t sure, then I’d like to have you strap on a comfortable pair of shoes and let me know. 

    
    

     

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 426

• When to Check Your Cholesterol When to Check Your Cholesterol

  • From: Julie_Stansfield_MD
  • Description:

    
    

    When to Have Your Cholesterol Checked

    Cholesterol problems often exist at the same time as high blood pressure. If you have cholesterol problems and high blood pressure, you are increasing your risk of developing coronary artery disease.

     

    The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends that all adults aged 20 or older have a cholesterol test called a lipoprotein panel once every 5 years. If it is normal, then it should be checked every 5 years. If it is abnormal, then you need to visit with your doctor of other healthcare provider.

     

    To get the most accurate results blood is drawn after you fast from 9 to 12 hours. The sample is checked for your levels of total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, and triglycerides.

     

  • Blog post
  • 1 year ago
  • Views: 117
  • Not yet rated

• Cold Turkey is So, So Good! Cold Turkey is So, So Good!

  • From: Jan_Swaney_MD
  • Description:

    Cold Turkey is So, So Good!

    Just around the corner is the America Cancer Society’s “Great American Smoke-Out,” a day that Americans are encouraged to go “cold turkey” in an effort to quit smoking.  A timely new piece of research from UCLA details the hazards of smoking to nurses who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study, an important epidemiologic research study that has been ongoing for several decades.  The results convey both the good news and bad news about smoking:

     

    • First, the good news.  Smoking rates declined from 33.2% in 1976 to 8.4% in 2003.
    • On the other hand, when compared with non-smokers, death rates among women in their 70's were 2.3 times higher for current smokers and 1.5 times higher for former smokers.

    Do you or someone you care about smoke?  Have you given any thought to quitting?  What would be important enough to for you to consider quitting?  Consider these positive changes that take place following the last cigarette.  According to the Surgeon General, in

    • 20 minutes – the heart rate and blood pressure drop
    • 12 hours – the carbon monoxide level in the bloodstream drops to normal
    • 2 weeks to 3 months – circulation improves and lung function increases
    • 1 to 9 months – coughing and shortness of breath decrease and lungs regain normal or near normal ability to handle mucus and fight infection
    • 1 year – excess risk of coronary artery disease drops to half that of a continuing smoker
    • 10 years – lung cancer death rate is half that of a continuing smoker, and the risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas are reduced, too

    If you have quit before or know someone who has been successful, what do you think was the key to success?  And what advice would you have for others?

    Jan
    

     

     

  • Blog post
  • 2 years ago
  • Views: 305
  • Not yet rated