MAN Alive today outs the vast host of young Irish men who are closet believers in Tir na nOg. Innumerable clandestine devotees aged between 18 and 40 believe they needn't bother looking after their heart. Others acknowledge the need to look after it, but like St Augustine say "Not yet."
"Every man is immortal until it happens to them," says Prof Ian Graham, consultant cardiologist at the Adelaide and Meath hospitals. "Irish people have trouble personalising it. Heart disease wipes out the size of a small town every year. It's a million times bigger than mad cow disease."
Lap up the fat, lads. Stick at your desk. Feck the after lunch walk. Drag deep on that cig. Open the belt another notch - cost money to put that there. Sure another pint won't harm you: is it any wonder that Irish men have the highest rate of death from coronary heart disease in the European Union". Heart disease kills more Irish men of all ages than any other disease. Last year, 7,265 men in the Republic died from it - that's roughly equal to the total number of soldiers in the Irish Army, barring the Western Command. Wiped out. Cause of death: preventable.
Real Men Get Heart Disease - You May Be One! is the theme of the second Irish Heart Week which starts next Monday. Organised by the Irish Heart Foundation, it aims to help younger men realise that the decisions they make today will have immediate consequences for the quality and longevity of their lives.
Sleek young men with the circulation - of a Lamborghini too often arrive at the pits of middle age with the cough and splutter of a clapped out wreck. Men who preen their cars with tender loving care can fail to take their own bodies out for a run. They shovel all kinds of smoke, dirt and low grade fuel into their system, drive their bodies at 60 mph when they're in second gear and ignore recommended checks of cholesterol and blood pressure. The bodies they have are the bodies they'll be stuck with for the rest of their lives. Mayday, Mayday, this isn't an exercise. Only one trip round the merry go round.
To look better, feel better and have more energy, young men should exercise most days of the week for about 30 minutes a session; eat at least four portions of fruit and vegetables per day; cut down on fat and fries; stop smoking; have their blood pressure and cholesterol checked by a GP; and drink in moderation. For men, that's 21 units per week: one measure of spirits equals 1.5 units and a pint contains two units. The quota shouldn't be saved up for a weekend binge but be spread evenly over the week, incorporating some alcohol free days.
Family history is another factor in heart disease, but it isn't necessarily caused by congenital defects. Sometimes it's because adult children replicate unhealthy lifestyle behaviours practised in their family, such as lack of exercise, high salt intake, a high fat diet, smoking and over consumption of alcohol.
According to Dr Ciaran O'Boyle, Professor of Psychology at the Royal College of Surgeons, the fundamental issue is that behaviour causes heart disease: "Men see health as important but not urgent. The heart and blood vessels need activity. Yet many men sit on their butts all day." Job design and work pressures need to be looked at. Neither employers nor employees should be expected to be at their desk all day. Prof O'Boyle believes there are pay offs for employers in providing a walking or jogging track or running aerobics classes.
Irish men aged between 24 and 40 have the highest intake of fat of any group in Ireland, according to the National Nutrition Survey (1990) conducted by the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute (INDI).
Sally Ann McGrath, a member of INDI and a dietitian with the Irish Heart Foundation, says saturated fats should be used very sparingly. We should cut the fat off meat and the skin off chicken. Two custard creams contains as much as one mini butter worth of fat. A sausage roll contains the equivalent fat of three mini butters.
While some medical experts have disputed the extent to which diet is a contributory factor in heart disease, there's a strong consensus that it does play a role. Yet the message has been slow in getting through to young men.
The Happy Heart national survey (1994) showed that half of men aged 30-49 ate less than one portion of fruit or vegetables per day while only 8 per cent ate the recommended four or more portions per day.
Four out of 10 men ate fried foods twice or more a week while three in every 10 ate more than one take away each week. Interestingly, men's diets improved with marriage - confirming the view that men's health is often influenced by what women do.
If you've made it to this comma, your heart is still ticking. Thankfully. Bearing in mind that active men have half the risk of coronary heart disease as sedentary men, putting aside The Irish Times for a while and grabbing a little exercise could be a very welcome gift for your heart.