To Your Health
How To Be Heart-Healthy

by Paulette Avery, RN, MSN

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the number-one killer in America. In February, Heart Month, let's focus on keeping our hearts in the best possible health. Whether you already have CVD or you want to prevent its development, there are many things you can do to improve your cardiovascular health.

The major risk factors for CVD are tobacco smoke, high blood pressure, elevated blood cholesterol levels, physical inactivity, obesity and overweight, and diabetes. All of these risk factors can be altered since they are "lifestyle" risks. To state the obvious, you should avoid tobacco use and, whenever possible, limit your exposure to environmental smoke. Get high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels under control. Get regular exercise, and if you need to lose weight, do it. And if you are diabetic, do all you can to keep your blood-sugar level under control.

I know that the things I just listed are much easier said than done, so here are some practical suggestions for how to get heart-healthy.

One easy way to help prevent CVD is to take a low-dose aspirin (75-100 mg) or one ibuprofen tablet daily. Doing so has been recommended for some time for people who have suffered a heart attack or stroke. According to an article in Prevention, recent studies indicate that taking these medications can help prevent heart attacks even in those who have never had one. The US Preventive Services Task Force suggests that women past menopause and men over 40 discuss this recommendation with their doctors. If you're younger but have diabetes, or if you have two or more risk factors for CVD, including heart disease in your family, taking the aspirin or ibuprofen may lower your risk as well. And as an added benefit, recent research has found that aspirin/ibuprofen use can also help prevent Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer. But be sure to check with your doctor first because, in certain circumstances, taking these medications may not be recommended.

Another article I found at Prevention magazine's Web site (www.prevention.com), titled "Reverse Heart Disease in 24 Days," gives many easy ways to enhance your heart health. Here are some of the suggestions:

Drink green tea. It's full of antioxidants, and it can help lower your cholesterol and maybe your blood pressure, too. You can buy green-tea bags at the local grocery, or you can find an interesting variety of teas at local Asian markets.

Use oil olive to replace butter or margarine in your diet whenever possible. Again, antioxidants abound in this food source. Take advantage of all the olive has to offer by buying only cold-pressed, extra-virgin oils that retain more of the healthful benefits. When olive oil won't work, try canola oil, another heart-healthy choice.

Eat fish at least once a week. Salmon and other fatty fish that contain omega-3 fatty acids help your heart maintain its normal rhythm and can reduce the risk of death from a heart attack by 52 percent.

Get regular exercise. If you enjoy running, cycling, or other vigorous workouts, great. If not, walking is a safe and easy way to get the exercise and reap the benefits. Start with 15 minutes a day, and work up to the optimum of 45 minutes a day four to five days a week. Exercise can lower your risk for a heart attack by up to 50 percent, better than cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Spend 15 minutes a day in meditation or doing some other form of conscious relaxation.You will feel less stressed, and that, in turn, will be good for your heart.

Check out the rest of the suggestions in this helpful Prevention article, and then begin introducing them into your daily routines. And may each of you have a happy and heart-healthy Valentine's Day!

Paulette Avery is a registered nurse and a freelance writer who specializes in health issues.