Think your family history of coronary disease predisposes you to a heart attack? Think again. Comprehensive lifestyle changes can dramatically alter how your genes affect you.

"People tend to be fatalistic, but that's just an excuse to continue a bad habit," said Dr. Philip Cusumano, a board-certified internist with Beaufort Memorial Lady's Island Internal Medicine. "Seventy percent of the patients who come into our office have health issues that are preventable."

As part of a new "Life, Lived Better" community series being hosted by Beaufort Memorial Hospital, Cusumano will present "New Findings in the Anti-Aging Debate" at 4:30 p.m. March 7 at Magnolia Hall in Sun City Hilton Head.

The seminar will explore major causes of aging and practical changes you can make to improve your health, wellness and longevity.

"We're sedentary, we overeat, we don't sleep enough and we're stressed," said Cusumano, formerly with the Cleveland Clinic. "It's a recipe for disaster."

Based on the best-selling book, "YOU -- Staying Young" by Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, Cusumano will cover six of the 14 biological processes that control your rate of aging.

"I'm going to talk about the most salient findings in the book and relay them to people in a way they can understand," Cusumano said. "I hope it will encourage them to read the book and change their lifestyles."

In most cases, the ill effects of bad habits can be reversed. Smokers, for instance, can decrease their risk of heart attack and stroke 24 hours after they quit. The risk for lung cancer returns to that of a nonsmoker 10 years after smoking cessation.

Men with early-stage prostate cancer can decrease the expression of prostate cancer-promoting genes with improved nutrition, stress management, walking and social support, according to a study by the National Academy of Science.

By controlling their blood pressure, lowering their cholesterol and giving up cigarettes, men and women who carry the gene for premature coronary artery disease can greatly reduce their risk of developing cardio-vascular problems.

"Heart attacks and strokes cause 700,000 deaths a year in the United States," Cusumano said. "That's more than 200 times the number of people that died in 9/11. The terrorist threat is nothing compared to what Americans inflict upon themselves."

One of the most effective ways to delay the aging process is to reduce your caloric intake by 15 percent. Scientists say it both cuts the risks for some diseases and slows metabolism and tissue aging.

"You can add 15 to 20 years to your life by making two behavioral changes -- reducing your stress and dramatically changing your diet," Cusumano said. "If people took care of themselves like they were supposed to, I'd be looking for another job."

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Beaufort Memorial Hospital community seminar to focus on anti-aging debate