The Most Important Things to do
While we fret about the most complex and controversial aspects of our health care, don't forget to do these basic things that will definitely help your health. You don't need to go to medical school to be the most important member of your healthcare team - just follow these time-tested ways that really work.
Stop smoking
There is no question that if you smoke, stopping will be the very best thing you will ever do for your health. If you fail this time, keep on trying!
Get some exercise
Even a little is very helpful. You don't have to be an Olympic athlete to gain the benefits of exercise, which can occur at surprisingly low levels. Take a 15 minute walk . . . take the stairs . . . it will do a lot of good.
Eat sensibly.
If you can't be perfect, do as good as you can. Don't just give up on good eating habits because it seems too hard.
Learn to take your own blood pressure.
Write it down. Bring the list to your doctor. This is the best way to avoid too much or too little treatment for this controllable disease.
If you're overweight, trim a little off
At least don't gain weight. Weight loss is hard because it's a lifetime attitude that will accomplish the goal, but the benefits to your health and how well you feel are definitely worth it.
Work on balance
Be involved...without being overly stressed...and leave time for relaxation. This is a big challenge for all of us, but it's really important for people with medical conditions, particularly those involving the heart.
Take an aspirin a day
As long as your physician has not told you to avoid it. It is an easy and inexpensive way to prevent heart attacks and strokes, particularly for middle-aged males.
Find a doctor you like
Don't just take what comes along. Your healthcare depends most on you, but it's your job to find physicians who you can relate to, understand and trust.
Get and maintain health insurance
Let's be realistic - this is an increasingly important part of your healthcare. Always be careful to maintain it.
Be skeptical about information sources
There is a lot of incomplete, inaccurate, or simply wrong information available. This may be from relatives, acquaintances, charlatans, or the news media.
If you're a woman past your menopause, consider replacement hormones
The issues are a bit complex, but hormones can keep your arteries and heart young, and your bones strong.
If you have a question, ask!
There are really no stupid questions. None of us were born knowing the answers. Ask, and you can put your mind at ease and do the right things for your health.
Continue to be positive. You can "beat" these diseases
The advances in medicine, and heart disease in particular, have truly been staggering. Applying what we already know to your healthcare can lead to continued good health... and just wait until the next developments!
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"When was the last time you had a check-up?"
These words can be the last thing most guys want to hear. More often than not, we end up in a doctor's office only because we were forced to, by a cold that wouldn't quit, a stomach pain that became unbearable, or a sore knee that threatened our ski getaway.
For some of us, a check-up happens only by ultimatum from one's employer. In fact, it's possible your car gets better care than you do.
About Eayer Consumer Care Bayer Consumer Care, a division of Bayer HealthCare, is headquartered in dorristown, M.J. Bayer Consumer Care is among the largest marketers of over-the-counter medications and nutritional supplements in the world. Some of the most trusted and recognizable brands An the world today come from the Bayer portfolio of products. Bayer HealthCare combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Biological Products, Consumer Care, Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals divisions.
Medical errors are one of the Nation's leading causes of death and injury. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of medical errors. This means that more people die from medical errors than from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS.
Government agencies, purchasers of group health care, and health care providers are working together to make the U.S. health care system safer for patients and the public. This fact sheet tells what you can do.
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It's not easy finding Dr. Right- there's no guaranteed way to do it. The physician who's Dr. Right for you could be Dr. Wrong for your mother-in-law. But there are strategies for homing in on the doctor with whom you can develop the right chemistry for a life-time relationship.
There are presently millions of "baby boomers" in the United States. Baby boomers...that's the term we give to individuals in this country born between 1946 and 1964...a time in our culture when having babies was all the rage...very much in vogue. The boomers already make up a significant portion of the American population. As we age as a nation, and extend our longevity, too, the boomers will become more and more of a factor in the American healthcare delivery system.
If a miracle drug could help you lose weight, build muscles, avoid disease, stave off bone loss, and improve your mental health, would you take it? Before you answer, know that you need to take the drug three to five times a week, and each dose takes 30 to 45 minutes to administer. Also, the drug causes most people to sweat and breathe heavily, but only during its administration.
Still interested? With benefits like that, who could refuse?
The "drug," of course, is exercise. So why don't more women "take" it? Maybe exercise needs an ad agency.
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