Risk factors for heart disease

If you have any of the following conditions, you may want to ask your doctor for a checkup on the health of your heart:

Previous heart trouble or stroke

• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Obesity
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• High cholesterol
• Family history of heart disease

a healthy heart is a happy heart

by Tony Romano

Heart disease is the leading killer in North America. According to the American Heart Association, between 15 and 20 million people die each year from some form of heart disease, including heart attacks, arrhythmia and congestive heart failure. Heart disease causes more deaths than all other diseases combined.

There is good news: If you don’t have heart disease, you can prevent it. And if you do have heart disease, you can beat it. In either case, you certainly have the ability to do something about it. The cornerstones of prevention and treatment for heart disease are healthy eating and regular exercise.

Diet
The main dietary culprits contributing to heart disease are cholesterol and saturated fats. Reducing your intake of these substances is a key to reducing your risk for heart disease. Some healthy diet ideas to help you achieve this:

• Eat at least two pieces of fruit a day. (Yes, a glass of 100 percent orange juice counts.)
• Start your day with a good breakfast, especially one of cereals, toast, fruit or yogurt.
• Trim the fat off your meat, or remove the skin from your chicken before eating.
• Cut down on fast food and carryout meals; once or twice a week is plenty.
• Cook by grilling, baking or steaming instead of frying. For flavor, try adding more herbs and spices.
• Eat more fish and shellfish – at least one meal a week, notfried.

Perhaps the best possible advice: Eat a balanced diet. It’s not necessary to cut out anything entirely. Fortunately for us in the Buckeye State, many of the best foods for a heart-healthy diet (fruits, nuts, berries, grains and low-fat dairy products) are grown and produced right here on the farms of Ohio.

Exercise
Exercise is important to heart health because it increases your heart rate and enhances circulation. This keeps all your vital organs sustained with nutrients. Exercise also lowers stress and helps keep muscles and tendons strong.

• Aerobic exercise is the best. That includes brisk walking, active housework, gardening or yard work and playing sports.
• Incorporate meaning into your exercise, so that it serves a purpose. This would include taking the stairs instead of the elevator, for example.
• If there’s a nearby store, office or other destination you need to get to, why not walk there?

The Stress Factor
There is one other thing that can positively impact the health of your heart: reducing your stress. Studies show that emotional stress can have physical effects on people. Certain chemicals released during prolonged or intense stress appear to cause artery damage, and this is bad for your heart.
To reduce your level of stress, it is important to slow down and take the time to savor life. Finding quiet time can be a challenge, but with some modifications to your work schedule or habits, you can maximize the enjoyment you derive from life’s rewards – without damaging your health to attain them.

Tony Romano is communications coordinator for Nationwide Health Plans.

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