MATTERS Survey Shows Americans Are Not Taking Heart Disease Risk To Heart (NAPSA)—According to a recent survey, Americans could be doing much moreto prevent heart disease. In fact, American adults may be overly optimistic about their risk of heart disease and too often give themselves an inflated report card for their current prevention efforts. A Harris Interactive survey of Fooling Themselves Many Are Trying, Few Are Succeeding at Reducing Risk I participate in these heart-healthy behaviors. Surveyed adults “trying” Surveyed adults “not trying” Objective evidence Maintain healthy weight 76% 24% 64%of Americansare overweight/obese. Get regular exercise 68% 32% Only 19% of Americans Avoid foods high in fat Limitsalt in my diet 65% 61% 35% 39% Avoid foods highin cholesterol 61% 39% Only 10% of Americans eat a diet consistent with federal nutrition guidelines. @ I try to: more than 2,000 adults revealed that while most people were aware of the dangers of unhealthy lifestyles and diets and that most believe they are trying to change their ways, other objective measures of Americans’ actual behaviors do not confirm their personal assesment. For example, only 59 percent of those surveyed believed that cardiovascular disease was the number one killer. Most people reported that they were taking steps to reduce their total cardiovascular risks, but there is evi- dence that the majority of the popula- tion is not. “Despite repeated efforts made by physicians and public health officials to educate Americans about cardiovascular disease, obe- sity, and other risk factors, the majority still do not believe that they are at risk for developing heart disease,” said past president of the American Heart Association, Robert Bonow, M.D. “As physicians, we must redouble our efforts to communicate to our patients the personal risks associated with the nation’s number one health threat.” Many surveyed adults say they are at little or no risk of suffering a heart attack, stroke or diabetes in the next five years and are not at all concerned about cardiovascular conditions. engage in a highlevel of physical activity. American adults may be giving themselves better marks than they deserve whenit comesto doing all they can to prevent heart disease. Only one-third (32 percent) of adults expressed concerns about angina/coronary heart disease/heart attack. * One-fifth (19 percent) of adults said that they were at no risk at all of suffering a heart attack in the nextfive years. An estimated one-half of people over age 20 have high blood cholesterol, however only 31 percent of those surveyed had been told they had high cholesterol by a healthcare provider and only 380 percent of adults expressed any concern aboutit. Also, one-quarter (26 percent) of adults believe that thin people are healthier than overweight people. Survey findings indicated that more than half (54 percent) of all adults think that cancer, not heart disease, is the leading cause of death among cigarette smokers. In addition, only half of adults and half (53 percent) of all women are aware that one in 10 women aged 45-64 has someform of heart disease. A substantial percent of those surveyed are ignoring “hearthealthy” behaviors—even among populations with three out of three risk factors (hypertension, high cholesterol and family history of heart disease or stroke). For example, 35 percent of Americans, including 23 percent of those with three risk factors, do not try to avoid fatty foods. More information can be found in the most recent issue of The Pfizer Journal entitled “Heart Disease: An All-Out Attack on Risk,” which can be read online at www.thepfizerjournal.com. The Pfizer Journal presents facts, opinions and commentary from thought leaders on issues concerning health and the future of medicalcare. It helps readers gain a deeper understanding of issues related to existing medical treatments, tomorrow’s ther- apies and behavior and environmental issues that influence our health and well-being. The publication is available online at www.thepfizerjournal.com.
