To put those frightening statistics in their proper perspective and truly understand the gravity and impact of cardiovascular diseases on all of us, one person in America has already died of CVD the past 33 seconds (2,500 will die today), and one individual in the Philippines will succumb to CVD in the next 7 minutes or so (about 216 this day alone). All of those two events will be happening while you are reading my column. Alarming and scary, indeed!

One interesting fact is that clinical data have shown that under-educated individuals are more prone to develop heart attacks, and that men are victimized by heart attack about ten years earlier than women.

The highest mortality rates from CVD are found in the former Soviet Union, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The lowest death rates are in Japan, France, Spain, Switzerland and Canada.

Cardiovascular diseases are caused by a combination of several factors, and the culprit is mostly our lifestyle. How we live will determine (even forecast in many cases) how we will die. While heredity, our genetic make-up, plays a role, the genetic "weakness" or predisposition, has been found in significant number of cases to be outweighed by lifestyle.

Simply because your grandparents or parents had heart attack or stroke does not mean you, too, will automatically have the same fate. If they smoked, ate high-fat, high cholesterol, high-carbo foods, day in and day out, hated fish, vegetables, high fiber foods (nuts and grains), and did not exercise, and you, on the other hand, have been doing the opposite, living a healthier lifestyle, then the favorable medical statistics, including overall health and longevity, are on your side. An added bonus for you is the reduction in the risk of developing cancer also.

Today, there is no longer any doubt that smoking maims and kills. Smoking accelerates heart disease and is the leading cause of death. Many premature deaths are due to smoking, which alters the lipid (cholesterol-triglyceride) metabolism and hastens the progression of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), causing blockages in the coronary artery and greater adrenaline release that further constricts the arteries, which cuts of the blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscles, brain, kidneys, and other organs, and also leads to the development of hypertension. Smoking also increases the cardiac muscle oxygen demand by 10 percent, raises the fibrinogen level resulting in thicker blood which is more prone to clot (platelet aggregation), and leads to endothelial cell dysfunction that decreases the body's ability to manufacture natural chemicals that dilate the arteries.

Abnormally elevated homocysteine blood levels are associated with a greater risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Elevated C-reactive protein in the blood is a marker for heart disease. Depression, especially among men, is linked to a higher risk of heart attack, compared to individuals who are not depressed. White men with increased earlobes size, male pattern baldness and hair in the ear canals appear to have a greater risk for heart disease. Those who live a sedentary lifestyle have twice as much risk to develop heart attack than those who exercise regularly. One report says "People who eat beans at least four times a week have a lower level of heart disease (19 percent lower) than people who eat beans less than once a week."

As in anything else, pre-empting the onset of a problem is the best way to avoid it. Nothing beats prevention, especially when it comes to our health. Since our lifestyle is a most significant factor in the equation, the current recommendation includes (1) Abstinence from smoking, (2) Moderation in alcohol intake, (3) Minimizing intake, if not avoidance, of high-fat, high-cholesterol foods, like egg yolk, pork, beef and other red meats, including processed foods in general, and, instead, eating a lot of green leafy vegetables, fish, high-fiber nuts and grains, (4) Maintenance of a normal body weight by calorie-control, (5) Implementation of daily exercise routine at least 30 minutes, five times a week, with daily water intake of at least 8 glasses a day, (6) Adoption of a daily de-stressing and relaxation routines, doing what relaxes you most in between your work schedule and after work, (7) Avoidance of exposure to toxic chemical vapors, even from common household sprays, etc., and protection from sun (UV ray) exposure as much as possible, and, (8) Institution of a regular medical check-up, especially for those who are over the age of 40, and for younger ones who have pre-existing illness.

Protect and save your heart. It didn't come with a spare. It's the only one you've got. And one you can't live without.