Tag Archives: people

3 Favorites Get The Thumbs Up

Recently on the radio,I heard a food expert talking about the benefits of certain foods- in particular certain vegetables. Now I’ve always been a rap for my veggies. I was always a child that happily ate my vegetables, with the exception of peas. But that’s another story. It’s always good to know that what you like is actually good for you and can help keep you healthy. Two of the vegetables he mentioned I use a lot, broccoli and lentils. I steam broccoli as a side dish to whatever meat or fish we’re having. Many of you will know I … Continue reading →

Checking in with Your Pulse

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Do you check your pulse? It’s not something I do very often… but it may actually be a useful way to keep an eye out for heart disease! Your pulse is your heart rate — how many times your heart beats in a minute. Everyone’s heart rate is different, but the average pulse at rest for children (between six and fifteen) is 70-100 beats per minute. The average pulse for adults (ages eighteen and up) is 60-100 beats per minute. (Information provided by the Cleveland Clinic.) When you exercise, your pulse increases — this is so your body can provide … Continue reading →

Protecting Your Husband’s Heart and More

The other day we looked at protecting your marriage but have you ever thought about whether there is anything you need to do or change in your lifestyle to protect your husband’s health? After all, you want him around for a long time to come, don’t you? Statistics have shown that carrying too much weight around can be bad for the heart and can also lead to other problems such as diabetes. Do you make sure your husband eats a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables, and fruit? Now I’m not suggesting you go vegetarian, as many men are fond … Continue reading →

Three Major Indicators of Heart Attack

The signs of a heart attack can be subtle. Remember my friend who didn’t realize he had a heart attack? Not everyone experiences the same symptoms in the same way when they’re having a heart attack. Knowing yourself is a great way to start. Are you familiar with your risk factors? Have you had your cholesterol levels and blood pressure tested within the last year? If you aren’t at high risk for a heart attack, that chest pain might be gas or heartburn. That pain in your arm might be from rearranging the furniture. But if you are at risk, … Continue reading →

Heart Attack Survivors and Episodic Chest Pain

A study from the University of Colorado and the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center took a look at angina — episodic chest pain — in heart attack survivors. Bad enough to suffer a heart attack, but to have to live with weekly or daily chest pain, too? It happens more often than you might think. Nearly two thousand heart attack survivors participated in the study. Approximately twenty percent of the participants reported some kind of chest pain one year after the heart attack. That’s one out of every five heart attack survivors! One percent of patients reported daily chest pain. … Continue reading →

Politicians in Trouble Again for Song Use

It seems that both the Democrats and the Republicans in this important election year just cannot catch a break with popular song use. Time after time, either a politician has been ridiculed for not taking the entire content of the lyrics of a song into consideration or they have been told to quit using a song by the artist or band. Today, I read that Heart is angry that their ‘70s hit “Barracuda” is being used as an unofficial theme song for current Alaska governor and hopeful vice president of the United States, Sarah Palin. I read in this week’s … Continue reading →

Another Reason to Get Running

When I decided to run my first marathon almost a decade ago I didn’t do it because I wanted to get in shape, lower my blood pressure or reduce my risk of a heart attack. I decided to run 26.2 miles because a guy I dated in college doubted that I could do it. So, I proved him wrong and lost a few pounds in the process. It’s not exactly the most inspiring story out there, but it just goes to show that there are a variety of factors that motivate people to run. If you don’t have anyone in … Continue reading →

The Right Incentive Can Help You Fight Heart Disease

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Are you at risk for heart disease? Are you already suffering from some form of heart disease — like high blood pressure or high cholesterol? Here’s a more important question: what are you doing about your heart disease risk, and why? Are you losing weight, eating a healthy, balanced diet, and exercising regularly? Or are you just coasting along and not making any lifestyle changes in order to reduce your risk? Cardiologists report that having the right incentives for fighting heart disease are just as important (sometimes more important) than anything else. Look at my mom, for example. She has … Continue reading →

The Heart of the Matter

Do you think those around don’t notice your behavior and attitudes? You’d be wrong. They notice more than we realize. Recently a woman I know came to our church. ‘It’s so obvious the love and affection you and your husband have for each other,’ she said later. I tried to think back and work out what could have prompted the comment. Even as I thought about it, I didn’t have a clue what had led to her comment. I couldn’t pinpoint any specific thing we’d said or done. We were just the way we normally are around each other. But … Continue reading →

Cats (and Dogs) Do a Body Good

I was reading an issue of Woman’s World today that had a blurb called “The purr-fect way to protect your heart!” Of course this caught my eye. “Sorry, dogs, but when it comes to keeping pet owners healthy, cats win paws-down! That’s the news from a recent large-scale study, which found that owning a cat slashes your risk of a heart attack by 40% and reduces your risk of stroke and heart failure by 30% compared to those who’ve never had a cat or dog—and this was true even after accounting for other risk factors, such as age, blood pressure … Continue reading →