Sachiko Komatsubara writes:
I think making Mr. O understand that
heart disease is very common is a very effective way to inform Mr. O of
his current health. So I would like to tell him the following. First of
all, being middle-aged puts him in a higher category of risk for heart
attack. Many middle-aged people have many serious factors of heart attack.
He is 47 years old, so of course he could not be too careful to pay attention
against heart attack. Without a clear sign, a heart attack can come up
suddenly. In his case, he has high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol
level, sharp chest pains that sometimes occur right after his dinner, and
he is 20 kilos overweight, has a habit of smoking cigarettes and he is
a member of family in which some people died of heart disease. Though each
of these facts is independently bad for heart attack, his condition that
includes many risk factors could be said not safe at all. Above all, it
is the most important for him to understand his own serious situation.
What is worse for him, he seems to hesitate about seeing a doctor. When
he had his first heart attack, he delayed seeing a doctor. He was not sure
it was a heart attack, or it might have felt for him like heartburn, or
he maybe felt embarrassed if it turned out he didn't need medical help
after all, or he was perhaps hoping that it would not be a heart attack.
However, those who had a heart attack often have such feelings. So it is
the best way for a healthy life that whenever he feels a little unpleasant
about his heart, he calls for help. The best help in this case is to call
an ambulance, but it is good to call his close people who must bring him
to a hospital. At any rate, to see a doctor soon is the most secure way
against heart disease.
A mild myocardial infarction came to him while he was doing light hiking.
In my guess from the situation, no matter how light the hiking was, it
was hard for his heart which had been charged just a little for a long
time. So he should try to take a little more exercise than he has been
doing up to now, and gradually raise the strain on his body. At the same
time he should try to change his eating habit not to take in too many calories.
The kinds of foods he should avoid are those that contain a lot of fat
or sugar, because they probably bring him much subcutaneous and internal
organs adipose. And also he should avoid a lot of salt for preventing a
low faculty of blood flow. The foods he should consider eating more of
are those that contain a lot of vitamins, proteins and fibers, because
vitamins and proteins are necessary to regulate his body and fibers indirectly
clean up his inside of blood vessels. In spite of that, fat, sugar and
salt are not completely unnecessary for healthy life. So he should take
many kinds of foods, thinking of the amount of each kind of foods. And
what is more important is that the combination of these two must lead him
to a more balanced and healthy body. Of course, smoking is very risky.
So he should control the amount of cigarettes he smokes. These plans should
be started within the next few weeks, because someone tends to forget what
is unpleasant for him.
In the long term, he should try not to pile up mental stress in himself.
It is because mental stress is apt to cause too much eating, too much smoking
or too much drinking. As you know, these are very bad risks for heart attack.
So he may well find out what could let him feel relaxed. Consequently,
he must also try the above-mentioned plans a little at a time. To sum up,
on the prerequisites, he must recognize his present risky condition and
the preciousness of seeing a doctor, he should try these plans to keep
his heart healthy in addition.
Finally, the most important change in Mr. O's lifestyle is to lead his
every day life with awareness of danger to his heart. If he does so, he
will naturally carry out these plans.
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