Risk Factors For Coronary Disease

[Music] Good morning, Bill. Could I talk to you for a moment? Sure. What's happening? Suppose I were to give you information that might just might add 20 years to your life. Come on. You're kidding me. Do you think I'm kidding, Ernie? What's the catch? There's no catch. I mean just what I say. Okay. Do you understand what I'm saying? Rosalie, say, are you selling something? No, I'm talking about increasing your lifespan by decreasing the risk of heart disease. Do I look like I'm going to have a heart attack? No. And neither do most victims. And yet, heart attack is our greatest killer. Were you aware of that fact, Ernie? Well, I don't know. I'm doing fine just the way I am. Have you ever been seriously sick? Nah, never been sick a day in my life. How about you, Rosalie? Are you in pretty good health? Sure, I feel fine. That's great. But, uh, what about 5, 10, 20 years from now? Think about this fact. 50%, one out of every two Americans dies from heart attack or stroke. That's bad news. But here's good news. Doctors and heart researchers have discovered the causes of heart disease. They know that it works silently in your body over the years, often without any symptoms until it's too late. They have proved that certain risks lead to heart disease and that by reducing these risks, you can cut down the chance of having a heart attack or stroke. Heart disease does not affect just the heart, but is really a disease of all the blood vessels in the body, including the arteries that supply the heart. This disease of the arteries is called atherosclerosis or sometimes arterioclerosis, the hardening of the arteries. It involves your entire system and is one of the underlying causes of heart attack and stroke. It's easier to understand heart disease when you know how your circulatory system works. It consists of your heart and blood vessels. The heart pumps blood to the lungs where it picks up oxygen. Blood returns to the heart and is pumped from there throughout your body, carrying oxygen and good nutrients to nourish all your cells and tissues. The smooth flow of blood depends on the condition of your arteries. When they're flexible and clean inside, everything is fine. But when they harden or begin to clog up, blood flow is restricted. The tissues receive less nourishment and trouble begins. When atherosclerosis is present, fats and other substances thicken the walls of the arteries and make the opening more and more narrow. Your arteries are like clogged plumbing with the same result. The heart muscle itself is supplied with blood carried by the coronary arteries which are located on the surface of the heart itself. When these coronary arteries are affected by atherosclerosis, the heart must work with reduced supplies of oxygen and food carried by the blood. Often the result is a heart attack. A stroke occurs when the artery affected is one supplying blood to the brain. This is a process that can begin when you're 18. There'll be no warning at all that you have heart disease for 30 or 40 years. You're feeling fine. Then one day, [Music] but let's get back to the good news. We've identified the risks that lead to heart disease. And except for three, we can reduce, control, or completely eliminate them. The three risks we can't change and therefore must live with are age, being male, and heredity. If heart attacks or strokes seem to be more common in your family, it is even more important to start paying attention to the three major heart risk factors that can be controlled. They are smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Cigarette smoking is a risk. High blood pressure is a risk. And a high level of cholesterol in your blood is a risk. [Music] You know that smoking is bad for your lungs. What you may not know is that it also harms your heart and circulatory system. Smoking increases your blood pressure and makes your heart beat faster. But probably more important is the effect of cigarette smoking on the walls of the arteries. Smoking seems to speed up the process of atherosclerosis. Smoking also replaces some of the oxygen in your blood with carbon monoxide. High blood pressure or hypertension is the second major risk factor. Whether you're a calm or an aggressive person, there are usually no symptoms to tell you that you have this condition. That's why it's often called the silent killer. So, while you're going about your business, high pressure blood is silently damaging the insides of your arteries and contributing to the process of atherosclerosis, which underlies both heart disease and stroke. A high blood cholesterol level is the third major risk factor. Various fatty substances carried in the blood contribute to the process of atherosclerosis. Since cholesterol is easily measured and has been thoroughly studied, it is the fatty substance most commonly discussed in relation to heart disease. Elevated cholesterol levels result from eating foods containing cholesterol and certain fats and fatty foods that the body can convert to cholesterol. When excess amounts are carried by the blood, they are deposited on the walls of the arteries. As these deposits build up, they harden the arteries and narrow them to the point where blood flow is restricted and clots may form. [Music] If improper diet or other factors cause you to develop a high level of cholesterol, then one day without any warning at all, you may be in danger of having a heart attack or stroke. The major heart risk factors multiply. Having just one doubles your chance of heart attack or stroke. If you have two, your risk is quadrupled. And having all three increases your risk to more than eight times that of a person with none of the risks. But the greatest risk of all is ignoring these major factors. Ignoring them because you feel well and have no present symptoms of heart disease. Along with the proven risks of smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, there are several probable factors which you can also bring under control. These are diabetes, obesity, stress, and lack of exercise. The more you weigh, the harder your heart must work. It's like always carrying a 25 lb pack on your back. By maintaining a reasonable weight, you eliminate this extra work. Stress is another probable risk factor. Some doctors believe that people who always rush around trying to achieve the greatest possible amount in the shortest possible time are more likely to have heart disease than their more relaxed counterparts. So take a moment to examine situations that cause stress in your life and see how you can reduce them and your risk of heart disease. Well, we can have it there in 2 weeks. We can try better than that. How many supposed to be in a store up in Pennsylvania? I think there are 10. I'll check in with George. Okay. Excuse me. Yeah, we can we might get it there a little bit sooner than that. If I don't get that information, I'm going to lose this client. I'll be with you in a minute. Okay. Okay. Right. Yes. Well, we'll try. Mr. Gorman, thank you. Hello, Bill Gorman. Can I help you? Oh, Mr. Parker. Yes, sir. Hey, Bill. Can I see you a minute? Ernie, I'm on the telephone. Can you wait just a minute? Thank you. Okay. I need you on this order. All right, Mr. Parker. Now, what can we do for you? Say you need 14 on that order. Mr. Clark. Oh, hello, Mr. Johnson. No, I'm still waiting for that information. Can you hold just a minute, please? Thank you, Clark. Here. Oh, Tom. Hey, I got to have those samples. If I don't have them by today, can you hold just a minute? Thank you, Clark. Hello, Mr. Kramer. Uh, the best I can do on that order is one week. Is that okay with you? Congratulations. Reducing stress will not only lower your blood pressure, it will also make it easier to quit smoking. Hello. Oh, hi Charlie. Nah, I don't think I want to go play golf today. No, not really. I'm going to stay home, watch the ball game, kind of lay around. Right. Of course, you don't want to become so relaxed that you forget to exercise once in a while. In addition to making you feel better, regular exercise improves circulation and helps your heart work more efficiently. Okay, now run it by me one more time. What's the bottom line? Okay, it's this. Do something now before it's too late. Check yourself out now before there are any signs of trouble. You can reduce or eliminate the three major risks of heart disease. Check your blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, there are medicines to control it. And what is there to say about smoking that you haven't already told yourself? Except that smoking is just as much a risk factor in heart disease as it is in lung cancer. [Music] You can control your cholesterol level by what you eat. Enjoy a diet built around chicken, fish, and limited amounts of lean meat, salads, and vegetables, low-fat milk products, and margarine. Ask your doctor to check your cholesterol level during your next regular visit. It's a proven fact. Smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol cause heart disease. Eliminate these factors and you will greatly reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. You could add 20 years to your life. All right? [Music] Yeah.