Why We Should Talk About Matters of the Heart

Photo Courtesy / Sean McGrath

College students are an interesting population to study when it comes potential health risks. Think about it.

Most college students do not get enough quality sleep; A 2014 University of Michigan study showed that 70 percent of college students do not get a sufficient amount of sleep. Additionally, a study from Northwestern Medicine and Northeastern Illinois University found over 60 percent of college students do not exercise enough. Because of our busy schedules, it can be difficult to prepare hearty, healthy foods that will give us the energy we need throughout the day.

Not to mention, the stress that college students endure, whether it is caused by classes, jobs or other responsibilities, can take a physical toll on our bodies. And if this typical image of the college student does not apply to you, it probably applies to a fellow student or friend.

Risk for disease is sometimes put on the back burner, and college students do what they can to succeed academically, whether it be sacrificing sleep or downing copious amounts of coffee.

Usually, this idea of invincibility wanes as we enter adulthood, but nonetheless our concerns for aging are not as prominent as they should be.

A study from the Centers of Disease Control released earlier this September stated that three out of four U.S. adults have a predicted heart age that is actually older than their chronological age. Not only do we have difficulty keeping up with our daily schedules, but it seems like we also have problems keeping up with our own heart!

Of course, a higher predicted heart age significantly increases risk for heart diseases like heart attacks and strokes.

According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States, killing more than 600,000 people per year. Heart age was predicted by risks such as high blood pressure, smoking status, diabetes and body mass index, an indicator of obesity.  

A 2002 study in the Journal of American College Health by Dr. Leslie Spencer screened risk factors in traditional college students for heart disease. She found that more than half of the students screened consumed poor diets that were high in saturated fats, participated in binge drinking, had parental risk for high cholesterol and high blood pressure, did not engage in cardiovascular exercise and reported high stress levels.

All of these factors increase risk for heart disease later in life, according to Mayo Clinic.

The key take away is that we can exert a lot of influence on our personal risk for heart disease.

Dr. Tom Frieden, director of America’s public health agency of the CDC said it is “heartbreaking to lose just one patient to a preventable disease.”

We can, however, take matters of the heart seriously while we are still young by eating healthy, exercising regularly and lowering stress levels.

Our success, future plans and happiness will not be as satisfying if we are not living healthy lives.

As St. Thomas Aquinas asserts in his Summa Theologiae, the “goods of the body,” or health, is a means to an end, which is happiness.  

It is time to be more proactive in our aging process! How we treat our bodies now will inevitably influence how susceptible we are to diseases later.

Make an effort to eat balanced diets, exercise regularly and get enough rest. Talk to your doctor about what steps need to be taken if you perceive high risk factors in your life.