Last week in the Journal of the American Medication Association (JAMA) a report was published citing the association of episodic physical (and sexual) activity with the triggering of an acute cardiac event or heart attack. For some reason folks - including the media - seemed surprised by this finding . . . but they shouldn't be. I say that because procreation is a cardio workout and, if the old ticker isn't ready for it, it's going to protest the only way it knows and that's a heart attack. As much as I hate to admit it, I recently found myself going down the road to cardiac destruction and mentioned to my doctor that the slightest exertion left me panting. She prescribed medication to lower my cholesterol (it was 346) and suggested I start going to the gym. I acted on her suggestions and took it a step further. Here's what I've done to avoid being one of the statistics discussed in the JAMA article:
1. At work, I've made a concious effort to take the steps more. It sounds like a small thing, but after a few days, I noticed I wasn't breathing near as hard to go from the second floor to the third floor.
2. I've started eating healthier. For example, at breakfast, I've replaced cold cereal with a bowl of oatmeal. That - combined with replacing a starch at either lunch or dinner with a salad - seems to be working as the doctor recently re-checked my cholesterol and it had dropped from 346 to 280 . . . a 66 point decrease in about 1.5 months!
3. I took the doctor's advice and started working out at the gym in our apartment community. Like taking the stairs, it beat my butt at first, but now a work out feels good -- physically and mentally!
Link to JAMA article: http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/305/12/1225.short
Until next time . . .
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