Pop a Pill for Heart Health
May 10, 2006 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Popping pills instead of changing our lifestyle is so much easier especially because we live in an instant gratification society. In the UK, you can buy cholesterol-lowering statin drugs over the counter at the pharmacy. They’re available in a low dose form called called Zocor Heart-Pro. Technically, pharmacists would give a needleprick cholesterol test before you buy the drug, but this type of instant test is not as accurate nor as comprehensive as the ones administered in a doctor’s office.
While statins, other heart drugs, angioplasties, and heart bypass operations have reduced the number of heart-related deaths in the UK, this just means that treatment for cardiovascular disease has improved but prevention still lags behind.
Dr. Peter Weissberg:
The message from the statistics that we have is that we have become pretty good at managing the disease when we know it’s there. Fewer people die when they have a heart attack. The problem is that we have done nothing yet really to prevent the disease occurring in the first place.
The British Heart Foundation says:
- It will take 50 years before adults in the UK reach the government’s target of eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
- Only a third of men and a quarter of women take the recommended level of exercise – at least 30 minutes, five days a week.
- The UK has the fifth most obese population in Europe.
I probably do eat enough fruits and vegetables and get a moderate amount of exercise. My bigger problem is what I do in addition to that. Drat that bag of cookies in front of me.
Guardian Unlimited, May 10, 2006
Technorati Tags: heart disease, heart, disease, health, cardiovascular disease, cvd
