In addition to increasing the risk of developing emphysema and lung cancer, smoking also increases your chances of developing an aneurysm. You may need your doctor's help to find the right program to help you quit. Also avoid exposing yourself to secondhand smoke. If you fit the risk profile, avoid indoor areas that allow smoking. Drinking too much alcohol can also weaken blood vessel walls, increasing the possibility of developing an aneurysm. If you have other problems related to excessive drinking, you may need to give it up entirely. Abusing drugs, prescription or otherwise, can lead to inflammation in blood vessels and the formation of aneurysms. Habitual cocaine and amphetamine users are particularly susceptible to the development of brain aneurysms. . Choose a diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meat and non-meat protein sources. Avoid excess fats, cholesterol, sodium and sugar. Eat smaller portions, or start preparing more of your own meals to have more control over your portions. Consider eating several smaller meals throughout the day, rather than two or three big ones. Maintain good cardio health and do some light strength training to maintain a healthy body weight and physique. Exercising at least 30 minutes every day will help you avoid an aneurysm or prevent one from rupturing. Your doctor can recommend suitable exercises for you if you want to get started. You don't have to go all out. If you want to start exercising, try starting with: Light stretches in the morning before breakfast. Just doing some calisthenics for 15 or 20 minutes each morning will get you moving and can be a nice warm up to stimulate other activities. Short sets of sit-ups and pushups. You don't have to start dead-lifting heavy weights or running marathons. Do sets of 20 sit-ups and 10 pushups to get started with and gradually work your way up. Check out some exercise videos online or at your local library for some guided instruction, or talk to your doctor for more possibilities. Key factors to avoiding an aneurysm or preventing one from rupturing include monitoring your weight, cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure levels. Scheduling regular doctor's visits and staying on top of your health is the best way to avoid aneurysms altogether.
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One-sentence summary -- Quit smoking. Moderate your drinking. Use drugs correctly. Adopt a healthy diet Exercise regularly. Monitor your overall health.

The correlation coefficient can be understood as an indicator of two things. The first is whether or not the two variables in question typically move in the same direction at the same time. If they do, the correlation coefficient is positive. If not, it is negative. The second thing the correlation coefficient can tell you is how similar these movements are. A correlation coefficient close of 1 or -1 represents perfect positive correlation or perfect negative correlation, respectively. Correlation coefficients always vary between 1 and -1. A result of 0 indicates that there is no correlation. So, for example, the example result of 0.809 from the other part of this article would mean that stocks X and Y are highly correlated. The two securities experience price movements in the same direction and usually in roughly the same magnitude. The primary use of stock correlation coefficients is in the preparation of balanced securities portfolios. Stocks or other assets within a portfolio can be assessed against others in the same portfolio to determine the correlation coefficient between them. The goal is to place stocks with low or negative correlations in the same portfolio. Thus, when the price of the first stock moves, the second will likely move oppositely or independently of the first. The result of these actions is effective portfolio diversification. This practice reduces "unsystematic risk," which is risk inherent to individual securities. The correlation coefficient is also frequently used to assess relationships between other data sets, such as mutual fund returns, Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) returns, and market indexes. Correlations coefficients can be calculated between these data sets and stock returns to diversify a portfolio or to figure out how a stock's price moves in relation to other market shifts. This can be useful for predicting the change in a stock's price that would occur in the event of another change in the market. For example, the stock price of a gold mining company might be positively related to the price of gold (with a high, positive correlation coefficient). If the price of gold is expected to increase, an investor would have reason to believe that the price of the company's stock will as well. of stock return data to obtain a 'scatter plot'. You can use a spreadsheet program to plot the dates and returns of your stocks. This makes it easier to note the properties of the data. Also, using spreadsheet software, you can plot a best fit line. The best fit line to the data is called the regression line. On Excel, you can add this line by clicking "Chart" and then "Add Trendline." The program will then calculate a trend line based on your data. The correlation coefficient is a measure of how closely the two stock returns fit the regression line. That is, how closely the return values satisfy a linear relation such as Y = X + for some constants and .
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One-sentence summary -- Understand your correlation coefficient result. Reduce risk in your portfolio. Expand your analysis to other assets. Plot the pairs

When your choice is either outdoors or inside a car, your car is always the safest option. If caught in a thunderstorm, remain inside your car until the storm passes. Close your windows, and put the top up in your convertible. Open vehicles, like golf carts, ATVs, and riding mowers, are not safe during lightning storms. Seek shelter indoors. Convertibles are less safe than other cars in thunderstorms. If possible, avoid driving them when it's raining. Starting your car is generally safe during a thunderstorm, but do not under any circumstances jump your car until the storm has passed. Most cars are safe from lightning, but the metal exterior or any metal objects are not safe to touch. If lightning strikes your car, the current will flow from the car's outer metal cage and into the ground below. Keep your hands in your lap and avoid leaning on the car doors or touching any exposed metal. Rubber tires will not protect your car from getting struck. Some portions of the current can travel through the wired areas in your car. Don't touch any of the vehicle's electrical systems during the car, including your radio, GPS system, or cell phone charger. In some cases, lightning strikes can damage your car's electric systems. Avoid driving your car during thunderstorms if you have expensive radio or GPS systems installed. If driving in an outage area, pull over and turn on your hazard lights. Areas with outages are dangerous to drive in, especially if the traffic lights have shorted out. If you must continue traveling, treat intersections with shorted traffic signals as a four-way stop and take extra caution.
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One-sentence summary --
Run to your vehicle for safety. Place your hands in your lap. Don't handle the radio or your GPS system. Pull to the side of the road in heavy storms.