. “dis mo “population. ‘and discover how “much ‘individuals knew about re ‘the causes of heart disease. This. Saturday, Apri! 13, a vo a ‘Heart Health workshop will be . ~-“"Reld at the Skeena Health Unit “auditorium.: Prompted. ‘by the . - findings -.of a two-year-old “ province-wide survey, . the workshop. is: intended to. give tunily to But forward thelr own ie community. ow,” community health ome.of the facts that will be ety pu before those taking part. . ‘mon ‘the, risk factors for heart sé were inthe general . Carried | outunder the direc- “tion of the Ministry of Health in ‘collaboration with Health and Welfare Canada, it was simitar “40 that ‘conducted in ‘the Atlan- otic Provinces in 1986-89. “The survey was carried out by publi ealth nurses who were . first: given‘in-service training to _. ensure that: ‘the interview techni- _, ques‘and: methods of taking other "tests: were consistent in © each location: Participants, + Action . diseases and. ievdlon strategies -* to reduce them, There are many . possible: suggestions. and ideas "that could be explores. These in- chide: . st How... to make people aware. of their personal level of “carisk.” ie ‘How to make the workplace ‘healthier. <..e How.'to encourage physical . ‘activity by a'greater number of . people. * = oie How to shop for, prepare and’ “enjoy a heart healthy dict. ‘* How to encourage our youth “to adopt healthy lifestyles. ” Heart health is of concern to os all of us. If we are in the “low - tisk?* group for heart disease, _ we are in the minority in B.C. _os and -will not have far to look m0 ‘among: family and friends for _ cthose ati risk, --*; How can.we make Terrace a _ healthier: ‘place for all of us? A .: Gommittee_with representatives +. from Parks and Recreation, the .° Heart: and Stroke Foundation, -: the: Skeena Union .Board of ealth, seniors and community “>> ntirges Have met ‘and planned a “-! workshop® to discuss -heart © realth: On Saturday, April 13, anyon ie interested j in the subject ference, call.the Skeena. Health : ipants © ba formation | on” . those. findings: ‘and an oppor- ideas for i iniproving heart health ROSE DREGER outlines: vin 1989.4 Heart Health survey — was ° ‘conducted throughout .the ~--. province:to find out how com... rive. Terrace 7 t 638-9310 to Jet-us know. - who. were between the ages of 18 and 74, were randomly selected from . Medical Services Plan files. ||. Each person contacted ‘and who agreed: to’: participate was interviewed and asked:to attend. a clinic where further tests: ‘were taken:'A total of 2403. ‘pedple. completed | ‘the whole: interview and 2069 completed botlrthein- terview. and the’ testing at the _clinie. 37’ ; Twenty-two: areas of the pro- vince participated in the survey: and : were divided ‘into six sub- " groups based on-population — metropolitan, “urban and rural areas were. represented. - ‘Skeena Health, Unit region ma Tural areas were chosen. The survey results were col- lected by‘ age groupings and gender. The following. groups were used: males 18-34, 35-64, 65-74 and females ‘in the’ same age groups. It-is thus possible to identify. those most at-risk. - For ‘example, overall rate of smoking in B.C. is 25 per cent of the population, 30 per ‘cent of -women aged 18-34 smoke,-while only 12: per cent’ of women aged 65-74 smoke. Men between the ages of 35-64 are most likely to smoke more than 26 cigarettes a day. “The main independent risk Rose Dreger factors for heart disease are. smoking, high blood pressure and elevated blood cholesterol. Results showed 59. per cent of people in B.C. aged 18-74 - - (1,275,000) have one or more of while the | those major. risk factors for heart disease. Smoking was a factor in 25-per cent of the cases, high blood pressure in 14 _ per cent and ‘elevated -blood cholesterol in 46 per cent. Near- ly 30 per cent of respondents were classified as. at moderate risk and 17 per cent at high risk. The other risk factors for cent.” art health — answ heart disease need some ex- planation. Overweight was defined based on a body mass index which compared weight to height. There is a normal range which takes into account dif- ‘ferences in such things as bone structure. Of the 28 per cent of the population who. were overweight, close to two-thirds were trying to lose weight. This _ was more common for women 2. in all age groups. A. sedentary lifestyle was defined as excercising less that once.a week. Among those who ‘do: excercise, men more fre- quently reported strenudus ex- cercise (excercise that causes sweating or shortness of breath.) ‘Parlicipants were 2 also’ asked if théy had ever been told that they have diabetes and excessive alcoho] use was defined as hav- ing more than 20 drinks i in one week, ‘Results . here. were: Overweight —- 28 per. cent; sedentary lifestyle — 29° per cent; diabetes — 5 per cent; and excessive alcohol use —.5 Per Heart. disease increases with age in both sexes but is more common in males in’ the younger age groups. Hereditary factors cannot be ignored and’ WORKING OUT four: times a week for one to one and a half hours each time ensures Greg Mills (above) ~gets the exercise that’s one of the keys to a healthy heart, But if that is a little too ambitious for some, at tent they wil fi, ‘Some other, leSs strenuous suggestions which they can try... is." Terrace Standard, Wednesday, aor 10, 1201 — Page Bt Potential Years of Life Lost* for Preventable Heart Disease and Stroke "Age Standardized Rate/1,000 Population . (Standardized to 197 1 Canada Census) Coronary Heart Disease/Stroke ICD-9 410- 414, an2. 2, 430. 434, 436: 438 a by I Dr. David Bowering. « 10:00. 08 BMT sree Signa, 2 e 10: 183 1:15 A.M. “Heart Heal : al Ans - 11:30 QM sie Beverage brea welcome and onenig: 0 e 4.6 86 Years Lost/t,000 Population Rates averaged over 3 years (1987- ~1988) that should alert individuals with a family history of heart disease to seek testing and treat- ment early, — Potential Years Of Life Lost helps us:focus on deaths at earlier ages. For example, a per- son dying in a motor vehicle ac- cident at age 20 would have lost 55 potential years of life, if 75 years is taken as an agreed life expectancy, “oa 44618 Data Source: Division of Vita Statistics (Sept. 13, 1890) ‘The graph at right suggests that men in Skeena are dying at younger ages from heart disease than in the province as a whole. This raises questions as to what makes our part of the province a more risky place for men with’ respect to premature death from heart disease and stroke. That is one: of the questions the workshop will attempt to answer. = Facts to ponder emphysema. The fact is that. a smoker is suicide, murder, AIDS or drug before they reach the age of 70. classified as premature death. five causes listed, death from smoking. hiking or just walking are all valuable exercise, beats per minute. - you get older, so the exercise at age 60 a rate of 96-116 beats And here's what exercise can © Strengthen your heart and ® Weight loss/control; * Boost energy; © Control appetite; © Reduce stress, Food for people cata variety of foods hey‘Include many varieties Smoking takes years Off your life Smoking is. teadily acknowledged by most people as a ma- jor risk factor in lung cancer and respiratory diseases such as However, regular cigarette smoking — smoking as little as at least one cigarette a day, every day — is also a risk factor in heart disease. death from his or her habit than from traffic accidents, Statistics published by the Canadian Journal of Public Health in 1988 show of 100,000 15 year-old male smokers, more than a quarter (25,959) will die as a result of their habit And, given average life expectancy these days, that’s The above figure contrasts sharply with the 1,809 who will be killed in traffic accidents, 1,349 suicides, 165 murder vic- tims, 129 AIDS deaths and 15 who will die from drug abuse. Translated, it means those 15-year-olds are 7.5 times more likely to die as a result of their smoking than any of the other That trend is even more pronounced with female 15-year- old smokers, Again, of 100,000 such individuals, more than 10,000 will die from smoking before reaching their 70th birth- day against 601 traffic accident fatalities, 482 suicides, 98 murder victims and six each from AIDS and drug abuse, That makes them 8.5 times more likely to suffer premature You can work it out It's no secret keeping fit is a key to staying healthy. It’s also a key factor in heart health. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself at the same time. If you like aerobics, that’s fine, but swimming, cycling, Whatever you choose, the target should be to exercise bet: ween three and five times a week. And it's a good idea ta spread that exercise out — every other day is better than three days in a row followed by a four day. “‘rest’”, How intensely do you need to exercise? If you are 25 years old, it should be enough to raise your heart rate to 117-146 But remember, as your tiaximum: heart rate decreases aS 40-year-old, for example, should settle for ‘108-137 bpm il ® Reduce bload cholesterol levels: ® Control high blood pressure; ae “You are what you eat,". or so the saying goes. ‘And it’s otrue when it comes to heart health. --For a healthy diet,- Health and Welfare. ‘Cannda advises ; groups — milk and milk products, breads and cereals, fruits So arid ‘vegetables and meat/fish/poultry — each day. Sone At the same time, however, while certain foods are general: "7°. recognized to have high fat,contents, nutritionists caution. 1; ere are sonie less obvious ones falling into that category. «- |= ‘of crackers,’ dinner. rolls ‘and me Gi seants, potato chips, commiercial granola, most deli meats, | socom and palm oils, salad reashge, and meat 7 ‘ . that’s defined as at greater tisk of premature abuse. excellent of ways of getting target rate eases as well, A’ will suffice. ‘do for you: lungs; thought from each of the four food.