Mr Issah Musah Adams, Founder of Support Life International, a local non-profit organization into complementary health therapy, has advised Ghanaians to continuously reflect on their health and lifestyles.
"It is only when we consciously and frequently check and know our 'numbers' that we can be rest assured that our hearts are working well in healthy bodies.
"The numbers I'm referring to here are not your phone numbers but the true information certified by your physician about the your heart condition, your blood pressure, cholesterol level, and many other details concerning your general health," Mr Adams said.
Sharing his Christmas and New Year message with the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday December 28th, which happened to be his birthday, Mr Adams said if there was anything more important to reflect about for the year 2010, it should be our health status and what we did throughout the year that negatively or positively affect our wellbeing.
"Let's face it, our body is like a machine - if it were a car your heart would be the engine. If you don't take care of the car it will eventually breakdown and stop running. The same is true of your heart, but if it breaks down and stops running for good...you're dead," he explained.
Mr Adams, who is also the President of Support Life, said the numbers the doctor jots down on the hospital folder when checking the blood level "are systolic and diastolic measurements."
The systolic, according to him is the higher number which is the maximum arterial pressure during contraction of the left ventricle of the heart, whilst the Diastolic is the lower number - which is the minimum arterial pressure during relaxation and dilatation of the ventricles of the heart when the ventricles get filled with blood.
The ventricles are the lower two chambers of the heart that functions to pumps blood into the entire body.
Mr Adams said it was important people know their blood pressure level because a high blood pressure could put individuals at risk for artery damage, heart failure, aneurysms, stroke, organ damage and vision loss.
On cholesterol, he said, every cell in the body contains it which the body uses to build healthy cells and vital hormones. Cholesterol is important in the breakdown of fat soluble Vitamins A, D, E, and K.
"But, too much cholesterol can be a bad thing. There are three types of cholesterol in the blood, and knowing what they are and what they do is quite important. Keep in mind, it just shows up on nutrition labels as "cholesterol" without differentiation," he explained.
Mr Adams said high blood cholesterol could cause myriad of problems for the body including heart attacks, coronary artery disease and blood clots, part of the brain stops, a stroke could occur.
He said though some causes and risk factors of high blood cholesterol and hypertension were beyond individual control such as age, race and family history, things like overweight, smoking, drinking on a regular basis could be checked and avoided.
Mr Adams said, to keep the "numbers" at manageable levels, medical professionals have recommended the eating of variety of lean meats, whole grains and heart-healthy fats, such as olive oil and canola oil as well as taking more fruits and vegetables.