“Maid of Athens, ere we part,Give, oh give me back
my heart” This plea from Lord Byron, the poet, was referring
to spiritual, rather than physical heart. Even so, had he lived and
died in the 21st century rather than the early nineteenth, he
should have been concerned about the state of his heart and
coronary arteries even when he wrote these lines in 1809. Byron
frequently ate too much and drank heavily and his deformed foot
limited the amount of physical exercise he could take, despite his
being a famed swimmer. Although his bedroom hummed with activity,
he didn’t sleep well.
We shouldn’t copy the lifestyle of Lord Byron. Nor should we
hope that all would be well if we reformed our work schedule so
that we had more time at home and the occasional long weekend and
had six to eight hours sleep a night, the optimum pattern for a
long life. Diet, the exercise regime and drinking pattern all need
review long before someone reaches the coronary age group. It is
always safer to plan prevention than pray for a cure. There are
some risk factors associated with heart disease and strokes that we
can neither alter, nor for which we can be held responsible. No one
can help being a man, but males are more likely to suffer heart
disease and strokes earlier in life than women. A female’s
hormones, while she is still of reproductive age and hasn’t
yet had the menopause, protect the coronary arteries and preserve
the strength of the heart muscle. Ten years past the menopause, a
woman is as likely to be in the cardiologist’s clinic as a
man. Whether old or young, male or female, everyone should stop
smoking, reduce their cholesterol levels, acquire a thinner waist,
make certain that their blood pressure is normal and take sensible
exercise.
A healthy diet needn’t be unpleasant. Brussels sprouts may be
disgusting to some but there are so many vegetables now on sale
that it is no hardship to find five portions of fruit and
vegetables a day that are palatable. Adopting a low-cholesterol,
high-fibre, low-salt diet with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit
and little calorie-dense convenience foods, is a good start to any
campaign to live longer and thereby avoid being one of the six
million people worldwide who die of cardiovascular
disease.
Although the intake of fatty foods should be reduced, there are two
essential fatty acids, omega 3 derived from fish oil and omega 6
fatty acids from oily plants. The ideal diet has the correct
balance of omega 3 to 6. As a rule, people’s diets have an
adequate amount of the latter rather than the more beneficial omega
3, which has the power to keep old men’s hearts beating,
while being equally valuable at the other end of life when it can
stimulate the brains of their grandchildren. To ensure an adequate
intake of omega 3, everyone should have oily fish at least twice a
week. Cod and halibut are excellent sources of protein, but what
the heart needs is oily fish; these include herrings, mackerel,
tuna, sardines, salmon, trout and anchovies. Those who can’t
always manage the two portions of oily fish a week can always take
a daily omega 3 fish oil capsule. The Eskimos, who have a
fish-based diet, have the healthiest hearts in the world.
We need protein. The best is in meat, but the downside of succulent
steaks, pork crackling or Welsh lamb is the saturated fat that is
hidden between the meat fibres. Conversely, game, whether venison,
rabbit or pheasant, has very little cholesterol laden fat between
the muscle fibres. When enjoying a steak or rack of lamb, the fat
should be cut away from the lean meat. Eggs should be rich in omega
3. A low-fat diet should reduce overall cholesterol levels, and in
particular that of the lethal form of cholesterol - Low Density
Lipo-protein. LDL is the dangerous cholesterol that clogs the
arteries of the brain, and thereby causes a stroke, or the coronary
arteries, thereby leading to a heart attack. The overall blood
cholesterol level should be below five, the LDL below 2.85. Too
much salt increases the blood pressure and can also lead to heart
attacks and strokes. There is enough salt in the diet without
adding any extra. It is easy not to use salt at the table, more
difficult not to do so in the kitchen. A ten per cent reduction in
the national intake of salt would save over 6,000 UK lives a year
and prevent 6,000 non-fatal strokes and heart attacks. If we
reduced the intake of salt from the present 10 grams per person per
day in the UK to three grams, a thousand lives a week would be
saved and an equal number of people would be prevented from
suffering heart attacks and strokes.
An ideal blood pressure is one in which the systolic pressure (the
upper reading), which records the pressure when the heart is
contracting, is under 135 and the lower reading, representing that
when the heart is relaxing, should be under 80. Age is no reason to
accept higher levels. High blood pressure needs treating whatever
the age group. Obesity is a great killer. It leads to high blood
pressure and diabetes; the latter is complicated by heart attacks,
strokes, kidney failure and blindness. Only one measurement is
important in assessing obesity - that is the circumference of the
waist measured at its maximum point; a man’s should be,
regardless of their height and build, under 40 inches and
women’s under 35. If they want to be superfit, a man’s
should be under 37 inches and a woman’s under 32.
Exercise is essential and all those who have joints that allow this
should take a daily brisk walk of half an hour to forty minutes,
twice this if they are already at risk of heart disease because of
a high blood pressure, diabetes or raised cholesterol blood levels.
There is no need for visits to the gym, jogging in lycra shorts, or
even for suicidal bicycling in heavy traffic. The brisk walk should
be fast enough to make conversation difficult but not impossible.
Those who have a healthy heart but joint problems should swim
daily.
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