A Healthy Dose of Sarcasm - Death Factor X

It’s an odd thing, growing older. New rules kick in once you reach age 40th. Middle age approaches like a steamroller, slowly plodding toward you. In the past, you may have laughed at the steamroller. Maybe you played chicken with your friends, running just in front of its ponderous path. But at 40, you find yourself trapped in a dead end alley with the steamroller at the mouth slowly eating up space, forcing you backward to the end of all things.
Cheery thought, isn’t it?
So, if you’re still with me, I’ll explain the reason for this short series of posts on health and wellness. At the end of 2015, I was given a death sentence by my doctor. He backed it up with test results explaining exactly how much space I had between my personal steamroller and end of the alley. This isn't unusual for people my age.
Around 45 your doctor begins looking for the most likely catalyst to shuffling off your mortal coil. I call this catalyst Death Factor X. The identification of Death Factor X isn’t a sure thing but, if you’re betting on the one thing that’s going to speed the steamroller, Death Factor X is the lead foot on the gas pedal.
Luckily - in an odd, somewhat ironic meaning of the word - doctors can identify Death Factor X more easily and with greater accuracy than in the past. There are batteries of tests used to determine your risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, etc. that are now easily available to most physicians. They don't simply look at your current metrics, but see into your past and correlate the data with your genetic predispositions. Ask your doctor about them on your next visit.
Part of this series will discuss selecting the right health care professionals. I believe I found a good doctor. For the purposes of this blog I’ll call him Dr. Buttons. He’ll get the joke.

Dr. Buttons digs in and provides relevant data to back up his diagnoses. He also doesn’t candy coat things. In my experience, a doctor's coddling doesn't lead to great health results.

In the ‘Healthy Dose of Sarcasm’ series, I’ll describe how I found Dr. Buttons and the lifestyle modifications that put it in reverse.
My hope is to keep these posts as light and humorous as possible while presenting actionable information. I hasten to add that this information is based on my conditions and predispositions. As with anything regarding health, <insert standard disclaimer about seeing your doctor - you’ve heard it before>.
Speaking of doctors, you might want to fire the one you have now. More on that topic in a few weeks.
Next week we’ll discuss Men (and Women) of a Certain Age aka The Steamroller is Closer Than You Think.
Until next time - stay healthy, my friends.

References:

Top 10 Deadliest Diseases - Healthline

Comprehensive List of State-of-the-Art Tests - Boston Heart Diagnostics