Men’s health issues are often under discussed and avoidable

What is men’s health?

We hear a lot about women’s health, but not as much about men’s health. Are there specific ailments or issues that men in particular should be concerned about?

According to the Mayo Clinic, the top health threats for men include heart disease, cancer and unintentional injury. Most of these health threats are preventable, but that doesn’t mean men shouldn’t be proactive in addressing these concerns.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and killed 357,761 men in the United States in 2019. Kentucky is a leading state for heart disease. In 2020, the national average of American adults with heart disease was 8.1%, while in Kentucky the percentage was 12.2%, making it one of the states with the highest percentage of adults with cardiovascular disease. West Virginia is the state with the highest percentage of individuals facing cardiovascular illnesses at 13.8%.

Dr. Joel Forman, a preventive cardiologist with The Christ Hospital Health Network, has advice for men who want to care for their heart health.

According to Forman, there are many measures that can be taken by men to prevent heart disease. “I always go back with my patients to what the American Heart Association calls Life’s Simple 7,” say Forman.

The American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 is a list of seven simple steps you can take to vastly improve cardiovascular health. These simple steps are stop smoking, eat better, get active, lose weight, manage blood pressure, control cholesterol and reduce blood sugar. “Less than 5% of our population has all seven under control,” says Forman.

“What it is is seven simple things that we can do that in combination are highly effective in reducing heart disease and can be prevented by up to 80%. This depends on how long you do this. It isn’t as much about tests, and about what we can order or subscribe for our patients, but about lifestyle and risk factor modification,” says Forman.

Forman says that one of the biggest common denominators amongst his patients was that the “American lifestyle is not good. One of the things I tell my patients is that living in America is not exercise.”

Another important thing men can do is focus on dietary aspects of their life. “I try and focus more on wellness but weight does follow and is a factor. Obesity is a bigger problem in America. Plant-based diets are proven to help prevent heart disease. The Mediterranean diet is one of the most well-known diets. Studies have shown a 30% reduction in risk of heart disease using a Mediterranean diet versus western diet,” says Forman.

Overall, lifestyle and dietary concerns should be top of mind for men. Heart disease is a serious health concern, and Forman emphasizes that “most men and most people realize that the most common cause of death is cardiovascular disease.” They just need to remember to be proactive about these concerns.