Bahamas News
Become a HEART HEALTHY Man
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
Heart disease is the number one killer in the world taking out more men and women than prostate cancer and breast cancer. An estimated 17.9 million people are killed by heart disease each year. In 2019, 9.4 million of them were men.
Heart disease can mean any one of multiple heart and vein illnesses and Johns Hopkins Medicine says men develop heart disease 10 years earlier, on average, than women do.
Even more concerning are the statistics on sudden deaths. For men, nearly half of them who died suddenly had no symptoms. In many cases, the US Centers for Disease Control says symptoms are brushed aside because they don’t seem serious.
In addition to pain on the left side of the body and pain in the chest, men may feel dizzy or lightheaded, and have
There is one symptom though, specific to men that can herald heart disease years before a heart attack, erectile dysfunction (ED).
“A key reason erectile dysfunction is considered a barometer for overall cardiovascular health is that the penis, like the heart, is a vascular organ. Because its arteries are much smaller than the heart’s, arterial damage shows up there first—often years ahead of heart disease symptoms. Men in their 40s who have erection problems (but no other risk factors for cardiovascular disease) run an 80 per cent risk of developing heart problems within 10 years,” a Johns Hopkins report said.
Even with these warning signs without reliable symptoms in every case, prevention of heart disease is key. There are certain risk factors that you can eliminate to keep minimize your risk including
- Being Overweight
- Having an unhealthy diet
- Physical inactivity
- Excessive alcohol use
- Excessive smoking
- High levels of stress
If you can manage to get rid of these factors or lower them significantly you will lower your risk for heart disease giving yourself a shot at a healthier longer life.