Start to take heart: healthy living key to good heart health.

AuthorSergeant, Deborah Jeanne
PositionHEALTH & MEDICINE

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Figuratively, the heart is the most essential part of anything: the heart of the matter, the heart of the story, the heart of a company, to name a few. And literally, the heart is vital to bodily function, yet many people's lifestyles reflect habits and practices that damage their body's most essential organ.

Among Alaskans, heart disease is the second-leading cause of preventable death and stroke is No. 4.

Janice Gray, RN nurse consultant I and program manager for Take Heart Alaska's Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program, said, "Work site health promotion programs can effectively help your employees get healthier and avoid getting sick."

Of course, you can't be the health police, hovering over employees and nitpicking their choices. However, your influence at the workplace is important and can help your business' bottom line.

Gray said that high-quality heart health programs indicate a cost saving of $2 to $4 per each dollar invested.

"Work site health programs help recruit and retain employees," she added.

Before initiating a heart-healthy company culture, it is important to understand what contributes to and detracts from heart health. The experts agree that avoiding tobacco and controlling weight are the two pillars of good heart health.

SMOKING NO. 1 RISK

"Smoking cigarettes is the number one risk factor for developing blocked coronary arteries," said Stephen Jones, heart surgeon for Alaska Cardiothoracic Surgery in Anchorage. "It's old news and not glamorous, but it can't be over-emphasized."

Stan Watkins, a physician with the Alaska Heart Institute LLC in Anchorage agrees that "if you smoke, quitting smoking is the easiest and most bang for the buck for improving heart health."

So why is smoking so bad for the ticker? Jones explained that smoking causes irregularities in the way lipids are deposited in the arterial walls. Exposure to tobacco can cause those lipids to rupture or collapse and thus block an artery's blood flow to the heart causing a coronary incident such as a heart attack.

"We see patients who have quit smoking 10 or 15 years ago who still have damage from smoking," Jones said. "If you quit smoking in your youth, you probably won't end up with acute coronary syndromes, but the sooner one quits, the better one is."

Secondhand smoke is not safe, either.

"Thirty minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke can raise the nonsmoker's risk of heart attack or a cardiac event," said Laura Muller, tobacco control manager for the American Lung Association in Anchorage.

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