Ways to Reduce Your Risk - Heart Disease and Stroke

For decades doctors have viewed heart disease in terms of plaque build up and clogged arteries. Cholesterol and triglycerides were the villains. The theory was that years of poor diet fatty deposits or plaques would start to build up with in the arteries. Eventually this plaque would grow so large that they would cut off the blood supply to the heart resulting in angina (chest pain), high blood pressure, and for those left untreated with cholesterol lowering drugs, a heart attack. People began to be concerned about their total cholesterol levels and could even tell the difference between low-density lipids (LDL) or bad cholesterol and high-density lipids (HDL) or good cholesterol.

Doctors militantly advocated cholesterol levels below 200 (this number has steadily dropped over the years). The LDL and HDL levels became just as important. A high LDL and a low HDL spelled trouble. Cholesterol levels were attacked with lipid (blood fats) lowering drugs including the statins- Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor, Vytorin, and others. It is never too late to begin living healthy, but the sooner a person begins, the better. Healthy living does not demand anything that is intensive, unconventional or painful. All it calls for is moderation. A little bit of knowledge and good sense goes a long way.

If you want a healthy heart, for the rest of your life, follow the tips below.

• Watch What You Eat. Consume a good deal of fruit and vegetables. An excitable formula to check you're eating an assortment of nutrients is to keep meals colorful. Colors will cover some of the important stable amount of nutrients from food.

• Do not smoke! It is long-known that smoking and secondhand smoke are dangerous, but most importantly smoking in front of your children could jeopardize their health. Your children future habits could also depend on your present habits, and smoking could become ingrained in their subconscious mind. It has been demonstrated that children are more than likely to smoke if they were brought up in a family where one or both parents also smoked.

• Sustain a healthy weight. Reduce the intake saturated fats and cholesterol through food. It is not just vital to be sure you are not overweight but also to check for any excess abdominal fat, which poses a far greater hazard of getting some of the life threatening heart disease.

• Restrict your alcohol uptake. Controlled alcohol consumption might in reality be healthful, particularly red wine, which supplies antioxidants for your heart. People who drink large amounts of alcohol tend to have higher blood pressure.

• Find out healthy means to cope with stress. This is crucial. We all have regular stress in our lifetime and the manner in which you deal with stress sends out powerful signals and sets up a blueprint of behavior your children will certainly copy.

• Supervise cholesterol levels. Frequent health check ups are essential, since cholesterol could be high even in people who appear to be otherwise well. Chronically elevated cholesterol increases buildup of atherosclerotic plaque.

• Monitor blood pressure. Arterial blood pressure should be kept at optimum levels in order to prevent the chance of a cerebrovascular (stroke) and cardiovascular (heart) disease. The higher the blood pressure, the higher the health risks on the heart and the brain.

• Undergo tests for diabetes. Diabetes can show no symptoms until it has already turn a critical threat to health. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type and it is associated with obesity.

• Exercise! Make it a habit to include some physical activity into your daily routine. Routine physical activity is helpful in controlling obesity. This will support your health, and add to longevity.

Reduce your risk to heart disease and stroke. Start today. Delay is not an option as your health is at stake.

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