Do fries supersize your risk?
It’s not a lovely day in your neighborhood if your block is packed with fast-food eateries, say researchers from the University of Michigan. Here’s what they found:

• People who live in neighborhoods with the highest number of fast-food restaurants are 13 percent more likely to suffer a stroke than those who don’t live near burger-and-fry joints.
• The risk of stroke increases 1 percent for each fastfood restaurant in the neighborhood. The researchers don’t know whether the restaurants themselves raise stroke risks or if the eateries are just more apt to pop up in unhealthy neighborhoods. Either way, if you find yourself pulling up to the drive-through, bypass the burger and order a salad or a grilled chicken sandwich.

Air pollution: Exercise with caution
If you live in an area with polluted air, that after-dinner walk could do more harm than good, says the American Lung Association (ALA). Why? When we exercise, we breathe more deeply, mostly through the mouth. This bypasses the natural filtering function of the nasal passages, making us more vulnerable to the damage air pollutants can cause. Breathing lead, fine particles and gasses such as ozone and carbon monoxide can increase the odds of developing health problems like heart or lung disease, especially for older adults and children. The ALA recommends these tips to deflect the damage: Avoid midday or afternoon outdoor activities, when pollution levels tend to be highest. Steer clear of congested streets. Up to 50 feet from the roadway, pollution can be high. Skip outdoor workouts if health officials issue a high-ozone alert or other health warning.

Stroke signs: Still a mystery to many
Quick, list the warning signs of stroke. Give up? Many people, especially those most likely to suffer a stroke, don’t know the signs, according to researchers at the International Stroke Conference in San Diego. They polled more than 86,000 people and found that fewer than two in five knew these important stroke warning signs:

• sudden weakness in the face, arm or leg
• sudden severe headache with no known cause
• sudden vision problems in one or both eyes
• sudden confusion or difficulty speaking
• sudden dizziness, loss of balance, loss of coordination or problems walking

Many also didn’t know to call for emergency medical assistance immediately. Your job: Memorize those warning signs, as the faster you’re treated for stroke, the better your odds of surviving and limiting disability.

Make midlife changes for your heart's sake
Midlife isn't too late to start making heart-smart changes, say researchers from Medical University of South Carolina after a 12-year study of nearly 16,000 people, ages 45–64. Adopting new lifestyle behaviors—eating at least five fruits and vegetables every day, exercising two and a half hours a week, not smoking and maintaining a body mass index between 18.5 and 30—resulted in 35 percent fewer cardiovascular disease incidents and a 40 percent lower mortality rate than people with less healthy behaviors.

Hypertension's other consequences

Experts say that keeping your blood pressure under control is imperative to avoid heart attack and stroke. But did you know that, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, high blood pressure, or hypertension, may also cause:

• your heart to enlarge, which may lead to heart failure
• aneurysms—small bulges—to form in arteries in the brain, legs and intestines; in blood vessels, particularly in the aorta, the heart's main artery; and in the artery leading to the spleen
• the kidneys' blood vessels to narrow, which may cause kidney failure
• arteries throughout the body to "harden" faster, especially those in the heart, brain, kidneys and legs, possibly leading to partial leg amputation; kidney failure; heart attack; and stroke
• blood vessels in the eyes to burst or bleed, potentially causing vision changes or blindness

Pumping iron improves heart health
If you have cardiovascular disease, lifting weights-or pumping iron-is no longer a banned activity.  Weight lifting can provide you with multiple benefits if you work out within guidelines, says an updated American Heart Association (AHA) statement. When undertaking a resistance training program, the AHA recommends you:

• Perform exercises rhythmically at a slow to moderate speed.
• Exhale during the exertion of lifting and inhale during relaxation instead of holding your breath and straining.
• Alternate between upper-and lower-body training.
• See your doctor before beginning a weight-training program.

Soft drinks may be hard for your heart
Enjoying a can of diet soda will help you avoid the 150 or so empty calories in 12 ounces of regular soda. However, diet or not, soda is associated with a 44 percent increased risk over four years of developing a group of cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors known as metabolic syndrome. Framingham Heart Study researchers observed more than 6,000 participants, comparing those who consumed less than one soft drink a day with those who consumed one or more. Soda drinkers paid for their pleasure with higher blood sugar, lower levels of HDL (good) cholesterol, more abdominal fat and elevated triglycerides. Authors of the study, published in the journal Circulation, emphasize that diet soft drinks don't cause an increased heart disease risk but that the link between the two needs to be explored.

Good nutrition important at any age
We should eat right at every stage of life, but this is especially true for older adults. Most don't get all the nutrients they need, which can lead to malnutrition. They could be depressed, have difficulty chewing or take medicines that suppress appetite. Not eating well can lead to digestive and heart problems, muscle weakness, a weakened immune system and a greater chance of infections. If you think a loved one may be malnourished, observe his or her eating habits and look for outward signs of malnutrition (easy bruising, poor wound healing, dental problems, weight loss). Or ask your loved one's physician to test his or her protein levels, which can help spot malnutrition.

The buzz on energy drinks
Energy drinks are the perfect way to give you some added oomph, right? Not if you have a heart problem. While many of the drinks claim to help your concentration, rev up your metabolism and boost your athletic performance, they may really only deliver a whole lot of sugar and caffeine. Excessive caffeine consumption has been tied to higher heartbeat rates, high blood pressure, anxiety, headaches, sleep problems and dehydration. And although some drinks' labels warn people with heart ailments or those under age 18 to avoid them, not all drinks do. A better energy bet? Trail mix and a glass of low-fat milk or diluted juice.

Roll up your sleeves and donate
Maybe you just never thought about giving blood. Or maybe you wanted to donate but were too busy. Whatever the reason, now is the time to do it. Log on to the American Red Cross' blood donation site at www.givelife.org to find a blood drive near you. Or just head to your local blood bank-most don't require an appointment. Check out www.aabb.org to find a blood bank near you. Need more inspiration? Check out these facts about donating blood, courtesy of America's Blood Centers:

• Thirty-eight percent of Americans are eligible to donate blood, but fewer than 10 percent actually do every year. To give, you must be at least 16 or 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in overall good health. Certain conditions, such as pregnancy, make you ineligible.
• You can't get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood.
• Blood can be separated into different parts: red blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate.

These lifesaving components can help everyone from burn victims to cancer patients.