The Katdance Fitness News
March 2008
Table of Contents
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Dear Friend
By the time you are reading this letter, spring will have officially arrived by the calendar, signaling that the first quarter of the year has nearly passed. I hope that in the past 2 ½ months, you have had the opportunity to either continue or start anew, a fitness regime for yourself. Just in case you have NOT been able to keep to your fitness goals, use this letter as a reminder to do the following:
- Clean up your schedule and renew your 2008 health and fitness goals. If you have not yet taken the time to schedule your yearly physical exams, then do so now. These regular check-ups are an important part of health maintenance.
- Take 30 minutes for yourself right now and schedule time for yourself to review, renew, and regroup in your own health life.
- Revisit your goals, and either re-group and update them, or delete some and start over. Essentially, clear out the old and make room for the new.
- Take your cue from Mother Nature and give new life to your routines. There is a reason why Spring Break is called just that-‘break’; literally break up your routine, and get recharged for the new season!
- Lastly, make a date with yourself to clean out that closet and keep the clothes that fit, and rid yourself of the ones that do not. Perhaps entertain the idea of emailing me about more info regarding the Intuitive Eating Teleseminars, an intelligent and non-restrictive way to regain your power over food.
Happy spring,
Katie, President
Katdance Fitness
katie@katdancefitness.com
Heart Disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, and the number one killer of women, beating out all types of cancer combined.
Unfortunately, most people fail to make the connection between risk factors and their personal risk of developing heart disease.
Before we can understand the risk factors, we must understand what cardiovascular disease (CVD) is. The term refers to any disease of the heart and its blood vessels. This includes hypertension (high blood pressure), peripheral artery disease, arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), high cholesterol, and heart attack.
Several risk factors contribute to CVD. These can all be controlled or treated with medications and/or lifestyle changes.
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in the blood and in all the body’s cells. High cholesterol levels can cause a build up of plaque in the artery walls, which can narrow the arteries and reduce blood flow. If the plaque ruptures, it can cause blood clots that can block the flow of blood through the arteries. A clot can travel to other areas of the body, like the heart, causing a heart attack, or to the brain, causing a stroke.
High blood pressure makes the heart work harder than normal because it requires more force to push the blood through the blood vessels. It raises the risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, eye damage, congestive heart failure, and arteriosclerosis. Being 20 or more pounds over our healthy body weight increases our risk of high blood pressure.
High cholesterol and high blood pressure are called the silent killers because they often do not have any symptoms and many people do not know, or do not want to know, that they have them. Both high cholesterol and high blood pressure can be controlled or reversed with medications and lifestyle changes.
It is a good idea to find out what our numbers are and lower them if we need to.
Other risk factors that we can control include smoking, physical inactivity and obesity.
Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the US. Furthermore, when a person stops smoking – no matter how long or how much they have smoked – their risk of heart disease and stroke begins to drop. After just one year of not smoking, a person's risk is lowered by 50%!
Regular, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity improves our cardiovascular fitness, and reduces our risk of CVD and aids in weight management. Exercise also helps to control or lower high cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes. The American Heart Association recommends a minimum of 30 minutes most days of the week. Moderate activities include walking, gardening, housework and dancing.
This spring, why not learn your numbers, lower your risk factors, and live heart-healthy? If you need support and guidance for starting and maintaining a fitness program, give me a call and find out more about my fitness and eating programs.
Studies show that only 1 in 5 people make it to the ER within one hour of the onset of heart attack symptoms!Now that you know the risk factors associated with heart disease, knowing the warning signs of a heart attack and how to respond quickly can save your life.
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, but most start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often, people are not sure what is wrong and wait too long to get help. Here are the signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:
Chest discomfort: Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain. There can also be no symptoms!
Discomfort in other areas of upper body: Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
Shortness of breath with or without chest pain.
Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.
Women beware: Besides having chest pain or discomfort, women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some other common symptoms that include extreme weakness, pain in the jaw or back; dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sweating and shortness of breath.
Many people may dismiss their symptoms as anxiety or indigestion, and do not seek help. They do not want to cause a false alarm. However, if you are having a heart attack every minute counts, so do not wait more than five minutes to get help – then call 9-1-1!
For more info about Katdance Fitness by Phone®, email: katie@katdancefitness.com,Or call 410-757-8830, visit our website at: www.katdancefitness.com
©2008 Katdance Fitness
