killing one person in every two, a local expert warned yesterday.

And she dismissed widely held beliefs that the killer hit only the elderly since recent research showed almost half of those who died from heart disease had never reached their 65th birthday.

Amazingly one in 20 of those killed were aged less than 40, she said.

Bermuda Heart Foundation director Dr. Marion Watlington said the startling figures meant cardiovascular disease had earned the dubious title of being the world's and Bermuda's "number one killer''.

But there was good news as well -- she confirmed a couple of glasses of red wine a day had been proven to have a positive effect.

"When people think of the deadliest disease out there they think about Cancer or Aids but roughly twice as many people die from heart disease than both of the others put together,'' she said.

"Every year in the United States one and a half million people have an attack and a third of those people die. Every 34 seconds someone dies from heart disease.'' Dr. Watlington, who has in recent years focused her practise on blending the best of regular and alternative medical solutions, is the Bermuda Heart Foundation's wellness and holistic programme director.

She said the BHF -- run by volunteers -- had raised more than $1.3 million for cardiac care since it was founded in 1993.

Current projects include the recruitment within three years of a cardiac rehabilitation nurse to assist recovering patients and the research and development of the 2002 Wellness programme.

She said the high death toll from heart disease continued to rise despite improvements over the past 20 years in drugs, surgery and health awareness.

"Those treatments have helped improve the grim statistics but people should know that modern medicine does not cure heart disease.'' Surgical techniques that allowed doctors to clean-out blocked arteries or bypass blood around them were only temporary measures, she said.

"Modern medicine can only do so much. For a true cure we need individual patient involvement to modify their cardiac risk factors.

"The important thing is it's never too late even after decades of bad habits to reverse some of the damage and work toward cardiac wellness.'' Simple lifestyle changes could prevent heart disease, she said urging people to reconsider gulping down cup after cup of coffee, smoking or always rushing around.

Giving and getting affection, drinking plenty of water, exercising regularly, choosing fish or poultry above red meat and maintaining normal weight and blood pressure were other prevention tactics she suggested.

Dr. Marion Watlington Eat fish and poultry rather than red meat to lower cholesterol.

Have a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables and grain food.

Cut caffeine consumption back to just one or two cups a day.

Stop smoking.

Exercise 30 minutes a day -- it doesn't have to be continuous.

Relax!!! Slow down, take at least ten deep breaths a day.

Don't let your weight creep too high.

Maintain normal blood pressure.

Drink eight glasses of water daily to thin your blood.

Laugh with and love people you care about.