Healthy_Living

HOW SEVEN EASY STEPS WLL HELP YOU LIVE TO 100 BY Jo Willey, Health Correspondent for Daily Express (published on 21/10/2011 Daily Express 1. Get active 2. Know and control cholesterol levels 3. Know and control blood pressure 4. Follow a healthy diet 5. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight 6. Manage diabetes 7. Be tobacco free A few good habits can extend your life by decades, according to expert advice. Seven easy steps pave the way to a “90 percent chance” of living to 100, it is claimed. The life style changes are also said to provide good health for longer and help keep people “free of not only heart disease and stroke but from a number of other chronic illnesses”. Acting now and introducing the regime into our lives could reverse the tide of long-term ill health by 2020. The NHS would also save billions from a massive reduction in heart disease. Top cardiologist Dr. Clyde Yancy says people need to get active, know and control their cholesterol, follow a healthy diet, know and control their blood pressure, achieve and maintain healthy weight, manage diabetes and stop smoking. Speaking at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress in Vancouver on Sunday, Dr. Yancy will say people who follow the seven steps can expect to live an additional 40 to 50 years after the age of 50. Alcohol Dr. Yancy, of the Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of medicine said: “A chieving seven simple lifestyle factors gives people a 90 per cent chance of living to the age of 90 or 100, free of not only heart disease and stroke but from a number of other chronic illnesses, including cancer. “By following these steps, we can compress life-threatening disease into the final stages of life and maintain quality of life for the longest possible time.” Cardiovascular disease includes stroke, heart failure and congenital heart disease. There are nearly 2.7 million people living with heart disease in the uk and it kills one in five men and one in seven women, equivalent to 250 deaths every day. Overall, 200,000 die each year from conditions related to circulation, including strokes, heart attacks and heart disease, costing £30billion annually. These figures figures to soar as the population ages if nothing is done to curb the rising tide of unhealthy lifestyles. According to the British Heart Foundation, 21 per cent of UK adults smoke cigarettes. Around a quarter of adults are obese, with only a third eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. More than a third of men and nearly a third of women regularly exceed the government recommended level of alcohol intake. Dr. Yancy said physical inactivity can shave almost four years off the expected lifespan. High cholesterol can lead to the buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. High blood pressure is often called the “silent killer” because it has no warning signs or symptoms yet keeping it under control can cut the risk of a stroke by 40 per cent and heart attack by up to 25 per cent. Dr. Yancy urged governments to invest in prevention strategies including a change in salt policies, continued progress in tobacco control plans increased green space, and health education. He added: “The opportunity for prevention is not an unrealistic expectation. Over the pat 40 years the rates of heart disease and stroke have steadily declined.” Amy Thompson of British HEART Foundation said: “Dr. Yancy’s simple suggestions aren’t rocket science but he’s right to say they could make a huge and immediate difference to the heart health of many, many people. “Each of us can help lessen the national burden of heart disease by choosing a healthier lifestyle, but our governments must also do all they can to help.”