Get fit for summer but watch your heart

THE summer season is upon us and many are rushing to achieve that Instgrammable and Snapchatable beach body. They can’t wait to post and share it to the world. Are you working on your beach body, too?

If you are, don’t rush too soon into that new diet or new exercise program. Any of these activities have health consequences that you should know about—and the best person to ask is your doctor.

The heart, in particular, can be affected by diet and exercise. And with many Filipinos out of shape and eating not-so-healthy food, they (or maybe even you) are at risk for heart disease. Sadly, heart disease is the number one killer of Filipinos in the country, according to the Department of Health and the Philippine Heart Association.

“If we are going to base it on the recent WHO top ten causes of death, Ischemic heart disease and stroke still rank as the top 2. That has been the trend globally for the last 15 years,” shares Interventional Cardiologist at ManilaMed, Dr. Gino Quizon, at a recent forum on Heart Disease organized by ManilaMed.

If you already have pre- existing conditions like diabetes or hypertension, then consulting a doctor is a must before you undergo any fitness regimen. The state of your health will be one of the factors that will determine what sort of diet and exercise program is best for you.

The good news is that when heart disease does strike, medical science has actually come up with a number of innovations in the last 15 years to improve the prognosis for those who have already been diagnosed with cardio-vascular conditions.