Living Life on Purpose

At the end of 2013 I sent a copy of ‘How to Make 2014 Your Best Year Ever’ to many of my clients.  I’m happy to send a copy online to anyone interested.  Here’s an example of some topics explained more fully in the booklet:

• Celebrate two important things from the previous 12 months
• Eliminate the mosquitoes in your life
• Use adventure to create happiness
• Laugh more
• Use the 90/10 rule for happiness
• Ask ‘Power Questions’ to create happiness.

At this time of year people are often more motivated to wellness.  The waterfront around Wellington harbour is abuzz with physical activity.  People are relaxed and the weather less inclement.

But the real reason for this week’s theme is a letter I received with regard to my risk factor for heart attack or stroke – from my G.P.  I could be cynical and question the motivation (part of a Ministry of Health initiative) or question why I hadn’t been receiving annual recommendations to review my health.  Why now!  It may simply be my impending 65^th birthday – never mind, I’ll attend as ‘the letter’ says I have a 16% risk factor.  I send these sorts of letters and risk factor ratios out to people with regard personal insurance needs and personal financial needs – I can hardly complain, after all it may result in an extension of my own life.

However, does my G. P. really understand my health or my lifestyle and is he truly capable of preventative advice – or is he likely to prescribe medication due to his perceived (and professionally supported) risk factors.  Factors such as family history, height weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, exercise, alcohol consumption, smoking, diet, anti oxidant and vitamin supplement.  It is over 5 years since I have seen my G.P. and up until receipt of this letter – all visits have been initiated by me.  But I don’t ignore wellness – I complete full, exercising ECG’s and complete health checks biannually – and have done for over 20 years.  I have to admit that 30 years of smoking has affected my lung capacity and years of loud music and industrial machinery has affected my hearing and my eyes are not exactly 20:20.  So what’s the doc going to tell me.  Well, let me guess and I’ll keep you posted after the visit.

He will want to lower my cholesterol – probably by medication.  Here’s my beef – over 10 years ago I was introduced to Dr Ross Walker a cardiologist with a private practice in Australia.  He specialises in echo cardiology and preventative cardiology.  He lectures preventative cardiology to a wide range of groups in the community interested in health, diet and exercise.  Dr Walker is in the process of establishing the first service in Australia (when I was introduced to him over 10 years ago) for Electron Beam Tomography which is the most accurate method available for detecting heart disease in its early stages.  His training in echo cardiology has been in the Prince Henry Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney;  Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane; the University of Bonn, Germany; the Thorax Centre, Rotterdam, Holland.  He writes books and provides material for wellness – heart disease, smoking, exercise tips, cancer, stress, diet, supplements, filtered water.  We could loosely call him an expert.

Dr Walker told me the following:

Daniel is a 50 year old cardiac surgeon.  He plays squash once a week, has a stressful life, apart from feeling tired, is pretty fit.  His cholesterol is normal, his blood pressure is 120 over 80 and he hasn’t smoked for 15 years.  Both of his parents are still alive and in their 80s.  Daniel was visiting friends in San Francisco and had read in one of the prestigious cardiology journals about a new and extremely accurate test to predict future heart disease known as High Speed Gated Coronary Computer Tomography.  This test scans through the heart in around 30 seconds and photographs the arteries.  The scanner then measures the amount of calcium build up in the arteries.  Calcium is an accurate marker for fat content.  The computer gives a score which indicates the absence or presence of coronary artery disease and its severity.  A zero score means no disease and a close to zero chance of developing any in the next 5 to 10 years.  1-10 is trivial disease.  10-100 indicated mild disease.  100-400 is moderate disease and greater than 400 indicated severe fat build up throughout the arteries.

Daniel made an appointment at San Francisco to have a scan performed and you can imagine his shock when he was told his score was 907.  One in three people with a heart attack are dead before they reach the hospital.  One in four people will suffer a heart attack at some stage in their life.

My question is this – why does NZ not own Tomography capability or strongly recommend it.  We fund G.P.’s (Ministry of Health Initiative) to continue with dated means of detecting an illness that is dramatically affecting so many New Zealand lives.  Over the last 30 years our lives have been revolutionised by technology.  Knowledge is power.  Our medical profession is focused to reactive health issues, many people are arriving at surgeries these days having ‘self diagnosed’ via Google.  It must frustrate our G.P.’s.  I could have some sympathy but that’s the world we live in.  Funding technology rather than subsidising our doctors is a bridge too far.  I guess ‘the letter’ is an attempt at proactive preventative medicine but we need up to date testing.

We shouldn’t expect it to be provided by the state, it is our responsibility.  So when running around the harbour or exercising at the gym consider: is the exercise appropriate having consideration for your heart and arteries, why exercise if your diet is crap, if you smoke and drink copious amounts of alcohol why bother exercising, you aren’t going to live long and if you live a stressful life due to financial pressures or employment issues, don’t you need to address all these factors.  Just a thought.  Happy New Year!

The information provided in this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. You may seek appropriate personalised financial advice from a qualified professional to suit your individual circumstances.