The leading killer of Americans is cardiovascular disease. This pernicious condition affects Americans of all ages and demographics, killing or crippling those unfortunate enough to be caught in its clutches. Perhaps one of the most challenging things about fighting heart disease is the fact that many of the people afflicted don’t even know they have it until it has progressed to the point where they may have already suffered irreversible harm.
An Ounce Of Prevention
You’ve likely heard the saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Nowhere is this more accurate than in the arena of heart disease. Because it usually progresses for years in a person without him or her even knowing that it’s there, it has sometimes been referred to as “the silent killer.”
You cannot risk thinking that you are completely fine and healthy simply because you don’t feel sick. Heart disease is very stealthy and can creep up on you and strike without you ever knowing that you even have it. For this reason, doctors encourage patients to be regularly tested for evidence of underlying heart disease, even if they don’t feel like they could have it. Unfortunately, traditional screenings usually do not, or are incapable of, digging deep enough- WHERE you get screened matters.
It’s better to be aware of it early—when it is usually easier to do something about it—than to wait until you suffer a fatal or debilitating heart attack or stroke. By engaging in regular and early testing, you can become aware of any risks to your health or well-being long before they have had the time and opportunity to do any serious damage.
If you are regularly and properly screened for heart disease, it gives you the opportunity to engage in lifestyle changes in order to slow or even reverse the progress of the disease when it’s caught in its early stages. Even if you have never been tested for heart disease, there are a few things that you can (and should) do in order to help ensure that this condition never grasps you in its clutches.
Healthy Lifestyle Choices
You should begin making healthy lifestyle choices now, before you have been diagnosed with heart disease. This includes limiting your intake of overly processed foods and saturated fats. When you eat these types of foods, it can result in buildup of cholesterol deposits on the walls of your arteries. These deposits can gradually inhibit or even completely block the flow of blood, causing serious health issues such as a heart attack or stroke. Even if these events do not kill you, they can leave you paralyzed or otherwise seriously incapacitated. In addition, you should engage in regular exercise in order to improve your body’s ability to repair itself and deal with medical stresses it may encounter.
Healthy Medical Choices
Getting regular screenings for heart disease can give you the warning you need to take corrective action in the event that you begin to develop issues. It’s better to keep a watchful eye out for this extremely common condition than to blindly continue with your life.
Some people wait until they have had a heart attack or stroke before they begin making the correct choices to fight heart disease. Because of the technology that is now available, you don’t need to do this, and you can monitor your health before something terrible happens to you.
Heart disease screenings can help save your life and prolong your health. Contact Preventive Cardiology of New York today for a preventive cardiology workup to determine your heart health and risk factors before it’s too late.
