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

(Our Organization is not responsible for the content of Internet sites.) 

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)

February 2004

Wise Lifestyle Choices Curtail Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiologists Advise On Prevention

Heart Disease Statistics

What Is Blood Pressure?

Online Resources

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:

• 140 mm Hg or greater systolic pressure
  
  and

• 90 mm Hg or greater diastolic pressure

In an update of NHLBI guidelines for hypertension in 2003, a new blood pressure category was added called prehypertension:

• 120 mm Hg – 139 mm Hg systolic pressure
  
  and

• 80 mm Hg – 89 mm Hg diastolic pressure

The new NHLBI guidelines now define normal blood pressure as follows:

• Less than 120 mm Hg systolic pressure
  
  and

• Less than 80 mm Hg diastolic pressure

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.