Taking Care of Your Prized Possession - Your Heart
Your heart - it beats on average 100,000 times a day and pumps the equivalent of 2000 gallons of blood each day. Imagine what a workhorse our hearts must be! So vital to our life and yet not well taken care of by most of us. Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming close to a million lives each year.
While traditionally considered a "man's disease", heart disease has become a serious health challenge for women as well. Cardiovascular disease kills over 500,000 women each year, more than the next seven causes of death combined. To give you a perspective, 1 in every 2.5 womenwill die of heart disease and stroke, compared to 1 in every 30 women who will die from breast cancer. What may be the most important information is that heart disease in women presents with different symptoms then men and physicians tend to under-diagnose the disease in women. Research conducted by NIH with 515 women, surprisingly revealed that fewer than 30% of women reported having chest pain or discomfort prior to their heart attacks, and 43% reported having no chest pain at all during any phase of the attack. The most common symptoms they reported were unusual fatigue, sleep disturbances and shortness of breath.
Knowing your risks and then determining how to lower them is the first step towards preventing heart disease. Of the seven major risk factors for coronary artery disease (family history, obesity, high blood cholesterol and triglycerides, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, a sedentary lifestyle and smoking, six are modifiable - which means you have control over them. By making lifestyle changes you can modify these risks and significantly lower your risk of heart disease.
Modifiable Risk Factor 1: Being overweight or obese
Too much body fat, especially around your waist, puts you at higher risk. Being overweight or obese also increases your risk of having high cholesterol and triglycerides, a stroke and type 2 diabetes. So by losing weight, you can begin to reduce your risk of heart disease.
Modifiable Risk Factor 2: Having High Blood Cholesterol levels
You can have high cholesterol and not know it because in the early phases of accumulation of cholesterol plaque in your arteries, there are no symptoms! This buildup of plaque can narrow your arteries and reduce blood flow, ultimately leading to arterial blockage or blood clots in arteries that feed the heart and brain. This in turn can cause a heart attack or stroke. Lifestyle changes like improving your diet and increasing your physical activity can help lower your cholesterol. Consistently eating a diet high in fiber, rich in whole grains, fresh fruit, vegetables, legumes and low-fat sources of protein (like soy protein) can help lower cholesterol and protect your heart. The FDA has recognized that the consumption of 25 grams or more of soy protein per day may reduce your risk of heart disease. Choosing healthy sources of fats is also incredibly important. Limit your intake of saturated fat (found in beef, butter and other animal products), and completely avoid trans fats (found in prepackaged foods, bakery items, chips). Switch to monounsaturated fats (found in nuts and seed, avocado, olive oil) and be sure to get adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish and flaxseed).
Modifiable Risk Factor 3: Having High Blood Pressure
You can also have high blood pressure or hypertension and not know it. With elevated blood pressure, your heart is working harder than normal, pushing your blood with too much pressure against your artery walls. This in turn may enlarge your heart and damage your arteries and significantly increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke. What can you do? Well, if you are overweight, losing weight can make a significant difference in your blood pressure. Eating a heart healthy diet rich in plant foods and heart healthy fats can also help. And make sure to get adequate amounts of potassium, calcium, and magnesium, but watch your sodium intake. Studies indicate that populations who consume diets rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium, but limit sodium intake have lower blood pressure. Regular physical exercise also tends to strengthen the cardiovascular system and lower blood pressure. And, again, omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to support healthy blood pressure and help to maintain healthy heart rhythm.
Modifiable Risk Factor 4: Having Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a serious and increasingly common disease in which the body doesn't properly use insulin, the hormone produced by the pancreas that is responsible for transporting sugar in the blood into cells of the body where it can be metabolized. Left untreated, blood sugar levels increase and will damage blood vessels, thus increasing the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Being overweight and sedentary are two big risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, and once again, modest weight loss can help prevent diabetes from developing in the first place. If you already have diabetes, weight loss, improvements in your diet and the addition of fiber can help to naturally improve your blood sugar control. Regular visits to your health care provider are critical if you already have diabetes. If you have a family member with diabetes or you are overweight, have your doctor screen you for diabetes, which can often be without symptoms until it is advanced.
Modifiable Risk Factor 5: Being Physically Inactive
Being a couch potato increases your likelihood of developing heart disease. And increasing your physical activity can make a big difference. If you're overweight it will help you burn calories, it will also help lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes a day, most days of the week. If you don't have time to do all 30 minutes at once, no worries; breaking it up into shorter periods of exercise is fine--just be sure it all adds up to 30 minutes a day. In addition to vigorous activities like walking, running, or swimming, simple day-to-day activities count too. Activities, like gardening, housework, or mowing the lawn are all activities that can help improve your heart health.
Modifiable Risk Factor 6: Smoking
Smoking is the most preventable cause of death in the United States. Even secondhand smoke, constantly breathing in smoke from someone else's cigarette or cigar increases your risk of developing heart disease and other serious conditions like cancer. If you smoke the best thing you can do for your health and the health of others around you is to quit. Discuss quitting with your doctor. He or she can help direct you to a smoking cessation program that's right for you.
So remember to take special care of your most prized possession, your heart. Learn if you have any risk factors and take the actions needed to modify your risk—starting today. Follow a heart healthy weight loss plan and increase your physical activity level. In addition, consider the use of heart-smart dietary supplements as added nutritional support. Incorporate soy protein and soluble fiber into your diet. Eat a diet rich in plant foods like whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, other lean protein and heart healthy fats. Be sure you are consuming adequate amounts of homocysteine lowering folic acid, Vitamins B6 and B12. Make sure to get plenty of omega three fatty acids. If you are concerned about contaminants in fresh fish, consider a pharmaceutical-grade fish oil supplement that brings you a full spectrum of seven omega-3 fatty acids including EPA for hearth health and DHA to support brain function. And don't forget about coenzyme Q 10, to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, the form of cholesterol that makes up the plaque that builds up inside artery walls. People who take statin type drugs may be depleted in coenzyme Q10.
