Heart Attack Risk and The Cult of Thin-ness

Heart Attack Risk and Cult of Thin-ness

Generally, a young, successful woman has almost no heart attack risk whatsoever. But decisions that look like no big deal can often add up to big consequences when you’re talking about heart attack risk.

Bulimia and Heart Attack Risk

Bulimia is very hard on a girl’s heart. It leads to malnutrition and dehydration, and this can raise heart attack risk to extreme levels. Even a very healthy body can quickly become so unbalanced in electrolytes that it can take an army of doctors and nurses to fix.

Low Blood Pressure and Heart Attack Risk

Malnutrition leads quickly to low blood pressure – lowered body temperature (the body doesn’t have sufficient fat to regulate itself), dehydration – these raise the heart attack risk to unacceptable levels.

Diet Pills and Heart Attack Risk

Diet Pills are perfectly safe, except for these possible side effects: tremors, confusion, hallucinations, shallow breathing, renal failure, heart attack and convulsions. It’s kind of bad when the heart attack risk level for a young girl is 100%.

Being Thin and Heart Attack Risk

Gaining and losing and gaining and losing can be very stressful on your heart as well, increasing your heart attack risk over the long term for actions that seem so innocent and common. It’s not worth dying to be thin – make up your mind early not to become obsessed with weight.

Heart Attack Risk and HAR!HAR!

Heart Attack Risk and HAR! HAR!

Some of us unfortunate souls have the kind of off-center brain that likes the humor of The Simpsons.

So, think about the Simpsons bully who says Har! Har! It’s derisive and irritating, isn’t it?

Heart Attack Risk - The Acronym
It’s also a convenient acronym for Heart Attack Risk. And the factors that determine your Heart Attack Risk (Har! Har!) are all those things that Homer exemplifies – carrying too much weight, not getting any exercise, ignoring signs of diabetes, ignoring signs of high blood pressure; well, you get the picture, and the picture is Homer Simpson. It’s not pretty.

Heart Attack Risk Har!Har! in Daily Life
Some of us unfortunate souls have the popular culture coursing through our veins, and that means that we’re apt to pop out with a HAR!HAR! (or an extended Ex---elent). So now everything we say it ourselves, or hear it elsewhere, we will think Heart Attack Risk, and we will think whether our heart attack risk comes close to that of our own Homer.

HAR!HAR! Heart Attack Risk! Heart Attack Risk!

Heart Attack Risk, Diabetes, Holidays

Heart Attack Risk and Diabetes

Here are some (perhaps surprising) statistics about heart attack risk, diabetes, and stroke risk – first, diabetes:

12.0 million, or 11.2% of all men aged 20 years or older have diabetes

11.5 million, or 10.2% of all women aged 20 years or older have diabetes

Heart Attack Risk and Diabetes Statistics

Everyone concerned about protecting themselves and their families from the risk of heart attack should take into account these statistics about diabetes and heart attack risk:

• In 2004, heart disease was noted on 68% of diabetes-related death certificates among people aged 65 years or older. (Read: diabetes increases heart attack risk)
• Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times higher than adults without diabetes. (Read: diabetes increases heart attack risk)

Heart Attack Risk, Diabetes, and Holidays

It’s perhaps the most frenzied time of the holiday season, and the irony is that most of us wives and mothers are concentrating our energies on how to fill up our loved ones to overflowing with simple sugars and carbs. To prove we love them.

Perhaps this holiday season it’s time to make our holiday preparations keeping in mind just a bit the un-celebratory notions of diabetes and heart attack risk. So that we’ll have many more happy family celebrations.