Smoking damages blood vessels, reduces oxygen in the blood, and increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Welcome to the Younger Longer 28-Day Healthy Heart Challenge, a transformative podcast series designed to help you take control of your heart health and live a longer, healthier life. Over the next 28 days, we’ll guide you through a comprehensive journey covering key aspects of cardiovascular wellness—nutrition, exercise, stress management, medical awareness, and lifestyle choices.
Each daily episode is packed with expert insights from Dr. Warrick Bishop, best-selling author and cardiologist dedicated to preventing heart disease before it becomes a life-threatening issue. Using the latest science and practical strategies, this series empowers you to make heart-healthy choices and build habits that will support your well-being for years to come.
What You’ll Learn in the 28 Days:
✔ Understanding Your Heart – How it functions and why proactive care is essential.
✔ Heart-Healthy Nutrition – The best foods to fuel your cardiovascular system.
✔ Exercise & Movement – The role of physical activity in strengthening your heart.
✔ Stress & Mental Well-being – Managing stress and anxiety for a healthier heart.
✔ The Power of Sleep – How sleep quality impacts cardiovascular function.
✔ The Impact of Smoking & Alcohol – Making informed lifestyle changes.
✔ Supplements & Medical Insights – Understanding key nutrients and medical checkups.
✔ Advanced Heart Testing & Risk Factors – Going beyond traditional risk assessments.
✔ Sustaining Long-Term Heart Health Habits – Turning knowledge into action for lifelong benefits.
Why Listen?
- Get practical tips and science-backed advice you can apply immediately.
- Learn from real-world examples and medical expertise.
- Gain daily challenges to help you stay engaged and track progress.
- Take charge of your heart health in a simple, effective, and engaging way.
Your heart is your most vital organ, and the steps you take today will shape your future health. Whether you’re looking to prevent heart disease, manage risk factors, or simply improve your overall well-being, this 28-day challenge is your roadmap to a healthier, longer life.
Subscribe and start your journey today—because every heartbeat counts!
Transcript
Hi, and welcome to day seven! Well done on completing the first week of the 28-day challenge. Today, we're talking about smoking and heart disease. You already know that smoking is linked to heart disease and cancer, and you don’t really need to be told that. My guess is that if you’ve gotten this far on this platform, looking after your own heart health, you’re probably not a smoker.
But if you are, I really appreciate you taking the time to listen because that means you’re open to possible change. When I speak with my own patients about smoking, I generally start off by saying, “Look, you are an adult. Whatever you do in your own life is your decision, and I have to respect that.” I’ve learned that I can barely influence my own children’s will, let alone the will of another adult who has made up their own mind.
What I then put to my patients who are smokers is this: Are they behaving with integrity in regard to who they are and the decisions they’ve made? What do I mean by that? Well, I often ask my patients who smoke, “If you had cancer, a heart attack, or a stroke—something directly related to smoking—would you continue to smoke in spite of that diagnosis? If you were told you were about to have a stroke or a heart attack, would you still smoke?”
Are you the sort of person who is a committed lifelong smoker no matter what? Do you believe that smoking is an integral part of who you are? Because if you do, then smoking makes sense—you recognize it, respect it, and understand that it’s part of your being, and I can live with that.
The flip side, though, is this: If you were to stop smoking when faced with the threat of a major diagnosis, then perhaps you’re not actually a committed lifelong smoker. Perhaps you’re more committed to your health and well-being. Perhaps you’re more committed to trying to live as long and as well as possible. And if that’s the case, then is smoking truly respecting the person you are?
I ask people to bring integrity and honesty to their own behavior. Are they behaving as someone who is a committed lifelong smoker? If so, I can respect that. Or are they behaving like someone who is not actually a committed lifelong smoker, but simply making poor choices? Those choices can be shifted. Often, it’s pain or pleasure that forces us to make changes in any particular endeavor.
I once had a wonderful patient who we had concluded was a lifelong committed smoker. I didn’t pick on him, challenge him, or ask about his smoking—I just took for granted that he was a rusted-on smoker. Then one day, he turned up and said, “Doc, I quit the cigarettes.” Naturally, I asked, “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how were you able to change?” He said, “Doc, my grandson sat on my lap and said, ‘Grandpa, you stink.’” And there and then, he threw the cigarettes away.
That moment really underlined for me how important it is to put our choices into context. What’s the benefit for us? Where does that benefit lie?
If you’re a non-smoker and you’ve never smoked but have listened to this, I hope you’ve learned something. Share it with someone who smokes—someone you care about, or even someone you don’t know particularly well. You might make a difference in their life.
If you are a smoker and you’ve listened to this, I really hope I’ve opened the door for you to think about your smoking differently. Whatever the case, thank you for getting this far, and I look forward to the next couple of weeks.
For now, I hope you live as well as possible for as long as possible. Take care, and bye for now.
Are You at Risk of a Sudden Heart Attack? How Healthy is Your Heart? Really?
Heart disease is the #1 killer in the Western World. In Australia, someone dies every 28 minutes from heart disease. That’s 51 people a day. In the US, someone has a heart attack every 40 SECONDS! Fortunately, many heart attacks are preventable. However, regular exercise and eating healthy are no guarantee you won’t succumb to this silent killer.
- 94% of Australians have at least One Risk Factor for heart disease.
- 59% of Australians have been Touched by heart disease.
- Yet only 3% of Australians have had a Full Heart-Health Assessment in the past 12 months.
Do the free heart check today at www.virtualheartcheck.com.au
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The Healthy Heart Network is designed to help members:
- understand the present state of their heart’s health
- recognise their current level of risk of suffering a heart attack
- Learn the positive steps they can take to improve their situation
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