Healthy heart checklist

MANILA (PNA) – In celebration of the Heart Month of February, a cardiologist has drawn up a checklist of tips on how to achieve the ultimate Valentine’s Day gift to yourself and your loved ones – a “healthy loving heart.”

Dr. Anthony Leachon, leading internist and cardiologist of the Manila Doctors Hospital and fellow of the Philippine College of Physicians and the American College of Physicians, made a checklist of reminders everyone could follow, not only this month but all year round, for a healthy lifestyle.

“A checklist helps a lot. I’m sad seeing patients failing in their health goals,” Leachon said, adding that his checklist is for those who have trouble remembering how to lead a healthy life. Giving up smoking tops his list. “This is the single most important factor in improving the quality of your health. Smoking is linked to a lot of serious diseases, including cancer, heart diseases, and stroke. Stopping it should be your first priority,” he said in the checklist.

Diet follows, with an advice to think many times before gorging on french fries, burgers, processed food, junk food, pork, beef, cakes, ice cream, salty food and soft drinks.

Leachon warned that unburned calories become excess body weight, and as such, third on his list is exercise.

He said he himself spends one hour on the treadmill, good for burning 600 calories, equivalent to four cups of rice.