Heart/Cardiovascular
disease is the number one killer for both men and women. According to research,
most heart attacks and other causes of heart disease death could be prevented.
Here’s a list of things you can do to help your ticker keep beating strong for
years to come:
Blood
Pressure- Blood
pressure is the strongest predictor for heart disease that’s measured in two
numbers:
1. Systolic Blood Pressure (the first or top number)- the
pressure of blood measured against artery walls during a heartbeat when the
ticker is pumping blood.
2. Diastolic Blood Pressure- It is the second number and is the
pressure of blood against the artery walls between heartbeats when the ticker
is filling with blood.
Normal blood
pressure is 119/79 or below with prehypertension being 120 to 139 (systolic)
and/or 80 to 89 (diastolic). According to experts, there are an estimated 45
million men and women with prehypertension. Such people should make healthy
lifestyle changes to lower their risk of blood pressure complications like heart
disease, stroke, and kidney damage.
Cholesterol-
It is the most
familiar cardiovascular disease risk factor. However, cholesterol (a type of
fat) is the most essential nutrient for the body. But too much cholesterol or
too less of the good type of cholesterol increases the risk for hardening of
the arteries that can result in heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Your
cholesterol is abnormal when your total cholesterol is 200 or higher, “good”
cholesterol level or HDL is less than 40 and “bad” cholesterol or LDL is more
than 160 with 190 and above being very high. Remember, 130 to 159 is borderline
high, 100-129 is near optimal and less than 100 is looked at as optimal.
Blood
Sugar- What greatly
increases the risk of type 2 diabetes is too little exercise and obesity. Do
not take it lightly as type 2 diabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke,
kidney disease and even blindness. Get a type 2 diabetes diagnosis done by
undergoing a fasting blood sugar test (after not eating or drinking anything
but water for about 12 hours at least) which is the most commonly used to
diagnose type 2 diabetes. 100 or less than that is a normal fasting blood
sugar, prediabetes is a fasting blood sugar of 100-125 whereas a fasting blood
sugar of 126 or greater indicates diabetes. Do not brush it aside, you need to
take Type 2 diabetes very seriously.
Exercise- Aerobic exercising 3-5 days a week
for 30-45 minutes is recommended. Other forms of exercise include swimming,
biking, jogging, etc. which strengthens the ticker. Walking can be as
beneficial. At the end of the day, anything is better than nothing and 30
minutes is what is recommended.
Take good
care of your heart and live a long life by keeping cardiac emergencies at bay.
To undergo CPR training in Tampa, sign up for a
CPR course at the AHA accredited CPR Tampa in Florida and become certified.
Either register online or call on 813-453-9974 to sign up. Check our class
calendar and select an appropriate course for yourself. If the class day/time
doesn’t fit your schedule, check our Palm Harbor location 36141 US Highway
19 North, Palm Harbor, FL 34684.
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