Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is a family of diseases that includes hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke. In Canada, someone dies from heart disease or stroke every 7 minutes, and heart disease and stroke are 2 of the 3 leading causes of death in Canada. While these are sobering facts, there are many things you can do to prevent these types of diseases. In fact, over the last 40 years, the number of deaths related to heart disease and stroke have steadily declined.

Do you come from a family with a history of heart disease? If so, you need to do everything you can to lead a healthy lifestyle. Ideally, you should be exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet. Even if you do not have a family history of heart disease it is important to be aware of these risk factors:

A stroke is the sudden loss of brain function. This can be due to:

• Ischemic strokes – This is caused when the blood vessels that supply the brain are blocked
• Hemorrhagic strokes – This occurs when there is bleeding in the brain

A stroke can result in paralysis, loss of vision, impairment or loss of speech, or even death.

Statistics Canada estimates that 4.6 million people in Canada have high blood pressure (hypertension). High blood pressure develops when the pressure of the blood in the arteries becomes elevated. Often called “the silent killer,” high blood pressure can develop without any symptoms, and is often not diagnosed until the disease is in an advanced stage. Hypertension could lead to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, eye damage, and kidney disease. Obese people are twice as likely to have high blood pressure than those who are at a healthy weight.

In an effort to control high blood pressure, many people go on blood pressure medications they need to take for the rest of their lives. By losing weight, you can lower your blood pressure.

The way to avoid the many serious pitfalls associated with cardiovascular disease is to do everything possible to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. However, as most people already know, that’s often easier said than done. Many try to diet and get on an exercise schedule, yet they find it’s not sustainable.

Since 1998, the Slimband procedure has helped thousands of Canadians stop their waistlines from growing. Prior to having the procedure, most of these patients struggled with endless diets, with many feeling as though there was simply no way to keep the weight off. If you’d like to learn more about how the Slimband procedure can help you, please schedule a free consultation by completing the Find Out More form to the right of this page.