Heart Health for Men’s Health Month from Dr. Grant Meek
The following letter is from our Executive Health Physician, Dr Grant Meek.
Recently, I met with a prominent businessman who shared his story following a major heart health scare.
He had woken up feeling tired - more tired than usual. And when he looked in the mirror, his skin was paler than usual, too. He knew intuitively that something was wrong, and he cancelled his morning and headed for the nearest hospital.
Good thing he did. The arteries in his heart were clogged, and he needed emergency bypass surgery. His doctors reassured his family that this was a fairly normal procedure. But, a close family friend, who was also a physician, disagreed with one part of the assessment - the word “normal”.
“It’s normal,” the doctor wrote in an email, “because fools like you don’t eat like they should.”
Following such a major health scare, the businessman decided to make some changes, adopting a healthier diet and more active lifestyle.
We know that almost 80% of premature heart disease can be prevented through healthy behaviours. And these are behaviours that anyone can adopt - any time. Personally, I am passionate about making small, easy to improve your heart health, starting today.
As mentioned in a previous blog post - 4 Small Changes You Can Make To Improve Your Heart Health - small changes to your daily life can greatly reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke:
Change up your diet. Swapping out fries for salad, drinking water over soda, and choosing healthier proteins are easy changes to make for an overall healthier diet. I made similar adjustments and found it easier than I anticipated!
Get moving! Increasing your exercise by just 15 minutes a day can have major positive impacts. Go for a walk or run. Do stretches and yoga. Start small and build up to a daily routine, and your risks for heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancer and even dementia will greatly improve. I work out in a park close to my house with some friends, and it’s fun, social, and we motivate each other to go harder. And for the cost-conscious who bemoan the ever-escalating costs of gym memberships, you can’t beat the price at the local park — free!
Moderate your alcohol intake. Heavy drinking and binge drinking are risk factors for high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Fewer drinks equal fewer risks. The non-alcoholic wines that are commercially available might still have a long way to go in terms of taste, but there is a stunning variety of good non-alcoholic beers on the market now. They’re a game-changer: delicious, low-calorie, and helpful at curbing those slow, headache-y mornings. What’s not to love?
Lower your stress. Be more mindful. Stress increases your blood pressure and heart attack risk. I meditate for 10 minutes every morning right after I wake up, and I have recently started meditating for two minutes every hour as well. Play around with one of the many apps available, and see what works for you.
Change can be challenging, but by making small manageable changes every day, you can help add many more happy and strong years to your life.
For a healthy heart,
Dr. Grant Meek
