| Heart Disease and President Clinton |
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Former president Bill Clinton experienced chest pain this month and after evaluation, cardiologists placed two coronary stents in his heart. Coronary stents re-establish blood flow through narrowed heart arteries that are vital to supplying the heart. Although this recent procedure was less serious than open heart surgery, it still carries risk--risk that, for the most part, can be avoided altogether through consistently healthy diet and regular exercise.
This was not Clinton's first experience with heart disease. Six years ago, he underwent surgery to bypass severely clogged arteries. If left untreated, clogged arteries can lead to myocardial infarction, commonly known as "heart attack," and can result in irreversible heart damage, and frequently, death.
Do you remember footage of President Clinton downing hamburgers and his infatuation with junk food? Apparently, President Clinton has improved his eating habits, but a long life of eating fatty unhealthy foods likely contributed to his heart disease. Studies show that adults who exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet low in red meat, maintain a normal body weight and don't smoke can reduce their risk of heart disease by as much as 50-85%. The bottom line is, even though bypass surgery and stents can help people, simple healthy habits can prevent chronic cardiovascular diseases, thereby saving money, reducing premature death, and improving everyday life.
By: the Physicians of Health Butler
[1/19/2010]