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Page 2 HEALTH AND FITNESS Wednesday February 1991 Exercise reduces heart disease risk February which is recognized as National Heart Month is a good time to reduce your risk of heart disease by becoming more physically active said Diane executive director of Minneapolisbased National Ex ercise For Life Institute Exer cise directly or indirectly in fluences several of the primary risk factors of heart disease in cluding high levels of blood lipids cholesterol and triglycerides high blood pressure and cigarette smoking The greatest single cause of death in the United States is car diovascular disease heart at tacks strokes and other vessel diseases Deaths from car diovascular disease alone equal the combined total of all other causes of death according to the American Heart Association Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between lifestyle and cardiovascular health When were in our the relationship between exercise and weight control and our overall lifestyle including diet may not seem very important But as we get older health habits catch up with us and it becomes more important to take control over the health factors we can influence You cant control some of the risk factors for heart disease such as family history age race and sex but you can control many of the health habits related to heart disease such as smok ing high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol according to Jeff Zwiefei MS exercise physiologist for The National Ex ercise For Life Institute WHAT IS HEART DISEASE Heart disease is not just a single kind of illness but a general name for more than different diseases of the heart and its vessels Arteriosclerosis is a generic term that includes practically any arterial disease that leads to thickening and hardening of arteries Atherosclerosis on the other hand is a specific and common form of arteriosclerosis Atherosclerosis is caused by deposits of fat and other material on the inside of the arteries These fatty deposits stick to the inner wall and make the artery thick and hard Its dangerous because it cuts down the blood flow by narrowing the path of the artery wall When the heart mus cle doesnt get enough blood ox ygen and nutrients it begins to die No one really knows what causes atherosclerosis but its clear that several factors in crease its progress Among these are smoking high blood pressure high cholesterol and diabetes EXERCISE LESSENS THE RISKS In a recent study of 16936 Har vard graduates Dr Ralph and his associates con cluded that major health benefits can come from burning off only 2000 calories per week by exer cise This study concluded that those more active people are less likely to die from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and perhaps from cancer Is also mounting evidence that regular aerobic activity can help people cut down or quit smoking and lower their blood pressure and overall cholesterol In addition exercise helps to con- trot obesity diabetes and stress A recent research study entitl ed The Association Between Cor onary Heart Disease Risk Fac tors and Physical Fitness in Healthy Adult Women published in Circulation have also demonstrated that physical fitness has a positive impact on the risks of developing heart HELPS HEART FUNCTION Regular aerobic exercise helps the heart increase its functional capacity while decreasing its ox ygen demand Aerobic exercise includes crosscountry skiing swimming cycling jogging and walking All of which use large muscle groups are rhythmical continuous and elevate your heart rate to to per cent of its maximum capacity explained Zwiefei EXERCISE HELPS STABILIZE OR REVERSE ATHEROSCLEROSIS New data demonstrates that exercise can prevent Interrupt and possibly even reverse the atherosclerosis process When exercise is combined with proper diet and no smoking there is a significant reduction in death rates Improving the hearts abili ty to delivery oxygen to the work ing muscles also makes it possi ble for people to live longer or have fewer heart attacks Inhome exercise equipment such as the NordicTrack cross country machine is considered an excellent way of getting the regular aerobic exercise you need to improve your fitness level and reduce the risks of heart disease has also recently introduced the dicRow which simulates the motion of rowing Split resistance settings allow people to choose separate resistance levels for both the upper and lower body and an adjustable seat track incline enables users to vary the difficulty of their workouts Work That Body aerobathon One of Hills largest fundraisers for the Heart and Stroke Foundation is Dance for Heart put on by Burns of Work That Body in Georgetown This year over ISO people took part in the last Wednesday and were led by front row to right Donna Lor Burns and Suzanne DlMecheller to the theme of black and while Herald photo Beach Casual SHORTS COME OUT OF THE COLD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE HOT SAVINGS ON NEW SPRING ARRIVALS TSHIRTS 1K00 REG 16 Tennis Golf SHIRTS 2499 BASEBALL EQUIPMENT COMING SOON Book Now for Team Uniforms BASEBALL CARDS ACCESSORIES NOW IN STOCK SPORTS CARDS COLLECTIBLE SHOW SATURDAY MARCH 2nd lower level 930300 buyselltrade DISTRIBUTORS 71 MAIN STREET SOUTH DOWNTOWN GEORGETOWN 8730500