Friday, June 12, 2009

Waistline Management Aids Stroke Prevention

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke and helps control other conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and diabetes.

Healthy Living and Sport Minister Ida Chong and MLAs highlighted Stroke Awareness Month today by checking their blood pressure, measuring their waistlines and riding the Heart and Stroke Big Bike around the B.C. legislature.

“An active and healthy lifestyle provides many benefits,” said Chong. “It helps achieve and maintain a healthy weight, produces more energy, reduces stress, improves mood and lowers our risk of developing a chronic disease.”

Losing as little as five per cent of body weight can reduce high blood pressure and blood cholesterol and protect against heart-related diseases. Studies have shown that carrying excess weight around the waistline is more dangerous to the heart than extra weight on the hips and thighs. Proper measurement of the waistline is an easy and effective predictor of your health risk.

ActNow BC is the Province’s health and wellness initiative that promotes health living choices with the goal of reducing the risk of developing chronic diseases, the most prevalent and costly health issues in British Columbia,” said Mary McNeil, Minister of State for the Olympics and ActNow BC. “Examples of common chronic diseases include heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension) and stroke.”

Stroke occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. Without oxygen-rich blood, brain cells begin to die. More than 6,500 British Columbians experience a stroke each year and approximately 2,300 die each year from stroke-related conditions. Approximately 700,000 people in B.C. have been treated for hypertension, the main risk factor for stroke.

“It is easy to sacrifice healthy lifestyle practices given the busy schedules of our everyday lives,” said Arnie Hamilton. “As a former MLA, I know the challenges and importance of taking the time to look after your personal health.”

Between 2006 and 2008, government provided the Heart and Stroke Foundation of B.C. & Yukon with $3.9 million in grants to enhance and build capacity in stroke prevention and management. This is being accomplished through the B.C. Stroke Strategy which the foundation oversees along with other partners, including the Province and the health authorities.

“In addition to the many free healthy living resources and tools the Foundation provides, we are working to further improve the health of British Columbians by advocating for health-conscious public policy,” said Bobbe Wood, president and CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of B.C. & Yukon.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a volunteer-based health charity, leads in eliminating heart disease and stroke and reducing their impact through the advancement of research, the promotion of healthy living, and advocacy.


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