Love Your Heart

I have a deep need to pass along some information that I have learned over the past few months that I believe most people are not aware of.

More women in this country die of heart disease than any other type of disease.  This includes all forms of cancer COMBINED.

Cancer is horrific disease that takes way too many lives.  This is true for men, women, and children.  Being the father of a cancer survivor has had a huge impact in my life and for me cancer is always a cause that will be close to my heart and in the forefront of my imagination.  The fact that this nation is investing tons of money into both prevention and cure of this horrible disease is a testament to our desire to make the world a better place.  We need to continue to work the medical community for a one day cure of each and every form of this disease.

This being said, the statistics do not lie.  More and more women die each and every day from some heart related disease.  The reality is that heart disease often does not present symptoms that allow us to do something about it in a preventative way.  Men and women have different symptomology and for many years all the attention was focused on men because so many die of a heart attack.  Their symptoms became easier to spot and lots of effort was put into getting the word out to the male part of the population that you need to pay attention to the heart.  You never saw a woman in a training film or an advertisement talking about heart disease.  This needs to change.  NOW!!  The heart health of women has now reached the point where it needs to be front and center of media attention. 

In this day and age hypertension, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high sugar are all components in this heart disease problem.  These are all problems that impact the women of the twenty first century.  These concerns are real and women need to begin to be checked out regularly   Women are great at getting their bodies checked regularly for cancer but heart disease seems to fly under the radar and often goes undetected. This silent killer is powerful and needs to be addressed.

On this upcoming Valentine’s Day it is my hope that all women begin to take action to make sure that they are living a healthy lifestyle and doing everything in their power to achieve a heart healthy lifestyle.  Get to the Dr. very soon and get all the tests that you need to get to give you a clear picture of the quality of your heart health.  The best gift that any woman can give to her family, friends, and most importantly to herself, is a greater understanding of her own heart health. 

I have reaped the benefits of having many strong, intelligent, and sensitive women in my life.  To have you around for many more years is my greatest desire.  Your heart means everything to me!

Think Before You Act!

I watched a story this morning on television about a young man who was beaten and then hung on a fence by seven older boys.  There seems to be no good reason for this behavior other than the fact that the young man’s mom was from Africa.  I guess that having an accent and being a bit darker in color is reason enough to beat down someone…and in this particular case it was seven to one odds.  It seems like this type of behavior is reasonably common, yet parents, schools, and those who bully are seldom willing to do something positive to relieve the world of this calamity.  

Bullying has been going on for as long as I can remember.  I think that I have participated in this kind of treatment of others only occasionally.  It is possible that each and every one of us, at one time or another, have done something to another that would qualify as bullying.  This is not an excuse.  It is a statement of fact.  To any person I have even bullied in any way I apologize.  It is wrong and you can be sure that I will not bully another human being.

I have to wonder why people feel the need to hurt others physically, emotionally or both.  The answer to this question has yet to be resolved and may be one of the most difficult question that psychiatrist and psychologists have yet to answer.  The answer may be genetic, hormonal, environmental, educational, or maybe even cultural.  The combination of all these factors would serve to complicate the solution even more so.  

The solution may be something a lot more simple. 

It may be as simple as people need to think before they act.  I have done something that was not so nice, reflected on the results or consequences, and realized that the bad could have been prevented by just putting myself in someone else’s shoes BEFORE I said or did something to that person.  This is not rocket science for sure, but it does take a lot of self-reflection and a willingness to take responsibility for one’s actions.  Prevention is as simple as people recognizing that what they say or do to others does have an impact.

We seem intent on teaching our young people math and science skills so that we can keep up with other nations who have inched ahead of us.  I stink at math and science so there is no chance that better teaching would help me to be able to compete with those people who invent new and better technology, or determine how we can make the world a safer place for all.  But…….

With a little encouragement, a bit more empathy in my daily life, and a commitment to stand up in the face of bullying of any kind CAN and WILL make a difference!  I also think that if you make an effort to pass these values on to each person you come in contact with each day that even more people can be part of the campaign to place greater value on the lives and life experience of others.  Sometimes life skills are even more important than math and science skills and understanding.

Treating others with respect is a campaign worthy of our participation.  You can make a difference!  Let’s do our part!