After spending 25 years as a cardiovascular nurse and CEO of the Albert Heart and Stroke Foundation, Diana Krescy knows what’s good for your heart.
Plenty of exercise, low sodium diet, no smoking, healthy eating, low stress.

While these tenets have been preached for years, Krescy said she’s seeing the opposite. Poor diet and lack of exercise is becoming the norm for many Albertans – and at an increasingly younger age.

“The risk factors for heart disease are getting younger... the highest number of smokers is 20-year-old girls,” Krescy said. “That’s because we allowed the tobacco industry to market to children.”

Krescy was in Jasper as part of the annual ski for heart fundraiser, which aims to raise awareness about heart disease and stroke and encourage physical fitness.

Krescy said she visits Jasper often while on vacation, and said the active lifestyle sets a good example.

But within hospitals, she’s seeing disturbing trends.

The numbers for Albertans are sobering: 22 per cent still smoke; 47 per cent are inactive; 50 per cent are considered overweight or obese; 67 per cent don’t eat the recommended number of fruits and vegetables.

Children are showing the most disturbing trends, Krescy said, as this will be the first generation of offspring to have shorter lives than their parents.

“You see children six, ten, 12-years old and they’re suffering from high blood pressure, obesity and Type 2 diabetes,” Krescy said. But people have to realize these are the symptoms. Children are starting on cardiovascular problems so young, they’re having heart attacks in their 30’s.”

An overweight 12-year-old has the same vascular health as a 70-year-old smoker, Krescy said.

Heart and Stroke Foundation is currently pushing for strict food labelling rules to better highlight the amount of sodium one consumes. She said many people think they’re making healthy choices, but don’t pay attention to salt intake – a major contributing factor to heart disease.

Alberta has many of the top cardiologists in the country, and Krescy wants to keep it that way.

“We have funding for research and that’s what brings them here. The not-for profits support them, and if we stop supporting, they are going to leave,” Krescy said.

For Jasperites, Krescy warns against the ‘weekend warrior’ syndrome – those who engage in high levels of physical activity on the weekend, but lead unhealthy lives otherwise. Cutting sodium intake, checking blood pressure, cutting smoking are important measures.

While advances have been made in combating heart disease and stroke, much of heart health is centred around quality of life, Krescy said.

“We’re surviving, but not living well with heart disease,” Krescy said.