Changes in Diet and Exercise Can Make a Big Difference Within Six Months of ACS

And if the fat people and/or smokers who took money from the public coffers for their treatment do not make those changes, make them pay it back.

Changes to a patient's eating, exercise, and smoking habits should be prioritized as high as adherence to a drug regimen following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), according to the authors of a new international study on lifestyle changes following ACS [1].

The study shows that the benefits of improving diet, exercising more, and quitting smoking are additive and can reduce a patient's risk within six months if the patient sticks with it, "justifying a significant investment in establishing programs that systematically enhance early lifestyle modification and secondary prevention," study authors Dr Clara Chow (McMaster University, Hamilton, ON) and colleagues report in the February 1, 2010 issue of Circulation.

The rest of us should not be burdened with the costs of the irresponsible behaviors of the fat, the fat smokers and the smokers.