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The Top 5 Killers of Men

By Bill Phillips and the Editors of Men's Health

Men's Health

by Bill Phillips and the Editors of Men's HealthRecent Posts

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It was a sunny September day in the Pacific Northwest,and Jeff Hale had just closed a $1.5 million deal. To celebrate, he was taking the afternoon off,relaxing on his patio lounge, and playing ball with his dog. That's when he began feelingcompression high in his chest, some pain in his left shoulder, and an unsettling sense of dread. At44, he was in relatively good shape, although 15 pounds overweight and under a lot of stressfrom work. At first, he thought it was an asthma attack and took a hit off his inhaler. But whenthat didn't help, he remembered an article hed read in Men's Health.

"There were two things from that article I recalled," he recounted to our reporter a few years ago."One was that every heart attack is unique. My symptoms will be different from your symptoms.The other was, if you suspect you're having a heart attack, take an aspirin." Hale took two anddrove himself to the hospital. He almost didn't make it. Doctors found blockages in three arteriesand performed a triple bypass the next day. "They told me I'd saved my life," says Hale. "Theaspirin thinned my blood, and the inhaler dilated my arteries."

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Heart disease is the number one killer of men, claiming the lives of nearly 400,000 fathers,friends, brothers, and sons every year. Often, the difference between life and death is razor thinremembering to pop an aspirin, not delaying your trip to the E.R.

This week is National Men's Health Week, which was created by Congress in 1994 to raise the

awareness of the health threats uniquely facing men. To commemorate, weve put together a listof the most popular ways to die as a man in America. Collectively, these diseases kill nearly onemillion of us annually. And, chances are, your lifestyle or genetic profile puts you at risk for atleast one of them.

But, as Jeff Hale learned, our fates are not sealed. If you understand your risks, and learn how tonegate them, you can outrun the reaper. Heres how:

STROKE

Why youre at risk: Each year, nearly 50,000 American men die of a stroke, according to theAmerican Heart Association. I know what youre thinking: But those are reallyoldmen. Butyoure wrong. In fact, 1 in 14 stroke victims is younger than 45. As a neurologist I interviewed afew years ago told me: If you did MRI scans on a hundred 40-year-olds, youd see that a largenumber have already had a silent stroke. And thats scary because small, silent strokes oftenprecede large, debilitating strokes.

What you can do about it: Keep your blood pressure at 120/80 or lower. Every 20-point increasein systolic BP (the top number) or every 10-point rise in diastolic BP doubles your risk of dying

of a stroke, says Walter Kernan, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Yale University.The good news: Simple lifestyle changes can dramatically reduce your risk.Assess your strokerisk right here,and learn how to turn the odds in your favor.

CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

Why youre at risk: Nearly 60,000 men died from COPDwhich includes chronic bronchitis andemphysemain 2006, according to the CDC. The chief cause: the Marlboro Man. In fact,smoking causes 80 percent of COPD deaths. Considering that tobacco use has also been directlylinked to the other man killers on our Top 5 listnotably, heart disease (#1) and cancer (#2)you have to ask: Why are people still smoking?

What you can do about it: Its pretty simple, really. You need to figure out how to kick butts forgood. Improve your odds by joining a gymsmokers who are trying to quit often fall off thewagon during stressful moments. Regular exercise lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone,in the brain. Warning: Going cold turkey is one of the least successful ways of quitting. Find out

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how to tilt the odds of success in your favor by checking out Will You Be Able to QuitSmoking?

ACCIDENTS

Why youre at risk: According to the CDC, 80,000 men die each year in unexpected tragedies,from sports injuries to fires to falls. But the most preventable accidental deaths are the 30,000that occur on Americas roads every year.

Whats that? Youre a great driver? Not surprising that you think so. According to a study by theInsurance Institute for Highway Safety, 72 percent of drivers regard themselves as more skilledthan everyone else. Researchers trace the bias to a fundamental information imbalance, namelythat the poorest performers are also the least able to recognize skill (or lack of skill) in

themselves or others.

But fine, lets say its true. Then consider the guys youre sharing the road with: Surveys indicatethere's a nearly 80 percent chance they speed regularly, and a 53 percent likelihood they talk onthe phone while driving. There's a 4 percent chance they run red lightson purposeand a 2percent chance they have driven after drinking too much. These guys make Evel Knievel looklike a defensive driver.

What you can do about it: If you do one thing today, make it this: Stop texting while driving.Youve probably heard that texting behind the wheel is just as dangerous as drinking and driving.Not true. Texting is way more dangerous. In fact, texting increases your risk of a crash by 23

times (versus 11 times for driving under the influence), according to a Virginia Tech study. Stepinto the MH Driving Simulatorand test how well you multitask behind the wheel.

CANCER

Why youre at risk: The Big C killed nearly 300,000 men in 2010, according to the AmericanCancer Society. Lung cancer tops the list, accounting for 29 percent of all cancer deaths,followed by prostate cancer (11 percent) and colon/rectum cancer (9 percent). We all know thatsmoking causes lung cancer, but the risk factors for prostate cancer are less well known. Yet, itsone of the most common1 in 6 men will get prostate cancer in their lifetimesand leastunderstood killers of men.

What you can do about it: Take our quiz to determine your risk. If youre at high risk, put certainstaples of the Mediterranean diet on your plate. A study published in theJournal of the NationalCancer Institute shows that men who eat more than 10 grams of garlic or scallions (about three

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cloves of garlic or 2 tablespoons of scallions) daily have a 50 percent lower risk of prostatecancer than those who eat less than 2 grams. Sound like too much of a good thing? Other studieshave linked the lycopene in cooked tomato products to lower prostate cancer risk; aim for at leasttwo servings a week. And if you really like coffee . . . Harvard researchers found that drinking 6cups a day reduces your risk of developing advanced prostate cancer by 59 percent.

HEART DISEASE

Why youre at risk: This is the deadliest disease known to man. More than 1 in 3 adult men havesome sort of heart disease and more than 390,000 men died of the killer in 2007, according to theAmerican Heart Association.

But youre a fit, healthy guy, right? Why would you die of heart disease? Believe it or not, not

every victim of the disease is overweight or inactive. Mens Health Editor Peter Moorediscovered this eight years ago. He was doing everything right: He was thin, exercised regularly,and ate a healthy diet. But none of that prevented one of the arteries in his heart from becoming99 percent blocked. Still think youre risk-free? You canfind out your heart disease risk byclicking right here.

What you can do about it: Small lifestyle changes can yield big results when it comes toimproving heart health. Here are four simple changes you can make today:

Exercise for 30 minutes. Middle-aged men who exercise vigorously for two hours a week(aim for 30 minutes, four times a week) have a 60 percent lower risk of a heart attack than

inactive men.

Lose the spare tire. If youre overweight, dropping 10 to 20 pounds lowers your risk of dyingfrom a heart attack. In fact, a 10-year study found that overweight people had heart attacks 8.2years earlier than normal-weight victims.

Drink five glasses of water a day. Men who drink that many 8-ounce glasses are 54 percentless likely to have a fatal heart attack than those who drink two glasses or fewer. Researchers saythe water dilutes the blood, making it less likely to clot.

Count to 10. Keeping your cool under stress may keep you alive. Men who respond with anger

are three times more likely to have heart disease and five times more likely to have a heart attackbefore turning 55.

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