Ayako Yoneyama writes:
At first, you should understand that
you suffer from heart disease, and if you would not take good care of yourself,
your condition might get worse. It seems that you don't think your condition
is very serious. But it is wrong, because you have already had neck and
chest pain. A certain study said that persons who reported having none
of the following risk factors were defined as having no known risk factors
for coronary heart disease(CHD). These risk factors are current cigarette
smoking, physical inactivity, overweight, high blood pressure, high blood
cholesterol and diabetes. You have at least 3 risk factors, don't you?
This says that you are liable to suffer from serious heart disease, for
example myocardial infarction. It is important for you to recognize that
your condition is serious, and try to improve your life style. Changing
your life style for instance, if you stop smoking, is reducing your risk
factors. Now, you may be "lucky", but if you would not take care,
you may become "unlucky".
Though you know you should reduce your smoking and take up regular exercise,
you can't do it. It is a big problem. As people age, the walls of their
arteries gradually thicken, and cigarette smoking accelerates this process
by more than a decade. So you must give up smoking, and make time to exercise.
What is worse, you have some other risk factors. They are hypertension,
family history of heart disease, hardening of the arteries and your Type
A personality. Your mother died from hardening of the arteries. This means
that your condition tends to get worse compared with the people who have
no family history of heart disease. You are an able worker, and you owe
your success to your Type A personality. But, your industry causes over-work
and it may lead to your disease. So, you should take much care of your
health from now on.
In the short term, you should recognize you are a sick person, and try
to improve your life style. Your feelings of weakness and mild pain in
the neck and upper chest areas result from atherosclerosis. When you can't
stand its pain, you might get a painkiller. But, don't forget this: if
it kills pain, it isn't fundamental care.
In the long term, I advise you three points. First, please give up smoking
and exercise everyday. Smoking and no exercise causes not only heart disease
but also other disease, for example disease of the respiratory system.
A certain study says that a 35-year-old male smoker who gives up cigarettes
adds, on average, 2.3 years to his life expectancy. This study also said
that a man who lowers his high blood pressure to a normal range nets an
additional 2.3 years.
Second, you might change your diet to improve your hypertension. Finally,
you should prevent coming down with serious atherosclerosis. This is caused
by excessive cholesterol deposits. Cholesterol deposits begin to accumulate
along the inner walls of the coronary arteries.
As these crusty deposits enlarge, they can cause the arterial openings
to narrow, pinching off the supply of blood to the heart muscle. At last,
the heart muscle will die, and you will have a heart attack. So, you had
better change your diet, for example, abstain from high-cholesterol foods,
and eat a lot of fruits and greens. Giving up smoking and exercise also
help.
Please listen, it is a danger signal for you that you feel mild pain. The
most important thing is taking care of yourself.
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