Straight from the heart

Heart matters: Julian Smith will give tips on cardiac health. Picture: Ted Kloszynski

By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS

READY for a heart-to-heart about your health? Cardiac thoracic surgeon Julian Smith will be speaking at a free medical seminar in Springvale on Saturday.

Professor Smith, who works at MonashHeart in Clayton, says a sedentary lifestyle is a major cause of ill health.

Obesity and lack of exercise are the major factors for heart disease, one of the major killers in Australia. “The lifestyle of a lot of people is really quite sedentary and stressful. Add all this up, it leads to heart trouble. The important thing is to have a healthy lifestyle.”

There are also the “careful” ones who do the right things, but can’t escape a fateful family history of cardiac disease.

But for many, they don’t feel symptoms at first. “When you get shortness of breath or tiredness, this is often a symptom of diabetes. If you have lethargy, feel dizzy or have a racing heart palpitations, these can be signs of heart trouble.”

Professor Smith appears with endocrinologist Shilpa Verma, cardiologist Omar Farouque and neurologist Tissa Wijeratne at the seminar.

The event is organised by Aus Audio Visual Arts Association. It’s at Springvale Town Hall supper room on Saturday from 1-5pm.

Details: Vajira, 0401 178 436.

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