The American lifestyle is the biggest threat that our nation faces today.

Better treatments are saving and preserving lives, however, lifestyle and overall health does not account for any drop in fatalities due to cardiovascular illness.

Lives may be saved but the quality of life enjoyed on an expensive diet of pharmaceuticals comes with it’s own disadvantages.

The authors of the report, which appears online Dec. 15 in the journal Circulation, looked at seven markers of cardiovascular health: smoking, weight, exercise, diet, cholesterol, blood pressure and fasting blood sugar levels, as well as whether or not a person had a diagnosis of heart disease.

Using those criteria, 94 percent of U.S. adults — that’s almost everyone — have at least one risk factor for heart disease. For example, one-third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure while 15 percent have high cholesterol.

American’s demand for fast food and sedentary entertainment is undoing the health of men, women and children nation wide.

Americans are getting fatter.

At the rate we’re going 83 percent of American men will be overweight or obese by 2020 followed by women at 72 percent projected to be overweight or obese by then, as well.

The implications go far beyond tight pants and groaning sofas. Obesity is a big risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Imagining an America of overweight, unhealthy people gives public health officials the willies. And it should be frightening to us civilians, too.

Naturally occurring high testosterone can protect the heart of older men.

Findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that of 2,400 Swedish men in their 70s and 80s, those with the highest testosterone levels were less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke over the next several years than men with the lowest levels

Low testosterone may be a marker of other health conditions that put men at higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Nighttime leg activity or restless legs during sleep could be more than just annoying, it could be a sign of something more serious.

Men who jerked and flexed their legs involuntarily at night were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease in a new study of sleep and chronic disease in the 65-and-up crowd.

During a one-night sleep assessment, more than two-thirds of men had the involuntary movements, which usually occur in the foot or at the ankle or hip joint, and most of them woke up during the night because of it.

Eating baked or broiled fish might just add years to your life by protecting your heart from cardio-vascular disease.

The key, however, is how you cook the fish.

Deep frying and heavy batters won’t do the job.

Make sure that fish is baked or broiled and not loaded with heavy sauces or accompanied by french fries or other fried and greasy sides.

The study followed the eating habits and health of about 85,000 postmenopausal women for an average of 10 years. Compared to women who rarely or never ate fish, those who ate five or more servings per week had a 30% lower risk of developing heart failure—but only if the fish was baked or broiled.

Try an easy and heart healthy Broiled Salmon and Quinoa salad dinner. Delicious and nutritious!