The Silent Killers; Is This Just a Myth? How to protect yourself.

Talk of the silent killer has many people worried specifically related to sudden deaths. In health though silent killers abound. For most of us the anxiety related to their impact on our lives is not one that is easily assuaged. In my own life, many friends, family members, and old classmates have died suddenly without any obvious antecedent illness. This unfortunately is more common among friends and family living in Ghana and other low and middle income countries.

The phenomenon is however not isolated to non-developed world settings though. Overall we are all aging and with age comes chronic diseases and their impact. Other than arthritis which comes with constant reminders as we attempt to engage in vigorous physical activities most diseases of aging are usually silent. These conditions do not produce warning symptoms until they start to cause significant damage to major organs.

The questions that people commonly ask is; “what can one do in such a situations”. Whilst most of the conditions of aging are usually silent they do have recognized signs and symptoms. Fortunately modern medicine has various ways by which such diseases can be diagnosed by age appropriate screening.

On that account even for our so-called ‘silent killers’ none of us needs to fly blind. The diseases and conditions classified into this group may differ but most people would recognize hypertension, heart disease and diabetes among these silent killers. Others do include prostate and ovarian cancer but for the purposes of this post I would exclude these two. I must say though that I addressed the subject of breast cancer and prostate cancer in prior posts.

Hypertension

Hypertension is the most common condition among the common causes of sudden death. This condition affects more than 50% of people of African descent above the age 40 years. I have seen patients in their 20s with hypertension so screening definitely must start early. Early screening is especially useful among those who are overweight, obese or have diabetes.

If identified early hypertension can be managed appropriately and as such reduce the risk of complications. These complication include permanent organ damage such as stroke, kidney, or heart failure . Poorly controlled hypertension does increase one’s chances of dying of a stroke or heart attack, two common conditions described as silent killers.

Screening for hypertension is fortunately universal, As far as I know no one older than 18 years can escape such a screen in any formal health encounter. I still hear people say they were unaware they were hypertensive. The truth is most people just easily forget unpleasant news especially if it requires them to take action they are not ready for.

Heart Disease

Heart disease sometimes called ischemic heart disease by doctors is definitely the most feared among the silent killers. This condition unfortunately killed many who were totally unaware of their condition. For some this may be as dramatic as one shearing gripping pain that leads to the grave or an ICU admission. This disease once called the widow maker can proudly take the name silent killer without any argument. I would like to however revise the name widow maker to widow and widower maker. In this era of gender equity diseases have also heard our ladies’ cry for equality and are making sure there is equal opportunity to die!

Actually for this condition some believe our ladies have some disadvantages. The symptoms of women may sometimes be different from what is mostly recognized by physicians and could therefore be misdiagnosed. Nowadays though, all doctors are trained to be aware and be more careful when taking care of women so as not to miss what we call atypical signs and symptoms.

Heart Attack Prevention Tips – Courtesy of Today’s Healthy Tips

The question that may be running through many minds at this time may be so what can a person do? This is one area where prevention can slow things down or make the consequences less tragic. Stopping smoking, sleeping well, low cholesterol diet and exercise are recognized as a means of reducing one’s risk of dying of heart disease.

For those of us who have family history of heart attacks or whose cholesterol may be too high we have to be extra careful. Many of us will need medications that lower cholesterol to help us. There are special calculators that have been developed through medical research. These can help health care professionals advice you about your risk and provide appropriate recommendations.

Diabetes

Today in America and around the world cases of Diabetes are on the increase. This is mostly due to changes in our diet and physical activity. Unfortunately, most of us have cars, and motorized scooters abound, further reducing our opportunities for physical activity our daily lives. We also have the problem of abundant cheap high calorie foods. The consumption of such foods can rise to a form of addiction for some of us. This is definitely a perfect storm for an epidemic of obesity and diabetes. Thus our current situation is not a surprise to anyone. Diabetes on its own can lead to heart disease, stroke and is the commonest cause of kidney failure.

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The rise in cases of diabetes in the US and worldwide is mostly related to diet and exercise. That means we can turn back the clock on this problem. To start that, we go back to eating more natural foods and avoid processed foods. Every adult above age 45 years and anyone who is overweight or obese needs a test called hemoglobin A1c done at least once a year to screen for Type 2 Diabetes. The normal test should give you a value < 5.7% anything above that is abnormal and if your number is 6.5% or higher you have diabetes and need appropriate treatment. Those between 5.7 and 6.5% have prediabetes and also need special care.

The key take home points I would like to leave with you are below;

Keep track of your health related numbers, BMI, blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, and make sure you follow your health professionals recommendations related to these.
Make sure your diet is diverse and as close to the farm as possible, the less processing of your food the better
Exercise when you can, ideally just start adding on daily habits that encourage more physical activity. Gym membership is great, but making it a habit to walk to the grocery store or climb the stairs rather than use the elevator would serve most of us better.
If you smoke quitting is the best thing you can do for both your physical and financial health, smoking robs you double.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read, but your future older self would be thanking you if you follow the simple advice.