Many of us make New Year's resolutions only to break our promises a few days or weeks into the new year. If you made a resolution to do better at taking care of your health and fitness, good for you. One of the most important things you can do is take care of your heart health as best you can.
Cardiovascular diseases, those diseases of the circulatory system of the heart and blood vessels, are still America's number one killer. According to estimates, over 52 million Americans have the disease. In North Carolina, this killer disease is responsible for more that 37% of all deaths. Every 21 minutes someone in the state dies from heart disease.
Enough of the bad news. The good news is you can fight back against heart disease. You can become more heart smart. Do this by practicing the three R's: reduce, recognize and respond.
Reduce your risk by improving your lifestyle with these steps:
1. Get your cholesterol checked.
The risk of heart disease rises as blood
cholesterol
levels increase. To minimize your risk, eat a healthful diet
that includes foods low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.
Include plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low fat
milk products.
2. Control your blood
pressure.
High blood pressure increases the
heart's
workload, causing the heart to enlarge and weaken over time. If
you have high blood pressure, work with your doctor to control
it. Eating a proper diet, losing weight, exercising regularly,
restricting sodium intake and following a program of medication
may all be prescribed to lower blood pressure and keep it within
healthy limits.
3. Stop smoking.
Smoking greatly increases your heart disease risk. When you quit
smoking, within three years your risk of heart disease will be
about the same as if you never smoked.
4. Stay physically
active.
Walking briskly 3 or 4 times a week for
just
30 minutes can help condition your heart, control your blood
pressure and increase your HDL - your "good" cholesterol. Even
being active for 10 minutes 3 times a day brings benefits.
5. Get regular medical
checkups.
Be sure to follow your doctor's advice.
If
you need medication to control your blood pressure, cholesterol,
or for something else, take it exactly as prescribed.
Recognize a heart attack. The symptoms of heart attack vary, but the usual warning signs are: Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, a squeezing or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes, pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms. Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
Respond to a heart attack. If you notice one or more of these signs, don't wait. Get medical help fast! Call 911.
It is important to realize that not all of these signs occur in every heart attack. In some cases, the symptoms subside and then return.
When it comes to heart health, we realize there are some things we can't do anything about, such as, heredity or evidence of heart disease within your family; gender (men suffer heart attacks at a younger age); increased age (more than 45 years old), and body type (weight carried above the waist is more of a risk factor than weight carried below the waist).
However, there are many factors we can do something about: Smoking, high blood pressure, high total blood cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, obesity, lack of exercise, and poorly controlled diabetes.
It's a new year! Let's work on our heart health!
