Hilltop Times – Hill Air Force Base Weekly Newspaper Since 1948

One out of every four women dies from heart disease in the U.S., according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It’s the top killer of U.S. women and men.

Heart disease begins with damage to the lining inside the heart’s arteries. Certain factors contribute to this damage, including smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar.

However, you can help lower your risk for heart disease, and here are the top four ways to do it:

It's supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. Yet for many, it's anything but that.

"If the holidays have you overwhelmed, you are not alone," says TriWest Healthcare Alliance Behavioral Health Educator Kristin Musch. "Expectations are high, to-do lists are long and, often, the budget is tight, which can result in sadness, anger, frustration and resentment."

But there's good news! Stress can be reduced, allowing you to actually enjoy this time. "The key is to plan ahead," adds Musch.

Check out our eight top tips for a stress-free holiday season:

The average smoker tries to quit 20 times before succeeding. Some people are motivated to stop smoking to improve their health. Others say they stopped smoking "cold turkey" for personal reasons. Whatever the reason, the bottom line is that it's not easy to quit.

You probably already know that smoking is bad for you, but did you know it can also be hurting those you love?

*Exposure to secondhand smoke can cause asthma in children.

*Regular exposure to secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks and make asthma symptoms worse.

Did you know that nine out of 10 healthy people who get a flu shot, don't get the flu?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it's true! And because it takes two weeks for a flu shot's immunity to build completely, now is the best time to get vaccinated for flu season.

Tricare covers flu shots

When you're leaving on vacation or changing duty stations, TriCare is your medical coverage. These five small steps can help you avoid unexpected issues during your travels -- even if you change TriCare regions.

Keep DEERS updated

No matter which TriCare program you use, your Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) record is the key to your military health care eligibility. If your address changes for more than 60 days, you can log into milConnect (milconnect.dmdc.mil) to update DEERS.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, regardless of their age or ethnicity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So for Father's Day this year -- which is June 17 -- why not encourage the men in your life to get tested?

"Prostate cancer screening means looking for cancer before it causes symptoms. This helps to find cancer at an early stage when it may be easier to treat," the CDC says on its website.

Bumps, cuts and bruises are all part of any kid's life.

Dealing with deployments and multiple moves and school changes are all part of a military kid's life. As a parent, you strive for consistency. You want safety and happiness. But what do you do when your family gets bumped, cut and bruised along the way?

Did you know that one in every three U.S. adults has suffered from high blood pressure, a major risk factor for stroke? And, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

Those facts came straight from the American Stroke Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

The relationship between stroke and high blood pressure has been well-documented. The American Stroke Association states, "Managing high blood pressure is the most important thing you can do to lessen your risk for stroke."

What is blood pressure?

When you go to the doctor, do you sit by the mailbox, waiting for your claims statement to come in? Or do the envelopes and statements just pile up?

Cut your clutter and get access to your TriCare health care information quickly when you register for a secure TriWest.com account and sign up for paperless Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statements, referral and authorization letters and fee statements.

Would you rather go online instead of waiting in line?

TriCare Online (TOL) provides quick and easy access to medical and pharmacy services at certain military treatment facilities (MTF). To see if which services are available at your location, visit TriCareOnline.com to get started.

TOL, the Department of Defense's online healthcare portal, allows authorized family members to use a Common Access Card (CAC) or DoD Self-Service (DS) Logon to: