A statistical Pole lives about 9 years shorter than a statistical Pole. Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death among men. If Polish married women do not want to become widowed prematurely, they must take care of their husbands’ hearts.
Despite the increasing life expectancy, we are still far from the European leaders in this respect. Poles live almost 8 years shorter than the Swiss or Icelanders. They most often die of a heart attack or stroke. Another new cardiological epidemic is heart failure. The heart of an average Pole is nine years older than he is, calculated Polish scientists as part of the NATPOL 2011 study together with experts from the Framingham Heart Study and Boston University. Prof. Michael Pencina from Boston University explains that the age of the heart is determined by the 40-year risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. In order to determine our risk, we still have to choose the high-risk SCORE scale. A person leading a healthy lifestyle, non-smoker, with blood pressure and cholesterol levels not exceeding normal values has a heart whose age is equal to the legal age. – On the other hand, if the heart of a 50-year-old is assessed at 2011 years, the risk of, for example, a heart attack or stroke in this person is the same as in someone ten years older than her – explains Assoc. Tomasz Zdrojewski coordinator of the NATPOL XNUMX study.
Preventive examinations
Research shows that it is women who perform preventive examinations more often, care more about their diet and follow the rules of a healthy lifestyle. According to doctors, many men owe their lives to their wives, because they forced them to see a doctor. The role of women in the quality of their husbands’ diet is also underestimated. So how can you ensure that your spouse does not die prematurely of cardiovascular disease? Cardiologist, Dr. Beata Kłosiewicz-Wąsek answers: preventive examinations and an appropriate lifestyle, which means controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as quitting smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, physical activity and a proper diet.
Hypertension
Hypertension is an epidemiological problem. Unfortunately, although it is a straightforward way to a heart attack and stroke, we underestimate them. Half of people with hypertension do not know that they suffer from it. Worse, of those who know, only half heal properly. Dr. Beata Kłosiewicz-Wąsek, director of the Allenort Cardiology Center in Warsaw, advises that every man over 20 should have his blood pressure measured at least once a year. The best method is 24-hour Holter blood pressure monitoring. The blood pressure recorder is a device that we put on around the clock and which measures blood pressure every now and then within 24 hours and stores it in the memory. After receiving the device, the doctor analyzes the measurements and can accurately assess the patient’s condition. If you find you have high blood pressure, you should buy a blood pressure monitor at home and learn to measure it yourself. Each exceeding of the value of 140/90 requires consultation with a doctor. If your high blood pressure is mild, you can try to change your lifestyle to solve the problem. – Quitting smoking, exercising at least three times a week for thirty minutes, and in healthy people up to five hours a week, and changing diet and weight reduction may be sufficient. However, if the results do not improve after three months, you need to start taking medications – says Dr. Kłosiewicz-Wąsek.
Salt and hypertension
In 87% of people under the age of 45, excessive salt intake is an additional risk factor for hypertension. Our ancestors ate half a gram of salt a day, and we ate 15 grams. Today, the recommended standard is up to 6 grams a day. Meanwhile, a serving of food such as a cheeseburger, french fries, and ketchup contain 3,5 grams of salt – more than half the allowed dose. If we add highly processed food, e.g. canned meats, soups, cheeses, ketchup, mayonnaise, ready-made salad dressings, soup spices and broth cubes – exceeding the standard guaranteed and without the use of a salt shaker. It is necessary to eliminate crisps, salted peanuts, sticks, canned food and ready-made meals from bags from the husband’s diet. You also need to limit the salt in your own kitchen, which will benefit the whole family. It is best to eliminate salt from prepared meals from week to week. Many herbal spices reduce the need for salt. Fresh or dried herbs are able to reduce the amount of salt added to food to a minimum or even eliminate it. If you are very attached to salty tastes, you can use a special salt with a reduced sodium content and the addition of potassium.
Cholesterol test
Dr. Beata Kłosiewicz-Wąsek reminds that taking care of a man’s health, it is worth making him check his blood cholesterol level once a year, or at least once every three years. Slight elevation can be treated with diet. However, if the results are bad, medication must be started. To lower cholesterol, we must eliminate animal fats from our food and increase our consumption of olive oil. Raw olive oil is one of the dietary elements that have proven to extend our lives. Avoid pork, yellow cheeses, full-fat dairy products, gentlemen’s favorite lard with cracklings, and butter. The menu is based on poultry and fish; beef is acceptable but rare.
We cannot forget about fiber, which helps us maintain a healthy weight. That’s why we use bread, pasta and whole grain rice. Calcium is also necessary. Therefore, the diet must include low-fat dairy products – cottage cheese, kefir and yoghurt.
BMI i WHR
A wife who cares about her husband’s health should encourage him to measure BMI or WHR, which is the most measurable piece of information about body weight. If your BMI or WHR is incorrect, unfortunately you have to lose weight. Obesity is an increasingly common problem in Poland. Self-assessment should be made by determining BMI (body mass index) and WHR (waist to hip ratio). BMI is a factor calculated by dividing your body weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters. It should be less than 25. Above 25 we are talking about overweight, and above 30 we are talking about obesity. BMI calculators are available on all overweight websites.
We measure the WHR by dividing the waist circumference by the hip circumference. If the WHR turns out to be greater than or equal to 0,8 (women) or 1,0 (men), then we are most likely dealing with abdominal obesity, which is the most threatening form of obesity to our health.
Regardless of BMI, regular exercise is necessary. Unfortunately, walking is not enough. You need to do some sport for 30 minutes at least three times a week, and even 5 hours a week in the case of healthy people. For people who do not play sports several times a week, the risk of heart disease is 5-6 times higher! That is why today there is more and more talk about giving up civilization amenities – replacing a car with a bicycle as an everyday means of transport, giving up TV remote controls or escalators.
One of the most prestigious medical journals of the British Medical Journal, publishing the results of the NATPOL 2011 analysis, showing why Poles live 4 years longer than in 1990, points out that we eat less animal fats, e.g. lard, less pork. We are consuming vegetable fats more and more, especially olive oil, more fruits and vegetables and fish. We salt our dishes less. In addition, Poles move more, run, ride bikes, and practice various other sports. The percentage of smokers is 7% lower than 10 years ago. However, all this is not enough if we want to catch up with Europe.
Text: Halina Pilonis
The material was created in cooperation with the Allenort Cardiology Center in Warsaw