Place your hand over your heart. The fact that it’s beating right now is pretty amazing, right? As it beats, it’s pumping blood throughout your entire body. It’s also vital to areas of your health such as heart rate and blood pressure.
In short, your heart is super important to the rest of your body — and keeping it healthy is a big deal.
You might be surprised to learn, then, that millions of Americans have heart disease. In fact, it’s the leading killer of men and women across most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.
Below, find out what you can do to promote your own heart health.
Several diseases can affect the heart, but the term “heart disease” usually refers to coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common type. CAD occurs when the arteries that bring oxygen-rich blood to your heart become narrowed by a buildup of a sticky substance called plaque. If the plaque breaks loose, it can form a blood clot in an already narrowed artery, blocking the flow of blood.
That can result in a heart attack (aka a myocardial infarction), which can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle and may result in death. It can also lead to heart failure, which means the heart can no longer pump enough blood to support your other organs.
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About 5% of U.S. adults ages 20 and older have CAD, and more than 800,000 Americans suffer heart attacks every year. That’s about 1 every 40 seconds. Although 80% of the people who die from CAD are 65 or older, it can happen to adults of any age.
“Heart disease is driven by our environment and our food supply and our sedentary lifestyle,” says Donald Lloyd-Jones, M.D. He’s a cardiologist and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, as well as the 2021–22 president of the American Heart Association. But, Dr. Lloyd-Jones adds, many of the risk factors are things we are largely in control of, so it’s up to us to understand how they affect our health and what we can do about it.
There are some risk factors you can’t do anything about — including getting older and having a family history of heart disease — but you can address many of the other risk factors, including the big 3:
Although half of all Americans have at least 1 of those risk factors, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk.
Other risk factors include:
Let’s take a closer look at some of the main risk factors for heart disease.
Your blood pressure reading contains 2 numbers:
High blood pressure makes your arteries less elastic, which reduces blood flow and puts you at risk of developing heart disease and/or having a heart attack or stroke.
Despite the potential risks, you can’t feel that your blood pressure is high unless it’s extremely elevated, according to Stephanie Moore, M.D. She’s a cardiologist at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. That’s why she advises her patients to keep track of their blood pressure.
“If you are over the age of 40, you should know what your blood pressure is,” says Dr. Moore. “If you’re over the age of 50, you should check your blood pressure at least twice a week and write it down. And when you go see your doctor, take those blood pressure readings in.”
Digital blood pressure monitors are widely available and make it easy to check your blood pressure at home. To get an accurate reading, sit with your arm supported, your upper arm at heart level and your feet flat on the floor. Avoid stress, caffeine, tobacco and exercise for 30 minutes before measuring your blood pressure.
Let’s say you want to take your blood pressure for the first time. What does a normal reading look like versus a high one? Here’s what to look for:
“Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.”
Both conditions make your heart have to work harder. Moreover, obesity contributes to the likelihood that you have other risk factors, including:
Being obese or overweight may also make you less likely to exercise, which can contribute to heart disease, since exercise helps strengthen your heart.
The most common measure is body mass index (BMI), which is a single number based on your height and weight. Here’s the range of scores for adults:
Although BMI is an important number, Dr. Lloyd-Jones cautions that it may not be the best way to track your weight. “If more of your weight is packed around the middle of your body, it’s less healthy,” he says. “It’s better if it’s in your legs and arms, where there’s muscle mass, and less in your abdomen, where it’s more likely to be fat mass.”
In fact, the National Library of Medicine says that people with apple-shaped bodies (waist is bigger than hips) have an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes compared with those with pear-shaped bodies.
Cholesterol is a fatty, waxy substance in your body’s cells. The body makes all the cholesterol it needs, but many common foods also contain it. Those include:
If you tend to eat a lot of dairy products, for example, it can put you at risk of having elevated or high cholesterol levels.
Having too much cholesterol in your blood can contribute to the formation of plaque and the narrowing of your arteries. That could lead to a condition in which cholesterol and other substances build up on the artery walls (atherosclerosis). That can cause health problems like:
Like high blood pressure, atherosclerosis doesn’t usually cause any noticeable symptoms unless it’s advanced, which is why knowing your cholesterol levels is important.
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Your doctor can test your body’s cholesterol level with a simple blood test. That will provide you with 3 important numbers:
Your LDL level is sometimes called “bad” cholesterol, and HDL is sometimes called “good” cholesterol. Here’s how your cholesterol numbers break down:
Triglycerides are the most common type of fat in your body. They are affected by foods like:
Those foods contain extra calories that end up in your fat cells. A high amount of triglycerides, in combination with low HDL or high LDL cholesterol, is thought to lead to atherosclerosis.
As with cholesterol, your doctor can do a simple blood test to check your body’s triglyceride level. It’s represented by a single number. Here’s what your score means:
Hemoglobin is a type of protein found in your red blood cells. It carries oxygen. Hemoglobin A1c is a protein that’s linked to sugar in your body. Your doctor can do a hemoglobin A1c test to check whether you have healthy levels of sugar in your bloodstream. The results of that test can tell your doctor if you have diabetes or prediabetes.
If you have diabetes, it’s treatable and your doctor can help you manage the condition. Diabetes can damage your blood vessels and is associated with other risk factors for heart disease, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol. People with diabetes are also more likely to develop heart failure.
Your doctor can perform a simple blood test to figure out your A1c level. The number is given as a percentage. Here’s what your score means:
Your A1c level tends to rise with age, so Dr. Moore gives her patients a simple rule to follow: “If you’re over 55, your A1c level should be equal to or less than your age [with a decimal in the middle],” she says. “So if you’re 65, it should be 6.5 or less.” She notes that everyone should try to stay under 7.5%, so her rule doesn’t apply to patients older than 75.
You’ve been told from a young age that smoking is bad for you. And for good reason. For one thing, it’s a major cause of lung cancer — but it also increases your risk of developing heart disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking can raise triglycerides, lower your “good” HDL cholesterol, and make blood sticky and more likely to clot. This can:
Dr. Moore advises her patients to cut back on smoking and eventually to quit. “If you cut back from a whole pack to half a pack, that’s good,” says Dr. Moore. “But you need to stop.”
And if you’re thinking that vaping might be a healthier option, think again. “The chemicals that are in the aerosol of vaping can damage your lungs and heart and make you more likely to start smoking combustible products too,” says Dr. Lloyd-Jones.
Whether you are a personal fitness fanatic, love running or practice yoga, exercise is a great way to lower your risk of developing heart disease. It can help:
“Exercise and physical activity are some of the most powerful preventive drugs that we have,” says Dr. Lloyd-Jones. “Just as sometimes you have to take a pill every day for your blood pressure, you also need to schedule physical activity for yourself every day to really maximize its benefits.”
Experts recommend getting at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity every week. Moderate exercise includes things like:
Vigorous exercise includes things like:
Even in 10-minute chunks, exercise makes a huge difference to your body. In fact, it’s generally better to spread the time spent exercising out over the whole week, rather than cramming it all into the weekend. It’s also a good idea to talk with your doctor before starting a new exercise plan.
You can improve your heart health by avoiding foods that are high in saturated fats, salt or sugar. Those types of foods can increase your risk of developing diabetes and other heart-related conditions. Experts recommend the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan. It advises you to choose foods such as:
It also urges you to limit foods like:
If you’re not sure where to start, Dr. Moore suggests following this simple rule: “You need to eat 5 servings a day of either fruits or vegetables,” she says.
The simple answer is right now. If you’re confused about where to start, checking in with your doctor is a good first step. But beyond their advice, you can do a lot of it from the comfort of your own home — or at the gym. And take it easy on yourself; it’s a process.
“If you consistently add 1 apple to your diet every day, exercise for 10 minutes a day, check your blood pressure twice a week, and make the doctor’s appointment to get your cholesterol and diabetes numbers drawn, you’re way ahead of the curve,” says Dr. Moore.
“This is a journey; it’s not a one-time thing,” adds Dr. Lloyd-Jones. “As with all journeys, there are successes and sometimes some setbacks. But the important thing is to be moving forward.”
A heart attack or stroke can be a life-changing event. Explore critical illness insurance now or call a licensed insurance agent at 1-844-211-7730 for more information.
For informational purposes only. This information is compiled by UnitedHealthcare, and/or one of its affiliates, and does not diagnose problems or recommend specific treatment. Services and medical technologies referenced herein may not be covered under your plan. Please consult directly with your primary care physician if you need medical advice.
Sources:
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