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Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I'm Marina Santee
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And I'm Ruby Jones. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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The sound of the human heart. It is one of the most amazing organs in the body. When the heart stops, life ends. During an average lifetime, the heart beats over two and a half thousand million times. It never stops to rest. Each day the heart pumps over seven thousand litres of blood. It sends blood around and around the body.
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Everyone knows how important the heart is. But does everyone know how to look after his or her heart? Cardiovascular diseases, or CVDs, are diseases that affect the heart or blood vessels. CVDs are the leading cause of death world wide. Every year over seventeen million people die from CVDs. Many of these deaths can be avoided. In today's Spotlight programme we look at ways of living a long and healthy life. First, here is Ryan Geertsma with one man's story of a heart attack. The man's name is Steven.
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It was August, 2007. One night, we met some friends and went to a street party. There was live music, art - and lots of bad food. The next day was Sunday. I felt a bit more tired than usual. But I believed it was because of my lack of sleep the night before. I continued as normal. Later, my wife and I were getting ready for bed. And I started feeling like I had a bad case of pain in my chest. I though the pain was from eating too much. Then, the pain moved to my arm and the front of my neck. Finally, I did something unusual - I looked on the Internet for information about these particular pains. What I read told me that I was having a heart attack!
We went to hospital. Everything was happening so fast. It was almost like I was dreaming. My wife took my hand. Medical workers wheeled me into the operating room. They put a stent in place. (A stent is a long piece of metal. It opens blocked blood tubes near the heart.) I started to feel better almost immediately.
But after I left the hospital, the most difficult time was in front of me. It was time to make major changes. I had to change my diet. I had to start exercising. And I had to accept that my life had changed. My body was recovering at a good rate. But mentally and emotionally I was recovering much more slowly.
It is now one year since my heart attack. With support and the right attitude, my depression is getting better.
I have learned many important things. A heart attack affects everyone around me. The event has changed me. Today, I weigh eighteen kilograms less. And I feel great. This is the beginning of my second chance. My aim now is to tell my story to help other people. I want to encourage everyone who has had a heart attack at a young age.
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Steven was forty years old when he had his heart attack. Like many people, he had believed that he was too young to have a heart attack! Many people do not think about what they eat, or how much exercise they do - until they become sick.
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There are several risk factors that can lead to heart disease. These include: smoking tobacco, an unhealthy diet and a lack of exercise.
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Governments and other organisations around the world are working to help people avoid some of these risk factors. For example, in the United Kingdom, a government programme worked with the food and drink industry. Together, they reduced the amount of salt in around twenty five percent of processed foods. Many health experts believe that too much salt is related to high blood pressure - and high blood pressure is a major cause of CVD's.
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The people of South Korea have worked to keep a healthy diet. This is sometimes difficult with the economic and industrial growth of a country. Traditionally the Korean diet is low in fat and contains lots of vegetables. The people have worked to keep their traditional cooking methods.
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A government health plan in Mauritius has helped people to lower the amount of fat in their diets. This has reduced people's cholesterol. Cholesterol is a substance found in all animals. There are good and bad kinds of cholesterol. Good cholesterol protects the heart. Bad cholesterol can cause heart disease. People with high fat diets often have high levels of bad cholesterol in their blood. In Mauritius, the government led a project to change the oil that people cook with. Most people cooked with palm oil. Palm oil contains high levels of bad fats. So people started using soya bean oil instead. This is a different kind of vegetable oil. Soya bean oil contains a much lower level of bad fat.
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These health plans are simple yet effective. Here are some simple health efforts that can lower the fat in your diet, without too much effort!
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In India: Try and avoid milk fats like butter and ghee. Also try and avoid vanaspati. This contains vegetable oils that have been treated with hydrogen. All of these are high in bad fats. A high fat diet is one of the main factors of heart disease.
Instead, choose healthier oil such as refined ground nut oil, olive oil or rice oil. Combining the oils is even better because you get the goodness from each.
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Experts advise all people to avoid always cooking everything in oil. Instead, use methods that do not need oil. For example, cook food in the oven, or under a grill.
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Try to avoid too much red meat. Before you cook meat, cut the fat off - including the skin.
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Include plenty of fruit and vegetables in your diet.
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Exercise for half an hour or more every day.
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Avoid smoking.
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And make sure you are not too fat or too thin.
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Doing all these things will help to reduce your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. Caring for your heart increases your chances of a long and healthy life!
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World Heart Day is the last Sunday of September. It is a special day, a day that people can think about protecting and celebrating the one thing they all have in common: life.
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