It seems every person I saw today during my rounds in the hospital had some type of heart problem. From a weakened heart because of uncontrolled high blood pressure to a “stunned” heart after a recent heart attack, one in every four people in the United States will die from a heart related illness each year. That means that if you re sitting around a table playing poker with four people, one person will die from a heart attack or heart failure.

Can you predict who that one person will be?…..Who will have that 1 in 4 odds of dying from heart disease? Will it be a man who stays in shape by running several miles every day?

Will it be an older man in his 70 s, retired and “living the good life”?

Will it be a 35 year old woman, a smoker on birth control pills?

Will it be a woman who works out every now and then but is still overweight?

Will it be a young mother of two who recently gave birth to a baby boy?

If your answer to any of these questions is “YES” then you re right! Every last one of these people and every last one of you all reading this message is at risk for developing heart disease and will likely die from heart disease. I m giving it to you straight just like I tell my patients, my family members and my friends. Heart disease is nothing to play around with. Without a strong heart, you won t be able to enjoy the things that we all take for granted….like talking a walk in the park with our children or grandchildren, like going out to dinner or the movies, like taking a vacation or a cruise.

What I m going to tell you will add years of life to your heart….

Your heart is like any other muscle in your body…it needs to be conditioned, it needs to be exercised and it needs to function under optimal conditions.

To be conditioned….means that your heart needs to be consistently stressed-so that over time your heart is able to work more efficiently and effectively, able to pump more blood to your body and provide more oxygen to every cell in your body. To make your heart function at its best you have to condition your heart regularly, with regular heart pumping exercises.

To be exercised….means just that-> to exercise your heart. If you think you don t have time to exercise, don t have a gym membership, or don t have any equipment at home, don t worry because you can workout at home in the convenience of your own living room….with bodyweight exercises.

To function under optimal conditions means to control the external stresses on your heart-specifically, controlling your blood pressure, your blood sugar and your cholesterol. See your doctor if you don t have a clue what your blood pressure is or if you haven t had recent blood work done. Everyone needs to know what their blood pressure is and if you don t know you re fooling yourself if you think you re healthy. Even the most athletic people…Olympians…. professional athletes can have high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol and not even know it UNLESS they get a full medical check-up.

So stop fooling yourself…get a full medical check-up with blood work and keep exercising.

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