Heart disease continues to be a leading cause of death in the United States. The good news is that small steps and positive changes to your lifestyle can reduce cardiovascular disease and improve your heart health. Our goal is to focus on your cardiovascular health and raise awareness on cardiovascular disease, prevention, and treatment. February is considered American Heart Month!
Monitoring your blood pressure:
Regularly checking your blood pressure is a crucial first step in maintaining a healthy heart. Blood pressure reflects the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats. High blood pressure (hypertension) is diagnosed when two or more readings on separate occasions are equal to or greater than 130/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). High blood pressure typically causes no symptoms, and many people may not know that they have high blood pressure. Although hypertension is a chronic condition, it can be effectively managed with proper treatment and lifestyle adjustments.
Over time though, untreated hypertension can result in additional health issues to include stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, increased risk for dementia, loss of vision, peripheral artery disease, and sexual dysfunction.
Lifestyle tips to lower your blood pressure and protect your heart:
- Reduce sodium in your food by limiting processed and packaged foods. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2300 mg a day, but ideally aiming for <1500 mg daily for most adults. The average American diet contains about 3500 mg daily.
- Eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy proteins (to include legumes, nuts, fish, seafood, low fat or fat free dairy, lean poultry), and limit saturated fats. Minimize added sugars and if using oil for cooking, use vegetable oils such as olive, canola, corn, soybean, etc.
- Get regular physical activity (aiming for at least 150 min of moderate physical activity) each week. Ideally your activity is spread throughout the week.
- Limit or avoid alcohol use
- Maintain a healthy weight for your body
- Manage stress
- Keep well hydrated
- Quit smoking, and don’t vape or use tobacco or nicotine products. Also avoid second-hand smoking and vaping.
- Get quality sleep, 7-9 hours a night
It also is very important to measure your blood pressure correctly. Here is a picture of the correct way to monitor BPs:
In addition to lifestyle means, medications are sometimes needed to help patients manage their high blood pressure. If you need to start medications, your doctor can work with you to help determine which blood pressure medication (or combination of medications) are best for you.
Important links and additional resources to learn about blood pressure:
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure
https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/
Managing cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is important for our health. Our liver produces cholesterol and cholesterol also comes from our diet, especially from animal and dairy products. Cholesterol is critical for our health and our body to function. However, too high cholesterol levels can be dangerous and lead to cardiovascular disease and stroke.
A standard lipid panel contains a measurement of the total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein LDL cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein HDL cholesterol and triglycerides. It is a well-established tool used to estimate and manage a person’s cardiovascular risk. LDL cholesterol is commonly referred to as the “bad” cholesterol as it results in increased plaque build-up in arteries. HDL cholesterol is referred to as the “good” cholesterol because it helps take the bad cholesterol back to the liver and out of circulation. Therefore, high LDL levels and low HDL levels are associated with cardiovascular disease. Triglycerides are another fat that serves as an energy store. An elevated triglyceride level, especially in conjunction with a high LDL or low HDL can also be harmful.
Advanced lipid testing involves testing for additional cardiovascular markers that may help improve the assessment of cardiovascular disease risk. For certain patients, the standard lipid profile may not present the entire picture. Certain patient populations who may benefit the most from advanced lipid testing include those patients with diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL numbers, and cardiovascular disease at an early age, and strong family history of similar concerns. Because cholesterol is carried in lipoprotein particles, advanced lipid tests can subfractionate these particles according to their number, size, and density. Measuring these other lipoproteins to include apolipoprotein B (apoB), LDL particle number (LDL-P), and lipoprotein A (Lp(a)) may help your doctor and you better understand your cholesterol profile. These tests may not be covered by your insurance, so discuss with your doctor if these tests are appropriate for you.
To keep cholesterol under control, reducing your intake of saturated and trans fats is vital. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to under 6% of daily calories. We recommend limiting intake of red meat and whole milk products and cheeses, fried foods, and limiting processed meats. A heart healthy diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and poultry, fish, and nuts.
Important links and resources for understanding cholesterol:
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/cholesterol/about-cholesterol
What is atherosclerosis?
Over time, coronary arteries can become narrowed from a build-up of cholesterol and fat, called plaque. This silent and slow process is referred to as atherosclerosis. When arteries become significantly narrowed over time, patients can experience chest pain, especially noticeable during physical exertion. This is referred to as angina and is a discomfort that typically lasts minutes. This is a warning that someone is at high risk for a heart attack and should seek urgent medical attention.
In areas where the heart muscle is not getting sufficient blood supply, surrounding blood vessels can help improve blood flow by forming collateral circulation. The formation of collateral vessels can also occur after someone has a heart attack to help resupply oxygenated blood to the injured heart muscle.
What is a heart attack?
Heart attacks occur when the blood supply to the heart muscle is acutely and significantly reduced or cut off (ischemia.) This impairs and sometimes permanently damages the heart muscle. The amount of damage depends on the size of the heart muscle that was impacted, and the length of time between the injury and treatment.
Acute ischemia occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque breaks and a clot forms around this plaque. Treatment involves reperfusion of the clotted coronary artery, sometimes involving procedures to open the blocked arteries (angioplasty), medications, or bypass surgery.
A heart attack can sometimes trigger a dangerous heart rhythm such as ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation is when the heart beats in such a disorganized fashion that the heart can’t efficiently pump blood to the body, and this can result in sudden cardiac arrest. If cardiopulmonary resuscitation and a defibrillator are implemented quickly, these can help restore the heart back into a normal heart rhythm.
Being familiar with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a valuable skill. If you’re interested in becoming certified, you can enroll in a CPR class at heart.org/nation.
Learn and practice with a CPR Anytime® Training Kit:
https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/cpr-anytime
For adults and teens, hands-only CPR can double or triple the chances for survival! Call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest to a song with 100 beats per minute (like “Staying Alive.” Watch a 60-second video to learn Hands-Only CPR:
https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/hands-only-cpr
Managing your blood pressure, cholesterol, and implementing healthy lifestyle measures are incredibly powerful in lowering your cardiovascular risk and important for living a longer, healthier life.
Let’s work to protect our hearts and make cardiovascular health a top priority. We look forward to seeing you in the office soon to discuss your individual health and goals.
Drs. Kaneriya, Marathe, Lim, and the Lifetime Internal Medicine Team
Resources:
American Heart Association
Centers for Disease Control