By adopting a Mediterranean diet and regular exercise, the average man can cut his risk of cardiovascular disease almost in half.Olga Peshkova/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
We all know we’re going to die. But what steps are we prepared to take to postpone the inevitable?
Consider men in “average” health, currently between ages 60 and 76. I’ve defined “average” as being a few pounds overweight, a non-smoker, slightly elevated levels of both blood pressure and LDLs (meaning “bad” cholesterol). How much risk of serious heart trouble do men like this face over a 10-year period? And how much can that risk be reduced by taking certain positive steps?
To answer these questions, I used a risk calculator that was recommended by my doctor; it can be found at decisionaid.ca/cvd. Readers might want to try it.
Unsurprisingly, the higher the starting age, the greater the 10-year risk. More interesting is the extent to which the risk can be reduced by doing the right things. For instance, a 66-year-old male would have about a 20-per-cent chance of developing serious heart problems over the next 10 years of his life if he does nothing to mitigate risk. By adopting a Mediterranean diet and regular exercise, however, he can cut his risk almost in half.
If he also starts taking a low dose of statins, he would further reduce his risk to just 8 per cent. Note that a 76-year-old male can dial back his risk to the same level as his 60-year-old counterpart by adopting regular exercise, a Mediterranean diet and a low dose of statins.
Clearly, lifestyle changes and medication can make a significant difference in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, even if one is starting from a position of relatively good health. Reducing health risk can be as important as reducing financial risk when planning for retirement.
Frederick Vettese is former chief actuary of Morneau Shepell and author of the PERC retirement calculator (perc-pro.ca)