Category: Women's cardiac risk factors

– posts here focus on how to address your risk factors to help prevent heart disease

How optimism can be good for women’s hearts

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 3 Comments

woman happy

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Good news, my heart sisters: a study published this week in the heart  journal Circulation reports that women with an optimistic outlook on life may live longer and be less likely to develop heart disease than their pessimistic counterparts.

Researchers found that, among more than 97,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79, those with generally optimistic dispositions were 14% less likely to die over eight years than pessimists. They were also over 9% less likely to develop coronary artery disease, and 30% less likely to die of heart complications.

But can you actually change from thinking like a pessimist if that’s your nature?   Continue reading “How optimism can be good for women’s hearts” →

5 surprising myths about excess weight

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 3 Comments
May 1932 - Modern Mechanix
May 1932 – Modern Mechanix

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

We know that carrying excess body weight is bad for our health.  Or is it?  Recent studies have looked at overall health outcomes of overweight subjects and found these surprising results that may make us look twice at some older myths about being overweight:

MYTH No. 1:  A high BMI number means you need to lose weight.

FACT: Body Mass Index (BMI) has been considered the best indicator of obesity, but it doesn’t differentiate between weight gained by pumping iron or weight gained by eating too many Tim Horton maple dips.  Having a BMI number over 25 is considered overweight, and a BMI over 30 is considered obese.  But Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example, had a BMI of 33 at the peak of his body-building career.   Continue reading “5 surprising myths about excess weight” →

A kindergarten kid’s guide to heart disease

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 2 Comments

Ah, summertime.  And the livin’ is easy, according to Porgy and Bess – and to all school teachers.  I know you’re out there, you teachers, lolling in dappled-shade hammocks and enjoying those margaritas for the next month or so.  But here’s an early reminder for you teachers to consider when you go back to the classroom:  Heart Smart Kids.™   It’s a unique and important program to help both teachers and parents educate children as young as five about the importance of good heart health.

It’s never too early for kidlets to start learning about our #1 health threat – especially since we know that up to 80% of heart disease is preventable, and that heart disease is 20-30 years in the making.  The Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC and Yukon has developed this fun way to inspire heart-healthy habits in our children and families. All program information is current and has been approved by Heart and Stroke Foundation experts for children in grades K-6.

And for free kid-friendly, heart-smart recipes and fun activity tips every month, you can subscribe to Parent He@lthline, a free e-newsletter for your entire family. Continue reading “A kindergarten kid’s guide to heart disease” →

Body fat: brown, white, visceral, belly, butt

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

There’s fat. And then there’s fat.  Who knew that fat comes in different colours and characteristics depending on where it lives in our bodies? Here are your fat basics:

  • Brown fat – When stimulated, brown fat can actually burn calories. Children and very lean people have more brown fat than the rest of us, and it’s what helps them keep warm. Brown fat stores decline in all adults, but are more active in winter months so still help with body warmth. Brown fat is now thought to be more like muscle than like white fat. When activated, brown fat burns white fat.
  • White fat – This type of body fat is much more plentiful than brown. Its job is to store energy and produce hormones that are then secreted into the bloodstream. When we lose weight by reducing calorie intake, we lose white fat, evenly all over. read more about other types of fat