Heart Beat: Preventable threats to survival
Heart Beat
Preventable threats to survival
Although you can't avoid death, you can try your darnedest to stave it off as long as possible. Fighting what are generally recognized as "preventable causes of death" is a good way to do this. But where to start? Controlling blood pressure and not smoking, according to an international team of researchers led by Dr. Goodarz Danaie of the Harvard School of Public Health (PLoS Medicine, April 2009). Those two factors accounted for just over one-third of the 2.5 million deaths in the United States in 2005. Paying more attention to these risk factors could help more people live longer and healthier lives.
Top 10 risk factors and U.S. deaths in 2005 | ||
Risk factor | Women | Men |
High blood pressure | 231,000 | 164,000 |
Smoking | 219,000 | 248,000 |
Physical inactivity | 103,000 | 88,000 |
Excess weight | 102,000 | 114,000 |
High blood sugar | 89,000 | 102,000 |
High salt intake | 54,000 | 49,000 |
High LDL cholesterol | 53,000 | 60,000 |
Low intake of omega-3 fats | 39,000 | 45,000 |
High dietary trans fats | 35,000 | 46,000 |
Low intake of fruits and vegetables | 24,000 | 33,000 |
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