Tips for a Healthy Heart
A healthy diet, regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight for your age and body type all play a part in maintaining a healthy heart and balanced style of life. A healthy blood pressure and managing your cholesterol can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and coronary heart disease/failure—America's No.1 killer.
Occurring naturally in the body, cholesterol is an essential steroid which allows our bodies to function. Manufactured by the liver, it is used in many of the body's metabolic processes. Cholesterol is also used in the production of Vitamin D and bile acids which help the body digest fat.
There are two types of cholesterol—'good' (HDL) cholesterol and 'bad' (LDL) cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is the type of cholesterol that clogs blood vessels and HDL is the type of cholesterol that helps unclog blood vessels.
While not all cholesterol is bad, problems arise when diets rich in saturated fats and trans fats cause the levels of cholesterol in our blood to rise more than we need. When cholesterol rises above normal levels, fatty deposits build up on the surface of our arteries—forming 'plaques'.
Plaque along the artery lining blocks blood flowing to your heart, this leads to: heart disease, strokes and other conditions. The buildup of plaque in the lining of the artery is known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrow artery, a heart attack or stroke can result.
If you have a high level of cholesterol, you can reduce it by medication and/or changes to your style of life (especially changing your eating habits). Talk to your doctor about what will be most effective for your situation.
High cholesterol is just one of the controllable risk factors of atherosclerosis along with smoking, obesity and high blood pressure. By eating a healthy diet, enjoying regular physical activity and avoiding exposure to tobacco smoke you can control your cholesterol level along with prescribed medication. While diet and style of life changes can help manage your cholesterol, remember to carefully follow your doctor's recommendations.
In addition to keeping your cholesterol level in check, maintaining a healthy blood pressure can also reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and coronary heart failure. High blood pressure is considered to be anything over 140 for systolic blood pressure and 90 for diastolic blood pressure. If yours is high, take it seriously and follow your doctor's recommendations.