Top Five Men-Killers

Part of the reason why men die at higher rates from well known causes as heart disease, stroke, suicides and cancers is the well-set ideas of the society that boys and men are supposed to be tough, tolerate and ignore pain. This is the reason why men come to doctors less often than women although pain might be a signal to go and get a check-up which will be lifesaving in the future.

Here are top five men-killers and the ways to prevent them:

1.    Heart Disease. According to studies one in four men has some kind of heart disease, this is why twice as many men die from it than women. The main factors for heart disease are increasing age, male sex, family history, smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity and diabetes. While some of these reasons cannot be controlled, the others should be taken care of. Having an active lifestyle, eating the right food and giving up bad habits will significantly reduce the risk.
2.    Stroke. American Stroke Association says that there is not much difference between sexes for stroke death, but it is an important condition to consider because stroke is the third leading death cause in the U.S. after heart disease and different forms of cancer. The primary reason for a stroke is hypertension and it can be controlled with proper lifestyle (good diet and exercises) and treatment. The other reasons for stroke are: increasing age, personal history of stroke, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, smoking, physical inactivity, obesity, and abused alcohol.
3.    Suicide and Depression. Although women are considered to be more emotional, it is a surprising fact that men are four times more likely to commit suicide than women. Men do not like to discuss their problems and this leads to hidden depression. It is rarely recognized and treated, so the suicide becomes a threat for their lives. While women are usually sad or hyperemotional, male depression can be shown in anger, aggression, risk-taking behavior, work “burnout”, midlife crisis, and abuse of alcohol. A professor at Harvard Medical School, William Pollack says, “Society around the men and the men themselves see (the male symptoms of depression) as ‘just being a guy,’ or ‘having a hard time. The problem is that if they are signs of depression, these men are starting to form thoughts that life isn’t worth living.” Friends, family and men themselves should recognize the symptoms and work of solving them.
4.    Lung Cancer. It is the leading cancer-killer for both men and women. The good news is that there are less cases of lung cancer now than there used to be a few decades ago because people in general smoke less than they used to. While smoking is the main reason for lung cancer (90%), there are other causes for the disease: exposure to secondhand smoke, asbestos or radon, personal history, and air pollution.
5.    Prostate Cancer. It is the most common type of cancer in men and it is the second one after lung cancer to kill them. It has not been discovered what are the main reasons for prostate cancer, but the specialists believe they are: increasing age, nationality (it is more common in North America and Northwestern Europe), and high-fat diet. Prostate cancer does not have any signs and in many cases it is discovered when it is too late because the cancer has affected other organs. In order to prevent the problem, men are recommended to go through regular screening because being discovered on early stages, prostate cancer can be successfully treated.