February is American Heart Month. It’s an occasion to focus attention on the importance of fighting cardiovascular disease and an opportunity to educate people about its risk factors, its various warning signs, and lifesaving emergency response techniques. But keeping your own heart healthy is an every month affair. For the most part, lowering your risk of heart disease is a matter of common sense.
Here are steps you can take:
• Watch your weight. People who have excessive body fat are more likely to develop heart disease or stroke even if they have no other risk factors. If you are overweight, set your sights on losing weight gradually.
• Exercise regularly. Besides weight control, exercise may help relieve tension and help control cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and diabetes. The American Heart Association recommends aerobic exercises such as swimming and walking at moderate intensity 30-60 minutes at a time at least three-to-four times a week.
• Manage your cholesterol. A good diet may not be enough. A diet low in saturated fats—one that features vegetables and fruits, lean meats, low- or no-fat dairy products, and a variety of grain products like bread, cereal, rice, and pasta—can help you keep your cholesterol under control. Make sure you take an annual cholesterol test.
• Stop smoking. If you need another reason to quit smoking, here it is: cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. If you need help quitting, join a smoking cessation program.
Remember that keeping your heart healthy is a team effort. Involve family members and Sunrise team members in supporting your heart-healthy choices, and meet regularly with your physician.
For more information
You can learn more about controlling your risk factors for heart disease from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. You can reach the NHLBI Health Information Center by phone (301-592-8573, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time), by e-mail (NHLBIinfo@rover.nhlbi.nih.gov), or by visiting their Web site at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/infoctr/index.htm.
