MODERATE DRINKING & YOUR HEART We’re in the heart of the holiday season, a time filled with family gatherings, office parties, and special events for Yuletide and New Year’s Eve. During this period, our indulgence in festive foods like cookies, pies, scalloped potatoes, stuffing, and gravy often increases, along with an uptick in alcohol consumption. This might include enjoying eggnogs laced with brandy, sipping from a spiked punch bowl, or raising glasses in toasts with friends and family. As we move past New Year’s Day, most of us will return to our regular diets and resume watching our alcohol consumption....
CAN EXERCISE PROVOKE A HEART ATTACK? I’ve heard that some of us seniors are fearful of exercising, thinking it might bring on a heart attack. For the great majority of us this just isn’t the case. Quite the opposite, actually—regular physical activity offers a wide range of health advantages including increased heart health. Of course, if you already have under-lying or genetic risk factors for heart disease you should avoid extreme events which might trigger a heart attack, such as competitive racquetball or basketball, heavy weight-lifting and HIIT exercise. Still, this leaves good-old walking—especially on a level surface with the...
EVERY DAY IS HEART DAY Happy Valentine’s Day! On this day it seems appropriate to talk about senior heart health. The heart is an amazing muscle that beats around 100,000 times a day. It’s essentially a complex pump that is able to adjust blood pressure, flow, and volume in order to provide our bodies with all the blood they need. Yet, many of us seniors don’t take good care of our tickers. Nearly one-third of all deaths among older persons are due to heart disease. In fact it’s the leading cause of death for persons 65 and older. Heart disease is...
