Historical April 1977 People’s Clinic reporting. Health claims, staffing, fees and service details describe the original period, not current medical guidance.
All the snow this winter might have increased your activity if you shovelled and sledded but for most of us, our activity level is stepped up a lot this time of year. There’s the Art Fair, the nice days outside and Spring Cleaning (yours and ours — see below). Your heart has to cope with all of that. Is it in shape to do it?
One of our most prevalent fallacies is that heart attacks are most likely to strike high powered executives. Nonsense. Heart disease does not discriminate. It can happen to anyone. Nor are heart ailments confined to middle and old age. Many children are born with heart defects or develop rheumatic fever. Physicians are now better equipped than ever to diagnose, treat, and control heart disease, and to guard against it as well. But in the final reckoning, it’s you who must live by and with your heart.
Prevention is certainly the best avenue of care for your heart. There are five major risk factors to keep in mind: diabetes, high blood cholesterol levels, too much weight, lack of exercise, and smoking. The first two of these, diabetes and high cholesterol, need doctor’s attention. The other three are up to you. They go hand-in-hand: If you smoke and weigh too much it often cuts into your energy for activity. On the other hand the exercise would cut into those extra pounds. It’s tough to get started changing those habits. Maybe numbers will help: 12.5 million Americans have heart attacks in one year.
At that rate, lots of Skinker-DeBaliveire residents have already been affected. These preventative measures and continued Doctor’s check-ups when made habitual can allow them to enjoy normal activities. Such habits and consciousness about heart disease are much more important in improving one’s chances than any of the amazing medical advances.
Originally published in The Paper, April 1977.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Printed12.5million annual heart attacks retained as source claim, not independently verified.
Original source: SD_Times1977_04.pdf, printed page(s) 3; PDF page(s) 3.
