Show Your Y our Heart EDITORS EDITOR'S NOTE This news release the first in a series of six one every other week will discuss some common habits and health conditions which increase increase in in- crease the risk of having heart disease in the tile prime of life and will e. e explain plain how to counteract that risk INFORMATION for these articles are taken from a booklet Your Heart Has HasNine HasNine Nine Lives written by AIton Alton Alton Al Al- ton Blakeslee and Dr Jeremiah Jeremiah Jere Jere- l Jere-l miah and distributed ted by the American Heart Association through its affiliate affiliate affiliate af af- af- af the Utah Heart As As- Every hour the roster lengthens name by name name- Jones Baker Sullivan Cohen only 31 to 60 years old each dead of a heart attack I EACH HAD lived his way I into a premature heart at at- at tack By habit or choice each had run certain risks that raised his chances of being stricken His seemingly seemingly seem seem- heart attack had been building up to crisis for years Yet had he known and and had he acted each could ave atie reduced any of nine risk factors which by all I we know make a man I more susceptible to a heart attack far too early in life CONTROL ONE of these nine risk factors and you take a step to boost your chances for a longer life Control them all and then in a sense your heart hasnine has hasnine hasnine nine lives In a month or a aI afew afew I few months time you can reduce reI reduce re re- re- re I duce your risks I I We know the name of the i killer It is the hardening or thicken of the vital arteries carrying nourishing blood to the muscles and cells of your body I I I I YOUR HEART is the sturdiest sturdiest iest Lest toughest muscle of your body In our epidemic of heart disease thousands of hearts are stilled which are actually too good too sound to die prematurely The basic cause is inter inter- interference interference ference with the hearts heart's own supply lines or arterie from a kind of biological rust SECONDLY we know from half a century and more of brilliant medical detective work that really is due to a conspiracy of factors There is no one single cause but rather a constellation constellation constellation lation of causes high h h blood pressure high levels o 0 f cholesterol overweight excessive excessive excessive ex ex- ex- ex eating too little exercise exercise exercise ex ex- ex- ex diabetes excessive cigarette smoking tensions and stresses and heredity IF YOU are beset by any anyone anyone anyone one of the your risk of a premature heart attack is boosted two to six times above the risk of the person free from such a burden With Witha a combination of factors your risk is far greater A mans man's chance of having havinga a heart attack before age 65 are only about 1 in 20 to 1 in 50 if he has normal weight normal blood pressure average aver aver- av average aver aver- age or low levels or of blood cholesterol no diabetes is not a heavy cigarette smoker is moderately active has a normal electrocardiogram and has no damage to his kidneys or thyroid gland You Can Do Something YOU CAN do something about each of these risks You can plan to enjoy a longer life With diet or diet combined with drugs you can control high blood pressure and diabetes reducing their danger I THE CIGARETTE smoker who quits his habit finds his risk falling toward that of I the non The obese man who reduces reduces reduces re re- re- re duces begins paying the standard rate for in- in nr n- n r sui-an sui trance instead a of of f an am an ane e a extra 1 ra J t fee I I ITHE I I ITHE i THE AMOUNT of cholesterol ol olin in the bloodstream can be reduced through moderate changes in what we eat 1 WE HA HAVE VE now a very solid foundation of scientific knowledge from which to fight back the toll of premature premature premature pre pre- mature heart attacks and strokes especially among the middle We have strong prospects of saving hundreds of thousands of lives and adding 10 to 20 years to our lives There is no germ or bug that causes heart attacks Its causes involve the way weve we've been living |