The debate on whether video games are good or bad for children has been going on for the longest time. While some studies have concluded that video games encourage aggressive behavior in children, there are still other that recognize the educational value of some video games. Most video games are designed for entertainment rather than educational purposes; some are inadvertently educational, such as fictional historical games and physics based games.

Some SIM games have you manage a theme park, a railroad, or an entire city, giving you freedom to micromanage even the smallest details, from lying down pipes for a drainage system or collecting taxes for every establishment you own. Games such as these help the player develop the ability to solve problems under pressure, analyze situation carefully, and even do multiple tasks simultaneously. They also teach the player to never lose patience and keep on trying until the mission is completed.

When you get all the basics into line- blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, waist size, and not smoking- you can reduce your odds of having a heart attack or needing bypass surgery by 80 percent. And knowing your particular vulnerabilities lets you target risk-cutting strategies that will help most.

For this week measure your middle a tummy pooch, even if you’re not over weight, signals the presence of vicious visceral fat- blubber wrapped around internal organs that pumps hormones, inflammatory chemicals, and fatty acids to your heart, liver, and all your cells. Then fill in your family history, a family history of premature heart attacks doubled women’s odds of having plaque in her heart arteries. Lastly, commit to giving up cigarettes, you probably know that smoking increases your risk of heart disease.

But you may not realize that even social smoking- as few as one to four cigarettes a day- can almost triple your chances of fatal heart attack.