By David Thill
There are simple measures we can take to stay healthy and help friends and family do the same
“Understanding health risks is key to making your own health care decisions,” said William Elwood, PhD., psychologist and behavioral scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in a feature article for the organization’s October newsletter. “It gives you perspective on potential harms and benefits, so you can make smart choices based on facts and not fears.”
The article defines a health risk as the chance or likelihood that something will harm or otherwise affect a person’s health. It’s just a possibility – not a guarantee that something bad will happen. That likelihood is affected by a person’s risk factors. Some of these factors – such as genes and ethnicity – are not in our control, but others, such as diet, physical activity, and behavioral characteristics, are.
“In many ways, our perception of risk is irrational,” said Elwood. “We sometimes worry over something that’s extremely unlikely, like Ebola in the U.S. And we ignore steps we can take to prevent what’s much more likely to harm us, like heart disease or colon cancer.”
“When you see health statistics, consider the types of people being described,” advises the NIH. For example, a statement may be issued along the lines of, “More than half of Americans over age 45 will develop heart disease at some point.” This is a statistical average for the entire American population, but every individual’s health risks are different. For example, smoking, high blood pressure, or diabetes will increase a person’s risk. But exercise and a healthy diet can lower that risk.
To truly understand their health risks, the NIH recommends patients talk to their doctors and ask how they can reduce their risks. While it can be difficult to learn this information – particularly if it is not good news – open conversations with doctors can help patients and families make more informed decisions.
(For the full article – as well as other useful information from the NIH – visit https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/oct2016/feature1.)
The lifesaving potential of CPR
“My goal is to spread the word to increase the level of CPR training in the population and get every institution to have a defibrillator on hand and people trained to use it,” says Jeffrey Feig, a 50-year-old financial executive, in an interview with New York Times Personal Health columnist Jane E. Brody.
In August 2016, Feig suffered a sudden cardiac arrest at the downstate New York bungalow colony where he and his family spend their summers. Fellow vacationers had been trained in CPR (short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and the use of an automated external defibrillator (A.E.D.) at the colony, and therefore were able to return his heart to a normal rhythm while they waited for an ambulance. Feig survived – unlike 90 percent of people similarly afflicted – observes Brody.
She also notes that New York City police officers are not required to know CPR. But the average wait time for an ambulance in New York City is seven minutes, meaning that if bystanders and police are trained in CPR, lives can be saved.
If CPR is immediately applied when an electrical malfunction causes a person’s heart to stop, “chances of survival, although small, are doubled or tripled,” Brody writes. She references a study conducted in Denmark, published in 2015, which linked bystander CPR to a 30 percent decreased risk of nursing home admission and brain damage for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors.
The American Heart Association offers instructions for hands-only CPR on its website:
“If you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse, call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of any tune that is 100 to 120 beats per minute, such as the classic disco song ‘Stayin’ Alive.’” A video demonstration is available.
Use of an A.E.D. to restore a person’s normal heart rhythm also improves their chances of survival. “Every minute that passes without this correction reduces the person’s survival chances by 10 percent,” says Brody. These devices typically come with built-in written instructions and voice prompts.
Most cardiac arrests occur at home, meaning that the people on whom we perform this lifesaving measure are likely people we know. And while fear of making a mistake can cause apprehension, “[t]he alternative is standing by helplessly and watching someone die while you await the arrival of emergency medical personnel.”