SOME TIPS TO STAY HEALTHY AND CARE FOR YOUR HEARTS MORE !

Cardiovascular disease kills about half a million women every year -- more than cancer, 

respiratory disease and Alzheimer's disease combined. Most risk factors for heart disease 

are silent, so unless you have your blood pressure and cholesterol checked you may never 

know if they’re elevated. The Drs. recommend these tests beginning at age 20: blood 

pressure checks at least every two years; weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist 

circumference measured at each regular check-up; and cholesterol tests every five years 

(more frequently when you turn 45 for a man, 50 for a woman, or if problems show up). Blood 

glucose tests for men and women should be done every three years beginning at age 45. If 

you already have symptoms of heart disease, like having difficulty doing activity, unusual 

fatigue, anxiety, indigestion or shortness of breath, talk to your healthcare provider who may 

recommend more advanced testing or a consultation with a cardiologist.

shrink your dinner plate or bowl

Using smaller plates can help you control portion sizes. Most people would be better off 

using a salad plate for dinner. Bigger plate and bowl sizes today mean that often people don’t 

realize how much they’re eating. In studies at a University, people who were given big bowls 

served themselves about one-third more ice cream than people given smaller bowls. So start 

downsizing your dishes.

stretch your restaurant order further

Burning up the calories in today’s restaurant portions isn’t easy. For example, 20 years ago, 

a typical portion of spaghetti was 500 calories (one cup spaghetti with sauce and three small 

meatballs). Today a typical portion of the same meal is 1,025 calories (two cups pasta, 

sauce, and three large meatballs). That’s an extra 525 calories! To burn those extra calories 

from that one meal, you’d need to clean your house for two-and-a-half hours. Twenty years 

ago, a portion of fast food fries was 2.4 ounces and 210 calories; today’s typical portion size 

is 6.9 ounces and 610 calories. You’d have to walk for an hour and ten minutes to burn those

 extra 400 calories. To avoid piling on calories, eat half of what you’re served at a restaurant 

and save the rest for tomorrow’s lunch (or dinner). The secret to maintaining heart health is 

consuming adequate portion sizes so that you’ll burn up the calories you consume.

switch to water

One 12-ounce can of soda contains 130 calories and eight teaspoons of sugar. The new 

AHA guidelines recommend that women get no more than 100 calories per day from all 

added sugars (those that aren’t found naturally in foods) in their diet, which is about 6 

teaspoons per day. Studies show that Americans typically consume an average of 22 

teaspoons of added sugar a day -- that equals 355 calories! Besides making you gain 

weight, a high-sugar diet has been linked to increased risk for high blood pressure, low levels 

of HDL (the healthy cholesterol), and high levels of triglycerides, a kind of fat in the blood that 

raises your risk for heart disease and diabetes. One simple way to cut back on the added 

sugars in your diet is to stop drinking soda. Drink water and other beverages that are 

unsweetened naturally.

move more

If trying to squeeze in a 45-minute workout every day is just too overwhelming, think about 

doing three 15-minute walks or five 10-minute walks instead. Increasing the amount of 

activity in your day -- walking more and just getting up and moving more -- can have as 

dramatic an effect on health as doing a 45-minute workout. Walking 10,000 

steps a day is equivalent to 45-60 minutes of aerobic exercise, but many people find it’s 

much easier to accumulate small steps throughout the day than to do one full workout. Park 

further from a store and use the stairs in your home as your own personal stair climber; run 

up and down them several times a day.

take a deep breath

Breathing exercises and other techniques such as progressive relaxation, visualization, and 

even counting to 10 before you react, can help reduce stress. In a recent study of about 

15,000 people around the world who were admitted to hospitals for heart attack, high stress 

levels raised risks about the same as high blood pressure and abdominal obesity. Stress 

causes the heart to speed up, blood pressure to go up, and many people who are stressed 

overeat and gain weight. For all of these reasons, keeping stress in check is 

important for a healthy heart.

laugh out loud

Surrounding yourself with funny people is good for your heart. People who have heart 

disease laugh about 40 percent less than people who don’t, according to studies.

 Researchers also found that when people watch comedies and laugh, their blood vessels 

relax, open and blood flows easily. Watching movies depicting stressful situations causes a 

viewer’s blood vessels to constrict, lessening blood flow. If you’re a glass half-full person and 

you can see the funny side of things you tend to have fewer issues with your heart.

cuddle up

Sex and romance are pretty darn good for your heart, so get out there and find a cuddle 

buddy. Studies show that people who have good personal relationships, good physical 

relationships, and even people who have pets have lower blood pressure and less heart 

disease than people who don’t have these supportive relationships in their lives. And sex is 

exercise, which is good for your heart, too. In a recent analysis of 67 studies conducted on 

women since 1995, researchers  identified stress, anxiety and depression as important risk 

factors for heart disease in women, while supportive relationships are a significant factor in 

reducing heart disease risk.

sleep yourself well

Sleeping well is essential to a healthy heart. Poor sleep weakens the heart and contributes to 

heart failure. It can raise risks for arrhythmias or irregular heartbeats, and poor sleep can 

lead to high blood pressure because it doesn't allow the blood pressure to come down to a 

more normal range as it should during the evening. If you have trouble falling asleep, wake 

up frequently in the night, snore heavily, or just can get enough sleep, consult your doctor.

learn from your pregnancy

Certain conditions during pregnancy can predict your future risk of heart disease. One large 

study found that women who experience pre-pre-eclampsia during pregnancy have double 

the risk for heart disease and stroke over the next five to 15 years as women who don’t 

develop it. Many women are diagnosed with pre-eclampsia  high blood pressure, gestational 

diabetes or high blood sugar during pregnancy. Doctors used to reassure them that once 

their pregnancies were over, these conditions would clear up, too, and they would have 

nothing to worry about. Today we know that those conditions during pregnancy are risk factors 

for the development of hypertension, diabetes and heart disease down the road, and when 

your pregnancy is over, your doctor should continue to monitor your health carefully.

get some sun

Your skin manufactures vitamin D in the sun, and vitamin D is essential to a healthy heart. 

Vitamin D levels are becoming lower and lower in  women, and low vitamin D raises your risk 

for heart disease, although exactly how is unknown. Vitamin D is really a hormone that 

manages calcium throughout your body, and it impacts not only bones, but muscles and 

most tissues in your body. During the warmest months, as little as 5 minutes (at most 30) of 

sun exposure between 10 AM and 3 PM, several times a week to your face, arms, legs, or 

back without sunscreen should be enough to help your body manufacture adequate amounts 

of vitamin D, according to the NIH. Using a sunscreen can block this process, and in cold 

winter months, the sun isn’t strong enough to make vitamin D if you live somewhere between 

the north of Boston and the northern border of California. Ask your doctor to see if you should 

have your blood levels of vitamin checked, and if they are low, whether you need 

supplementation. In general, levels below 12 ng/mL are too low for overall health, and levels 

above 50 ng/mL are probably too high. The ideal level is around 20 ng/mL. Vitamin D and 

calcium can help improve weight loss, too, which could be another benefit to your heart.

stop smoking

Even if you only smoke a few cigarettes a day, you are greatly increasing your risk of heart 

disease and heart attack. Smoking just one to five cigarettes daily increased the risk of heart 

attack by 40 percent in an international study of 15,000 heart attack victims. Even preventive 

tactics such as taking a daily aspirin or a statin medication couldn’t counteract the damaging 

effects of smoking on the heart. 

know the signs of heart attack

 The classic symptoms of heart attack that occur in men -- mid-chest pain radiating out to the 

left arm and shoulder -- may occur in women, too, but often women have more subtle 

symptoms than men. These include indigestion, back and neck pain, and even jaw pain, 

especially during stressful or physically strenuous situations. If you experience these 

symptoms, call 911 immediately. Amazingly, only about half of women said the first thing 

they would do is call 911 if they thought they were having a heart attack, according to a recent 

survey .Waiting too long to get help may be one reason why women are less likely to survive 

heart attacks than men.

know the signs of a stroke

Every year, more women than men  have a stroke during which blood and  

oxygen are cut off 

to the brain because of a clot or ruptured blood vessel. The Dr. 

 says to watch for these signs 

of stroke: Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of 

the body; sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding; sudden trouble seeing in 

one or both eyes; sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination; and 

sudden severe headache with no known cause. If you or a loved one experience any of these 

symptoms, call 911 immediately. If you’re having an ischemic stroke (caused by a clot and 

account for 87 percent of all strokes) long-term damage from a stroke can usually be 

minimized if doctors can administer clot-dissolving medication within three hours of onset of 

symptoms. If you’re having a haemorrhagic stroke (rupturing of a blood vessel), immediate 

treatment may prevent excessive bleeding in the brain and save your life. Seek medical help 

even if these symptoms are transient -- lasting less than five minutes -- and you feel fine 

afterwards.

. It could be a sign of a “mini-stroke,” known medically as transient ischemic 

attacks 

or TIAs. Consider it a warning sign: one-third of people who have them will later have a 

full- 

blown stroke with potentially deadly results.