Keep Your Heart Healthy
Various health conditions that involve the heart or the blood vessels are altogether called cardiovascular diseases and some examples include high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, stroke, and coronary heart disease.
Coronary heart disease is caused by decreased blood flow to the heart because of narrowed blood vessels. A fatty buildup (plaque) inside the blood vessels causes this narrowing, and it may lead to heart attacks or stroke. Cholesterol is a part of this build up, and it is very important to keep your blood cholesterol at a normal range to prevent heart disease and stroke.
There are many factors, such as aging or having a family history of heart disease, that increase your chances of having heart disease. Additionally, men are more likely to have heart disease when compared to women, and there is not much you can do about these factors. However, there are many other disease risk factors you can change. Here is how:
What You Can Do to Prevent Heart Disease
- Eating a healthy diet is one of the most important ways to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
- Fill two-thirds or more of your plate with fruits and vegetables in a variety of colors, and whole grains (like bread or pasta made with whole wheat, or cereals made with lots of whole grains)
- Choose fat-free and low-fat dairy products instead of higher fat versions.
- Decrease the amount of cholesterol, saturated fats and trans fats in your
diet.
- Cholesterol and saturated fats mostly come from animal products like meat, poultry and dairy. Trans fats are mostly found in hard margarines and baked (pastry) products.
- Choose grilling, steaming, boiling, and barbecuing rather than frying to keep your fat intake in control
- Make vegetable oils, fish and nuts the main sources of fats in your diet.
- Lower your salt intake to less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium. People who have high blood pressure, African Americans, and middle-aged or older individuals should eat even less sodium (about no more than 1,500 milligrams)
- Read the food label information to find out about the ingredients, nutrients, and calories foods have.
- Be physically active. In general, 30 minutes of activity on most days of the week is recommended for healthy adults. You may need longer if you are trying to lose weight or to keep it off.
- Before stating to exercise, always check with your doctor first. Start out slowly especially if you have been inactive in recent months, have a known cardiovascular disease, or if you are above 40 years of age. For example, start with 10 minutes of daily walk and then, make small increases every week.
- Maintain a healthy weight, aim for a body mass indeed of 18.5 to 24.9.
- If you consume alcohol at all, drink only moderate amounts (2 drinks daily for men, 1 drink daily for non-pregnant women. Note: one drink equals 12 ounces of regular beer, a glass (5 ounces) of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor (rum, vodka, whiskey, etc.).
For More Information
General Information - American Heart Association
Risk Assessment - American Heart Association
