Its very important to…

GET CHEST PAIN CHECKED…

We often hear stories of people who have left it too late to get chest pain seen to. Although many types of chest pain can be unrelated to the heart, it is much better to find out for sure.
No one is going to think you are a ‘hypochondriac’ because you are worried about chest pain. See your GP when chest pain occurs and do not be afraid to call an ambulance if you experience significant pain in the chest. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Oh, and don’t assume that because you are healthy and you eat well and you don’t drink or smoke cigarettes and you live a great life that chest pain must just be something else. It’s not as common, but sometimes-healthy people have heart disease because of other factors. Get checked!

MAINTAIN YOUR HEALTH AND GIVE YOURSELF THE BEST CHANCE OF A HEALTHY HEART…

Obesity – Your enemy

There are many ways to ensure that you are living as healthily as you can. Let’s start with the obvious. You should not be overweight.

Losing weight is hard. It requires commitment, willpower and (unfortunately) hunger. There are no easy fixes. There are so many diets out there and I occasionally get patients saying that they don’t know which one to do, so they don’t do any. People make a lot of money from fad diets. Fad diets really don’t work. What does work is the old fashioned, eat less and exercise more concept. Move around A LOT and eat MUCH LESS. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you are tired, you must have burned a lot of calories and reward yourself with something. Don’t do it. Be strong. Get out and walk. It is rarely too cold/hot/rainy/windy to walk. Ask my dogs, they will tell you.

Here are some links explaining what I mean:
• Maintaining a Healthy Weight
• Healthy Eating
• Diabetes

Smoking – It will kill you

Yes, we have all heard of people who have smoked all their life and lived to a ripe old age. Lucky them, because their chances of dying prematurely were pretty much stacked against them. The cigarette packets don’t have those nasty pictures on them for nothing. Smoking kills. Fact. Smoking increases your risk of heart disease. Why would you do it?
If you are a smoker, it is your responsibility to try everything you can to quit. Start with Quit Australia www.quit.org.au but definitely try any of the recommended options to give it up.
Don’t think that cutting down is an option. One cigarette a day is like Russian Roulette.