Heart Attacks getting less severe in the U.S.

Reuters Health reports this week that heart attacks are getting less severe. While we haven't improved on getting to the hospital any sooner after the onset of symptoms (still about 33% of people make it in under 2 hours) we have less heart muscle damage with a heart attack.

Before we start the party, realize a couple things. First, heart disease is still the #1 cause of death in the U.S. (followed by cancer and stroke, in that order). Second, we're getting MORE OBESE as a nation. So how can you reconcile these two, apparently disparate, facts?

Sedentary life leads to an "older" heart, which develops more "collateral circulation" -- smaller vessels that feed more heart muscle because of the lack of exercise. So our chunky, couch-potato, gaming, inactivity is giving us hearts that have more, smaller vessels. So our hearts sustain less damage per heart attack episode. That's no reason to celebrate.

I've mentioned elsewhere that I got to meet Jack LaLanne in Long Beach this year -- I followed him on the podium after he gave a 7:00 am lecture. Before he spoke he and his wife had walked on the beach for an hour. Jack is 94. He is proof that regular exercise and good nutritional habits count, and count big!