September 11, 2006
Did you know...?
September is National Cholesterol Education Month.
Why is your cholesterol level important to know? High blood cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States. Nearly 65 million Americans have high cholesterol. Each year more than a million Americans have heart attacks, and about a half million people die from heart disease. High blood cholesterol itself does not cause symptoms so many people are unaware that their cholesterol level is too high. It is important to find out what your cholesterol numbers are and then begin a program to help reduce your cholesterol if necessary. For every 10% that you lower your LDL cholesterol, your risk of a heart attack goes down by about 15%.
A study conducted in 2005 shows that workers on shift duty have higher cholesterol levels than their 8-5pm counter parts. Shift duty is defined as work at times other than normal daylight hours of approximately 7:00 A.M, to 6:00 P.M. Estimates of the number of people doing shift work range from 10% to 25% of all those employed. Almost all occupations or industries have employees engaged in shift work. Employers who work shift duty must work a little bit harder to reduce cholesterol levels.
Lifestyle is crucial for lowering cholesterol. However it's not enough to tell people it's important—you have to help them do it. Americans have to learn to change their diets to include heart-healthy eating, become more physically active, and have better control over their weight. Eating a heart-healthy diet means reducing saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol in order to lower LDL, the “bad” cholesterol. The typical American diet can be boosted by adding soluble fiber and plant stanols and sterols, substances derived from plants that help block cholesterol absorption. In addition to eating a heart-healthy diet, activity can also reduce cholesterol. Lack of physical activity is an important risk factor for heart disease. Inactivity contributes to weight gain and raises LDL as well as lowering HDL, the “good” cholesterol. Regular physical activity raises HDL cholesterol which will in turn help lower LDL and triglyceride levels and reduce body fat and unnecessary extra weight.
Simply put, steps you can take to lower your blood cholesterol or keep it low: Follow a low saturated fat, low-cholesterol diet, be more physically active, and lose weight if you are overweight. For some people following a heart-healthy diet, exercising and losing weight may not be enough to lower cholesterol. Visit with a health care professional for further information about how to reduce cholesterol if lifestyle modifications are not enough to reduce cholesterol levels to a healthy level.
To learn more about cholesterol point your browser to: http://rover.nhlbi.nih.gov/chd.
To learn more about how OHS-COMPCARE can help your company with Preventive Health programs contact our Client Services Team at (816) 561-2105 or by e-mail at customerservice@ohscompcare.com. You can also visit us at www.ohscompcare.com.
*Please feel free to forward this information to any member of management in your company who would benefit from it.*
OHS-COMPCARE has eight (8) area clinical facilities:
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Blue Springs Clinical Facility |
Independence Clinical Facility |
Johnson County Clinical Facility |
St. Joseph Clinical Facility |
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801 NW St. Mary’s Drive |
17020 East 40 Highway |
10415 Lackman Road |
904 Edmond Street |
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Blue Springs, MO 64104 |
Independence, MO 64055 |
Lenexa, KS 66219 |
St. Joseph, MO 64501 |
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816-224-9121 |
816-478-9299 |
913-495-9905 |
816-233-7702 |
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*New Extended Hours* |
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KCMO/Broadway Clinical Facility |
KCMO/Front Street Clinical Facility |
Wyandotte County Clinical Facility |
Grandview Clinical Facility ***now open*** |
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1650 Broadway |
6501 East Commerce, Suite 110 |
1333 Meadowlark Lane, Suite 200 |
13830 S Us Highway 71 |
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Kansas City, MO 64108 |
Kansas City, MO 64120 |
Kansas City, KS 66102 |
Grandview, MO 64030 |
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816-842-2020 |
816-483-5550 |
913-596-2774 |
816-761-4664 |