Heart Disease

I'm normally a little skeptical when advocacy groups designate certain months to raise awareness of specific diseases. The cause is certainly worthy, but I'm not sure that these public relations campaigns make much of a difference – especially when there seem to be so many of them. Some studies have shown "awareness fatigue" with so many campaigns around.

Males and females are different from the day they're born and those differences continue throughout our lives – especially as we become more vulnerable to the diseases of aging. One example is peripheral artery disease (PAD), which is caused by narrowing or blockages of arteries in the legs. Having this disease puts you at increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke so it's worth paying attention if you experience pain in your legs when you're walking or climbing the stairs. That pain is a major PAD symptom.

We're headed toward the Super Bowl this coming weekend, and for many of us, that means an evening cheering on our teams and chowing down on game food. I used to think that this was the unhealthiest part of the evening: massive subs or pizzas with everything accompanied by a six-pack. But it turns out that the Big Game poses a threat beyond excessive fat,  carbs and alcohol.