Men Can Cut Their Heart Attack Risk By 86 Percent. So Why Don't They?

[QuotaMan]

https://www.yahoo.com/health/men-can-cut-their-heart-attack-risk-by-86-percent-so-98240008347.html

 

 

 

Listen up, men: A new study has found a way for you to reduce your chances of having a heart attack by a whopping 86 percent. All you have to do is exercise regularly, eat lots of veggies, not smoke, barely drink, and watch your waistline. So why isn’t everybody doing it?

 

“That is the basic question that health psychologists have been examining for the past 30 to 40 years,” James Maddux, a psychology professor at George Mason University and senior scholar at its Center for the Advancement of Well-Being, told Yahoo Health. “And the short, simple answer is this: Just about everything we do that’s unhealthy in the long run — including eating, drinking alcohol, and not moving our bodies — feels good in the short run. And everything that’s good for us — exercising, eating less pasta and bread, not smoking if someone’s a smoker — takes effort, and that can be unpleasant. That is the basic problem.”

 

Still, Maddux told Yahoo Health, flooding people with information about how to get healthier helps, as most people have a tipping point about when they will decide to change their behaviors. And to that end comes the new study, published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, for which researchers in Sweden followed 20,721 healthy men between the ages of 45 and 79 for 11 years.

 

They assessed the men’s lifestyle habits along the way, and found a clear reduction in heart attack risk for each way the participants lived healthily, which included the following guidelines: walking or bicycling for more than 40 minutes per day plus working out for more than an hour a week; sticking to a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, reduced-fat dairy products, and fish; drinking very little (an ounce or less of alcohol per day); not smoking; and keeping the circumference of one’s waist below 37 inches.

 

Only about one percent of men involved in the study fit into the complete healthy-living category. But they were 86 percent less likely to have heart attacks than those who ate poorly, were overweight, exercised too little, smoked, and drank too much alcohol, the researchers said. And all in all, the researchers concluded that four out of five heart attacks could be prevented by these lifestyle changes.

 

“It is not surprising that healthy lifestyle choices would lead to a reduction in heart attacks,” Agneta Akesson, the study’s lead author and an associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, said through a statement. “What is surprising is how drastically the risk dropped due to these factors.” 

 

In the study, the researchers noted, “Because population-wide strategies to shift the entire distribution of risk cannot rely on prescription medication, effective lifestyle-based prevention is essential.”

 

But according to the authors, less than 2 percent of the American population conforms to what is defined as ideal cardiovascular health. And that goes back to Maddux’s points. When you make drastic or even slight changes to your comfortable routine — which could include tipping back a few cocktails on a regular basis, being a couch potato, or skipping fruits and veggies at mealtime — “the ‘punishment’ is immediate,” he said. “As humans, we respond to short-term rewards and tend to forget about the long-term consequences.”

 

Still, Maddux noted, “At some point, a person says, ‘I’ve heard enough. I have to do this.’” At that point, they’ve moved from the pre-contemplation stage to the contemplation stage to the action stage, when they can finally start to make behavior changes. And that’s when social support — getting in touch with someone who has made the switches you’d like to make — is very important. “You might be able to say, ‘If they can do it, I can do it, too,’” he said.

 

 

 

[padfoot]

Those are some drastic changes for many people. To make all those changes can appear overwhelming, just to much to ask. I think support from family and peers is very important when contemplating the changes that are asked for in this article. Also, when a man's peer group leads a non healthy lifestyle attempting to change is quite difficult. I believe to make the changes mentioned in this article takes considerable time. Bad habits develop quickly; changing them takes considerably longer.

[LaaMok]

I have made all the changes, its well worth it and I highly recommend it. I am also willing to give people advice that want to follow.

[stef74]

erm, so if my normal risk is 5%, i make changes, it goes down to 0.75%

 

 

ill stick to enjoying life thanks.

[The Sculptor]

I have made all the changes, its well worth it and I highly recommend it. I am also willing to give people advice that want to follow.

 

BRAVO!  Not an easy thing to accomplish; changing habits is so tough. I'll bet it has raised your self-esteem. 

[DaffyDuck]

I have made all the changes, its well worth it and I highly recommend it. I am also willing to give people advice that want to follow.

 

Best endorsement you can get - and I bet it wasn't difficult at all.

[kinky01]

I have made all the changes, its well worth it and I highly recommend it. I am also willing to give people advice that want to follow.

Good for you! Can I ask was what the trigger for you?

 

I went through the same process 2 years ago. It was after an unexpected quaduple heart bypass surgery. Luckilly, I never suffered a heart attack. That was a turning point for me at age 50. Today I am feeling better than ever -- taking the time to exercise daily, eat better and stopped smoking. I still fuck like a rabbit though... but that's part of my exercise program....55555

[Mockingbird]

I had a heart attack - a major one - around 4 weeks back. After that, had an angiogram and an angioplasty.

 

Off the cigs, and now full on health nut. Salads and soups, high fibre diet. I'm just 34, and already have a stent in my artery.

[86Tiger]

erm, so if my normal risk is 5%, i make changes, it goes down to 0.75%

 

 

ill stick to enjoying life thanks.

 

 

 

Always my initial thoughts on these type comments.  It reads "...reduce risk by xx%...." so if your risk is low to begin with............

 

Also, check out all those meds western Docs like to pimp.  They will read the same "reduce risk by 2%" or some such.  As long as I am single digits to begin with what's the gain, other than a healthy bill at the pharmacy?

[vimto66]

I had a heart attack - a major one - around 4 weeks back. After that, had an angiogram and an angioplasty.

 

Off the cigs, and now full on health nut. Salads and soups, high fibre diet. I'm just 34, and already have a stent in my artery.

Blimey thats young for somethng of this significance,what brought it on,any idea or was it just random bad luck.

[The Sly Fox]

I had a heart attack - a major one - around 4 weeks back. After that, had an angiogram and an angioplasty.

 

Off the cigs, and now full on health nut. Salads and soups, high fibre diet. I'm just 34, and already have a stent in my artery.

At 34, that's really unusual. You were smoking, were you also overweight? If so then big factors, but still at 34 most unusual.

 

I gave up smoking long ago, and my diet is very good, I'm basically vegetarian, though I do eat fish, but no meat at all. I go long walks daily (average 6K) and do drink a bit, only beer and not every night, I'm 67 and weigh 86K. I've made some tough rules for myself but I believe my health is better for it.

[DaffyDuck]

Blimey thats young for somethng of this significance,what brought it on,any idea or was it just random bad luck.

If I had to guess, based on the original comment: cigarettes.

[Mockingbird]

2-4 packs a day. Cigarettes really can kill.

[Chris50]

well guys i am still here 30 fags a day drink yea a little not water but serious i did not thik i would make it this far so more mony spent in thailand and another 2 years living here but here i am bacardi coke and a ciggarete back in the uk alone broke  but did i have a great time YES YES  i did

cheers you lads

chris

 and now 65 but lost the dress last year

[Mockingbird]

me red dress.jpgwell guys i am still here 30 fags a day drink yea a little not water but serious i did not thik i would make it this far so more mony spent in thailand and another 2 years living here but here i am bacardi coke and a ciggarete back in the uk alone broke  but did i have a great time YES YES  i did

cheers you lads

chris

 and now 65 but lost the dress last year

 

That's great, Chris!  Count yourself as one of the lucky ones. And nice dress!

[JDaw5]

I'm a vegetarian, nearly vegan in habit. I eat eggs and dairy sparingly. Exercise for about 30-60 min. four to five days a week, plus I spend a fair bit walking to work (live in a big city). I only drink socially. I try to make it count when I eat out. 

 

I'm only 27, but I've been told that I still look significantly younger than most of my peers. I've observed that people with similar lifestyles to mine also look significantly younger than their age group. I can't prove it scientifically, but that's just my observation/assumption. 

 

It really comes down to what's important to you. Me? I guess I care more about sex, art, sports, etc. than food or alcohol, even though I enjoy those things as well.  

 

For me it was no big deal to make these changes. For others, it will be torture. 

 

But all I can tell you is how I'm feeling, which is pretty damn good.

[Soda11111]

I'm 59. I've been mostly vegetarian for the past 4 years. Sometimes I eat fish and eggs. Little dairy. I run 4-5 miles a day, about one hour. At my age I'm concerned about doing my best to stay healthy. My real objective is to increase my remaining fucking years(sex years). I hope I'm on the right track.