blog 10~~The Motivation Behind Reducing Cardiovascular Disease

     Majority of people know that Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally right now. The media (i.e. news stations) do a very good job at delivering health messages, my opinion...that's where I first learned this info anyway. However, there are many people that lack education about the disease, especially when you think globally. Developing nations don't have the technology for media resources, let alone electricity sometimes. So, how can anyone be motivated to make healthy changes for something as radical as this disease when they know nothing about it, or how their current lifestyle compares, in the first place?
     Education is a key factor in just about every topic these days. How do you know who to vote for in elections if you don't know their policies? How do you cook a meal if you don't learn how to boil water? How do you control the population if you don't learn about prevention methods? How do you gain motivation stronger than for a "to look good" goal if you don't hardly know anything about cardiovascular disease and how anyone is at risk?
     Our question for this weeks blog is this, "what factors can influence women to adopt heatlhier lifestyles and engage in preventative behaviors so as to reduce their risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer?" My response is clearly education about the disease. Now, after one has taken a few minutes to google the topic or, in a developing world, listen to that educator that journied into a village to discuss the matter, the person can now take a personal inventory on what their risk factors are. Here is a categorized list provided by the American Heart Association at www.heart.org:
           1.) Factors that can't be changed include: age, sex, and ethnicity
           2.) Factors that can be changed or managed include: smoking, weight, Diabetes, sedentary   lifestyle, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, stress, alcohol intake, and nutrition

With this knowledge, we can apply it to our life and who we are and judge where we stand as a risk for developing CVD. Also, bringing up the subject or asking for the necessary testing (ex. CBC-complete blood count) from your physician isn't a bad idea either. Personally, my motivation comes from my basic knowledge of the disease and knowing that there are measures I can take to avoid it the best I can. I also am motivated, as a woman and a mother, by those roles. I want to live to see grandchildren, weddings, and graduations. I want to reach my older years and know that I lived a long, happy, and healthy life the best way I knew how. It's about education for me. Smoking is a great example. If a person knew the in-depth harmful effects of this disgusting habit on their body than shouldn't that be motivation enough? Afterall, these effects include CVD and lung cancer. I have heard many times about those cases where a person justifies their habit by saying that "perfectly healthy people who have never smoked got lung cancer so why can't I just enjoy my smoke if I am at risk either way?" I hate that, it makes me cringe. Here's my answer: "You only get one body and why are you going to purposely cause harm and irreversible damage to it, as opposed to not, just to relax a little when there are plenty of other relaxing things you could do? It's lazy, dumb, and ignorant." Maybe if someone knew that those factors that can't be changed, in combination with their current lifestyle, potentially raised the bar greatly for probability of getting that diagnosis, then maybe they might be inclined to make smarter and healthier decisions.
     Common sense tells us that we need to eat a balanced diet, drink water, get ample rest, and incorporate physical activity into our crazy lives. I understand how some of these things can be challenging to a person, but ultimately it's up to the individual to compensate. If you are a busy working woman and don't have time to get to the gym or go for a walk at home, then make sure you ate wisely that day and parked further from the front door so as to get that extra walk in!
Seek out the education on your health and make an effort to treat your one and only body as best you can! Don't let the circumstances of life have complete control over your health.~~my advice and good motivation.

Reference for CVD
American Heart Association. (2010, November 3). Understand Your Risk of Heart Attack. Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HeartAttack/UnderstandYourRiskofHeartAttack/Understand-Your-Risk-of-Heart-Attack_UCM_002040_Article.jsp 

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