Wise
Lifestyle Choices Curtail Cardiovascular Disease
February
Is Heart Awareness Month
There
is no better time for individuals to take their heart
health into their own hands than during February, which is Heart
Awareness Month.
"It's
all about keeping balance," says Dr. Ann Bolger at University of California
San Francisco and spokeswoman for the American Heart Association
(AHA). "It's the stuff we do on a daily basis that is our downfall."
Heart
disease claims about 700,000 lives annually. And 61.8 million people
have some sort of cardiovascular problem, with1.1 million suffering
a heart attack each year, according to the AHA.
Cardiologists
Advise On Prevention
Don't
Smoke: "The number one controllable risk factor for cardiovascular
disease is cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoking," Dr. Bolger
says. "It's an extraordinarily powerful risk factor."
Keep
Moving: "Regardless of your weight and other risk factors,
people who are active versus people who are not have a tremendous advantage
in terms of cardiovascular disease," Dr. Bolger says. "There's no pill
that's anywhere near as effective as exercise."
The
best exercise is the one that may be the easiest for most people, and
that is walking. It is simple and does not require expensive equipment
or a club membership.
Dr.
Daniel Fisher, at New York University School of Medicine, says government
guidelines recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate physical exercise
on most, if not all, days of the week.
In
general, Dr. Fisher adds, "The more you do the better, and the higher
intensity the better."
But
keep it in perspective and discuss it with your physician first. "We're
not going to tell a 95-year-old to run the marathon," he says.
Any
exercise you do should give you energy and make you a little thirsty.
"Exercise
is such an equalizer," Dr. Bolger says. "It keeps the big swings
out of your blood pressure and out of your diet. It's a great stress
manager and you'll sleep better. And if you sleep better, your blood
pressure is in better control."
Eat
a Healthful Diet: "Obesity and being overweight in America
is now an epidemic," Dr. Fisher says. "Controlling your weight is unbelievably
important. As weight goes up, so does the risk of high blood pressure."
In
general, fat should make up 25 percent to 30 percent of total calories,
but you also need to pay attention to the proportion of saturated fats,
polyunsaturated fats, and monounsaturated fats you are consuming.
Protein
should represent about 15 percent of calories, says Dr. Fisher.
And
carbohydrates - from complex whole grains, fruits, and vegetables -
should account for the rest of calorie consumption. You also want pay
attention to portion size.
"If
that stuffed mushroom has lots of cheese or sausage in it, have one
and eat it slowly and love it but don't have two," Dr. Fisher says.
Counter
fatty foods with raw vegetables or fruit. This, in turn, can offset
the risk of sudden heart attacks, which have a greater chance of occurring
when there is a swift surge of fat in the blood.
Follow
high-salt foods with a glass of water, which will also help fill you
up. And if you fall off the wagon, do not dig a deeper hole by
launching a gastronomic free-for-all. Just refocus and move on.
"Just
because you made a bad choice doesn't mean that the next one can't be
good," Dr. Bolger says.
Know
Your Vital Statistics: This means your blood pressure and your
cholesterol levels.
"As
your blood pressure increases, so does the risk of cardiovascular disease
and stroke," Dr. Fisher says.
Healthy
adults need to stay under 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), and
according to new guidelines from the National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute (NHLBI), even a reading of over 120/80 mm Hg
could be an early warning.
"The
higher risk you are, the more aggressive you should be with any of these
things," Dr. Fisher adds.
And
make sure your physician tells you what your numbers are.
"Your
doctor should write your blood pressure down as you leave," Dr. Fisher
says. "If they don't tell you, you should ask."
As
for cholesterol levels, if your total cholesterol is less than 200 mg/dL,
your heart attack risk is relatively low, unless you have other risk
factors. People whose cholesterol level is from 200 to 239 mg/dL are
borderline high risk.
Get
Support: To get on the path to heart health, enlist the aid
of your friends, your physician, or even your dog (if it will persuade
you to go for a walk).
"Look
for sources of support during high-stress times," Dr. Bolger advises.
"Your friends are facing the same issues. Walk with them, talk to them.
Just talking about something in advance can help you."
Also,
consult your physician.
"You
should be speaking with your doctor even if you're young, in your twenties,"
Dr. Fisher says. "Have your complete cholesterol panel drawn. If you're
young you don't have to do it often, but you should do it."
Always
consult your physician for more information.
Online
Resources
American
College of Sports Medicine
American
Heart Association
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
HealthierUS.Gov
National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
National
Institutes of Health (NIH)
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February
2004
Wise
Lifestyle Choices Curtail Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiologists
Advise On Prevention
Heart
Disease Statistics
What
Is Blood Pressure?
Online
Resources
Find
a St. John's Mercy Physician
Heart
Disease Statistics
Each
year, heart disease is at the top of the list of the country's most
serious health problems.
Consider
the most recent statistics released by the American Heart Association
(AHA):
-
At
least 61million people in this country suffer from some form of
heart disease.
-
Cardiovascular
disease is the cause of more deaths than the next seven causes of
death combined.
-
Rheumatic
heart disease / rheumatic fever kills almost 3,600 Americans each
year.
-
More
than 2,600 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each day, an
average of one death every 33 seconds.
-
It
is a myth that heart disease is a man's disease. In fact, cardiovascular
diseases are the number one killer of women (and men). These diseases
currently claim the lives of more than a half a million females
every year.
-
Stroke
is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability that accounts
for more than half of all patients hospitalized for a neurological
disease. Stroke deaths have been increasing in recent years.
Always
consult your physician for more information.
What
Is Blood Pressure?
Blood
pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the artery walls.
Each time the heart beats, it pumps blood into the arteries, resulting
in the highest blood pressure as the heart contracts.
An
individual needs an electronic blood pressure monitoring device to take
his or her own blood pressure. Electronic blood pressure monitors may
also measure the heart rate, or pulse.
Two
numbers are recorded when measuring blood pressure. The higher number,
or systolic pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when
the heart contracts and pumps blood through the body. The lower number,
or diastolic pressure, refers to the pressure inside the artery when
the heart is at rest and is filling with blood.
Both
the systolic and diastolic pressures are recorded as "mm Hg" (millimeters
of mercury). This recording represents how high the mercury column is
raised by the pressure of the blood.
High
blood pressure, or hypertension, directly increases the risk of coronary
heart disease (heart attack) and stroke (brain attack). With high blood
pressure, the arteries may have an increased resistance against the
flow of blood, causing the heart to pump harder to circulate the blood.
According
to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI),
high blood pressure for adults is defined as:
In
an update of NHLBI guidelines for hypertension in 2003,
a new blood pressure category was added called prehypertension:
The
new NHLBI guidelines now define normal blood pressure
as follows:
These
numbers should be used as a guide only. A single elevated blood pressure
measurement is not necessarily an indication of a problem.
Your
physician will want to see multiple blood pressure measurements over
several days or weeks before making a diagnosis of hypertension (high
blood pressure) and initiating treatment.
Always
consult your physician for more information.
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