At one of the Parish Pastoral Council meeting of my Parish, the priest expressed his concern at the way people dropped dead as a result of heart disease. He was quite pained as doctors confirmed that a little lifestyle change and awareness in some of these people could have averted this premature death. On one occasion, a woman was right there in the church when she collapsed and died on the spot. It was for this reason that he suggested a Parish health day that allows for Parishioners to participate in aerobics session and also have the doctors come around to check their blood pressure. This is one area out of so many that most likely share similar experiences of people affected with heart disease. However, today, we focus on the women.
Today, as we celebrate Wear Red Day- a day set aside for people to wear red in creating awareness on heart disease in women, we thought it would be nice to let you in on some of the ways that women can possibly fight and prevent heart disease as highlighted in Go Red for Women.
Don’t Smoke
Producers of cigarettes are even obliged to include that smokers are liable to die young. If they can say that, then it is definitely a risk for anyone who chooses to make this a habit. Smoking is said to reduce the amount of oxyf=gen in your blood and damages the lining of your arteries.
Manage your blood sugar
Many of us are guilty of failing to check our blood sugar which means that we have no idea even how to manage it. In plain terms, diabetes is very risky to the heart which is why we should be reducing our consumption of alcohol, soda and increase our intake of water and other healthy drinks.
Get your blood pressure under control
High blood pressure occurs when the heart muscle is no longer receiving sufficient blood. I know that people who worry a lot or who sink into depression are likely to get hypertensive. Hence the need to get rid of whatever situation it is that is causing you to worry and triggers your blood pressure to go above normal.
Lower your cholesterol
Too much cholesterol in the blood, builds up the walls of the arteries. This means that you need to watch your intake of milk, eggs and meat. I am very guilty of the meat and will have to work on curbing it eventually. Asun and Suya will not let someone adhere.
Know your family history
Just like cancer, heart disease can be inherent. Hence the need to know your family history and take responsibility for your health through regular check ups.
Stay Active
One needs to be physically active. Try as much as you can to do some regular exercising. I get people ask me when I go to the gym, why I was coming as though, being at the gym was only to lose weight. That is a reason but, you need to stay active and keep fit.
Eat healthy
This is very important particularly to those of us who stay in this region where we are constantly eating processed foods, lots of carbohydrates and forgetting to add fruits and other classes of food.
Make an effort to stay on top of your health and share this post with someone who may need to know more about heart disease in women.
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