Cut and paste from the first page of this week's BetterU program...

When talking heart health, weaknesses are known as risk factors. Risk factors are a variety of conditions or behaviors that increase your chance of developing heart disease and stroke. Some risk factors you have no control of like:

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Age
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Race
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Family history

Others, you can control by choosing to make changes to your lifestyle:

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High blood pressure
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Smoking
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High cholesterol
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Physical inactivity
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Obesity or being overweight
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Diabetes

Reading this brought me back to the initial health screening we did a week ago last Saturday. Tara, a heart and vascular specialist with Alegent Health, drew some blood and combined those results with some other information and, according to her "Cardiovascular Risk Assessment", I am in the "moderate" risk level to develop cardiovascular disease.

There are 11 categories that you are scored on from 0 to 4. 0=good, 4=not so good. There are categories that I can't change...

I'm pre-menopausal (0 pts); I'm 43 (2 pts); Family history (3 pts)... so right away I start with 5.

I should mention that 0 to 13 points is considered "low" risk.

So anyway, the other categories are things I can, and will, change.

Some I'm good with... I have 7 or less (way less for me) drinks a week (0 pts); I have blood pressure less than 135/85 (0 pts); quit smoking (1 pt... if you've ever smoked in your life, no matter how much, you get 1 pt); diabetes... Tara and I decided on "blood sugar unknown" (1 pt), my blood sugar was somewhat high that morning, but there were probable reasons for it, I can monitor that on my own; next was stress, tough one... I have 6 kids, all at home, remember? so I went with "moderate stress on a daily basis" (2 pts); cholesterol, my numbers were a tad high (3 pts); exercise, no exercise, but relatively active (3 pts); and finally, weight... UGH!!! 50 or more pounds overweight (4 POINTS!!).

So, there you have it. I total to 19 points right now. Like I said, I start with 5 so that leaves 14 in the "changeable" category. I have a couple of 0's and the smoking "1" I can't change, so I have 5 categories to drop points. I can lower my cholesterol, I can exercise more, I can alleviate some stress, I can lose weight.

All of those "can"s can and will be "WILL"s... I WILL lower my cholesterol! I WILL exercise more! The kids WILL go back to school =) ! I WILL LOSE WEIGHT!!!!!!

The goal I set with Tara is to only have 13 points when I come back in October. I WILL have no more than 13 points in October.

Here's to having the WILLpower...

"Indie"