ons men die because the vast majority of men know that smoking is likely to cause this disease. They have given an implicit acceptance of this danger by smoking, despite the risk, in exchange for whatever psychological benefits derived, or because of an insurmountable dependency

Stupid Reason #1: The “Big One”

The number one killer in this country is the one we call THE BIG ONE. In the medical business it's called a “cardiovascular event.” THE BIG ONE is not some fun sporting match; THE BIG ONE means heart attacks and strokes. They create widows and nursing home residents. They are almost always the res

Men don’t take care of themselves. They don’t eat right. They push themselves too hard. If something’s wrong, they won’t tell anyone until they’re on death’s door. They keep worrisome signs and symptoms to themselves. They don't seem to care if they die young and leave their families fatherless and husbandless. It's too often true, but we guys have some admirable traits, too. We are brave, strong, reliable, and fierce in providing for and protecting our loved ones. Still, we really do die off quicker. So, as a physician, I have devoted a large part of my professional time working around the average man’s love of healthcare avoidance.

We encourage our boys to compete in every aspect of life, in school, in sports, in business. The high-earning executive, the lawyer--yeah, the doctor, too--they're all considered a "catch" by both genders. How many men really respect another who's chosen a low-stress/low-paying job because he seeks "personal fulfillment"? And what father would rather his daughter marry a grocery clerk than a high-earning investor?

Yet the grocery clerk may have less job stress and might be able to participate more extensively in the lives of his wife and children. Helping men live longer and healthier begins with understanding our competitive nature, and I would refer any interested reader, man or woman, to two brilliant and eye-opening books by Warren Farrell, PhD: Why Men Are the Way They Are and The Myth of Male Power.

So what does it take to make the list of stupid reasons for dying? I chose each member of this list for having one of the following two qualities:

Each illness either kills a huge number of people despite the presence of adequate screening and prevention or...

It represents a very uncommon cause of death, but one that is extremely obvious and easy to avoid.

You will likely recall many people, famous, family, or friend, who have died in their prime from one of these five causes. We'll look at each one separately, but first here's my short list of Stupid Reasons Men Die:
1. Dying of Heart Attack or Stroke because you ignored treatable risk factors.
2. Dying of Colon Cancer because of fear of sticking anything there.
3. Dying of Prostate Cancer because you never got the blood test.
4. Dying of Malignant Melanoma because you thought it was a beauty mark.
5. Dying of Sleep Apnea because snoring is just snoring.

Lung cancer is not listed as one of the stupid reasons men die because the vast majority of men know that smoking is likely to cause this disease. They have given an implicit acceptance of this danger by smoking, despite the risk, in exchange for whatever psychological benefits derived, or because of an insurmountable dependency

Stupid Reason #1: The “Big One”

The number one killer in this country is the one we call THE BIG ONE. In the medical business it's called a “cardiovascular event.” THE BIG ONE is not some fun sporting match; THE BIG ONE means heart attacks and strokes. They create widows and nursing home residents. They are almost always the resu

healthcare avoidance.

We encourage our boys to compete in every aspect of life, in school, in sports, in business. The high-earning executive, the lawyer--yeah, the doctor, too--they're all considered a "catch" by both genders. How many men really respect another who's chosen a low-stress/low-paying job because he seeks "personal fulfillment"? And what father would rather his daughter marry a grocery clerk than a high-earning investor?

Yet the grocery clerk may have less job stress and might be able to participate more extensively in the lives of his wife and children. Helping men live longer and healthier begins with understanding our competitive nature, and I would refer any interested reader, man or woman, to two brilliant and eye-opening books by Warren Farrell, PhD: Why Men Are the Way They Are and The Myth of Male Power.

So what does it take to make the list of stupid reasons for dying? I chose each member of this list for having one of the following two qualities:

Each illness either kills a huge number of people despite the presence of adequate screening and prevention or...

It represents a very uncommon cause of death, but one that is extremely obvious and easy to avoid.

You will likely recall many people, famous, family, or friend, who have died in their prime from one of these five causes. We'll look at each one separately, but first here's my short list of Stupid Reasons Men Die:
1. Dying of Heart Attack or Stroke because you ignored treatable risk factors.
2. Dying of Colon Cancer because of fear of sticking anything there.
3. Dying of Prostate Cancer because you never got the blood test.
4. Dying of Malignant Melanoma because you thought it was a beauty mark.
5. Dying of Sleep Apnea because snoring is just snoring.

Lung cancer is not listed as one of the stupid reasons men die because the vast majority of men know that smoking is likely to cause this disease. They have given an implicit acceptance of this danger by smoking, despite the risk, in exchange for whatever psychological benefits derived, or because of an insurmountable dependency

Stupid Reason #1: The “Big One”

The number one killer in this country is the one we call THE BIG ONE. In the medical business it's called a “cardiovascular event.” THE BIG ONE is not some fun sporting match; THE BIG ONE means heart attacks and strokes. They create widows and nursing home residents. They are almost always the res

er begins with understanding our competitive nature, and I would refer any interested reader, man or woman, to two brilliant and eye-opening books by Warren Farrell, PhD: Why Men Are the Way They Are and The Myth of Male Power.

So what does it take to make the list of stupid reasons for dying? I chose each member of this list for having one of the following two qualities:

Each illness either kills a huge number of people despite the presence of adequate screening and prevention or...

It represents a very uncommon cause of death, but one that is extremely obvious and easy to avoid.

You will likely recall many people, famous, family, or friend, who have died in their prime from one of these five causes. We'll look at each one separately, but first here's my short list of Stupid Reasons Men Die:
1. Dying of Heart Attack or Stroke because you ignored treatable risk factors.
2. Dying of Colon Cancer because of fear of sticking anything there.
3. Dying of Prostate Cancer because you never got the blood test.
4. Dying of Malignant Melanoma because you thought it was a beauty mark.
5. Dying of Sleep Apnea because snoring is just snoring.

Lung cancer is not listed as one of the stupid reasons men die because the vast majority of men know that smoking is likely to cause this disease. They have given an implicit acceptance of this danger by smoking, despite the risk, in exchange for whatever psychological benefits derived, or because of an insurmountable dependency

Stupid Reason #1: The “Big One”

The number one killer in this country is the one we call THE BIG ONE. In the medical business it's called a “cardiovascular event.” THE BIG ONE is not some fun sporting match; THE BIG ONE means heart attacks and strokes. They create widows and nursing home residents. They are almost always the res

y recall many people, famous, family, or friend, who have died in their prime from one of these five causes. We'll look at each one separately, but first here's my short list of Stupid Reasons Men Die:
1. Dying of Heart Attack or Stroke because you ignored treatable risk factors.
2. Dying of Colon Cancer because of fear of sticking anything there.
3. Dying of Prostate Cancer because you never got the blood test.
4. Dying of Malignant Melanoma because you thought it was a beauty mark.
5. Dying of Sleep Apnea because snoring is just snoring.

Lung cancer is not listed as one of the stupid reasons men die because the vast majority of men know that smoking is likely to cause this disease. They have given an implicit acceptance of this danger by smoking, despite the risk, in exchange for whatever psychological benefits derived, or because of an insurmountable dependency

Stupid Reason #1: The “Big One”

The number one killer in this country is the one we call THE BIG ONE. In the medical business it's called a “cardiovascular event.” THE BIG ONE is not some fun sporting match; THE BIG ONE means heart attacks and strokes. They create widows and nursing home residents. They are almost always the res

ons men die because the vast majority of men know that smoking is likely to cause this disease. They have given an implicit acceptance of this danger by smoking, despite the risk, in exchange for whatever psychological benefits derived, or because of an insurmountable dependency

Stupid Reason #1: The “Big One”

The number one killer in this country is the one we call THE BIG ONE. In the medical business it's called a “cardiovascular event.” THE BIG ONE is not some fun sporting match; THE BIG ONE means heart attacks and strokes. They create widows and nursing home residents. They are almost always the result of so-called “hardening of the arteries,” a very complex process medically referred to as Atherosclerotic Arterial Disease. Men typically develop hardening of the arteries earlier in life than do women. A lot of this has been attributed to the apparently protective effects of the female hormone, estrogen, since it’s not until after menopause that the female arteries start to catch up to men. There are a number of risk factors well known to be associated with heart attacks that should be addressed in every man over the age of 30, and even younger men with family history of heart attack or stroke.

The Major Cadiovascular (CV) Risk Factors

1.Hardening of the Arteries. The biggest risk factor is a “yes” answer to this question: Does this person already have hardening of the arteries? People who have already had a heart attack or stroke are at increased risk to have one in the future. People with hardening of their coronary arteries (they feed the heart) or their carotid arteries (they feed the brain) are next in line.

2. A family history of heart disease or stroke among brothers, sisters, parents and children, and to a lesser degree among grandparents and blood-related aunts and uncles, is the second biggest risk factor for THE BIG ONE. Regardless of whether a man has a perfect cholesterol level or blood pressure, if he has two brothers dead from heart attacks, he is a walking time bomb until tests prove otherwise.

3. Elevated Serum Cholesterol! Everyone in the country knows about this evil substance. It's on television, in our health magazines--just about anywhere people share their opinions, and it's fueled some of the most lucrative food and diet marketing strategies in history. And it’s wrong! The majority of people who experience heart attack or stroke have normal levels of cholesterol. Still, most of these victims likely would have fared much better had they been on cholesterol lowering drugs.

The patient's total cholesterol is best if below 200. More importantly, LDL (bad cholesterol) should be less than 130. HDL (good cholesterol) should be above 40 for men and above 50 for women. Triglyceride level should be below 150. This said, failure to treat elevated cholesterol by the most effective means--medication, can greatly contribute to the death of an otherwise healthy man.

4. High blood pressure, also called hypertension. Blood pressure, while necessary to keep blood flowing through the pipes, can be at a lev