About 4 years ago my father went through a rather stressful time with his job. He was in and out of the country for work on a weekly basis. One day we received a call from a hospital in Johannesburg telling us that he fainted on the airplane. Although funny at first, since he is a man's man and DOES NOT FAINT OR CRY. We took it very seriously. He denied that anything was wrong with him and made all sorts of excuses as to what made him faint.

Following the incident over 5months he fainted twice more on the airplane with signs of bad blood pressure. The doctors couldn't really point out what was wrong with him. That December he went for a angiogram that confirmed 80% of his main artery was blocked. The doctor said he needed to get open heart surgery or he has no more that 2 months to live. He got the surgery and healed up pretty well, since then he took the necessary steps to live healthier!

Here are some basic pointers to look after your heart and your health!

> Know your blood pressure
> Don’t smoke. If you smoke, try to quit
> Get tested for diabetes
> Have your cholesterol and triglyceride levels tested. Your doctor may advise you to lower them
> Maintain a healthy diet and active lifestyle
> Limit alcohol to no more than 1 drink a day
> Find healthy ways to cope with stress

Think Red for yourself, your family and your future!

If you want more technical details and a good read you can visit the Think Red website HERE

Hope this helps and that at least a couple of people get into healthy living! If you have any onther stories or pointers to share please feel free to do so as it could save a life!!