A long life free of heart disease comes not only from control of standard measures such as blood pressure and cholesterol. Of course, watching these indicators is essential to measure the health of your heart, but a few other numbers, some surprising, may be significant as well.
Consciousness is worth having. The American Heart Association noted in its 2010 annual review that while the death rate from cardiovascular disease in the United States declined between 1996 and 2006, the disease burden remains high. More than 1 in 3 deaths related to heart disease in 2006.
U.S. News consulted with experts in cardiology to round destination numbers that you should strive to maintain its listing on good working conditions over time.
1. Alcohol
Lovers of the drink may be dismayed, but the science of alcohol as an agent to promote heart health is not only final. "If you have heart disease, alcohol plays no role in his cabinet, and if [you] not, alcohol is not the right way to reduce your risk," says Jonathan Whiteson, director of the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Program at New York University Langone Medical Center. Some research has suggested that drinking red wine can increase your HDL, or good cholesterol, "but said Whiteson that the momentum is minimal. "The exercise [provides] an increase in HDL better," he says.
Although not against a drink in a social environment is certainly not something that people-especially those with heart disease, should participate in the idea that it will offer a heart benefit, says Whiteson. In fact, the efficacy of drugs "can be hindered or enhanced by the alcohol, sometimes to a dangerous degree. (Common herbal supplements can interact with medications for heart, too). And drinking can cause your blood pressure high or elevated blood levels of triglycerides, a type of fat.
Conclusion: The American Heart Association suggests that healthy individuals who drink do so in moderation. Which is defined as one or two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. And be careful pouring: The AHA defines a drink as a 12-ounce beer, a 4-ounce glass of wine, 1.5 ounces of 80 proof spirits or 1 ounce of 100 proof liquor.
2. Salt intake
Some experts say that widespread use of sodium in the diet of the United States is wreaking havoc on our cardiovascular system. "Sodium causes fluid retention in circulation, and if you're sodium-sensitive, which expands blood volume and can contribute to hypertension, stroke and heart disease," said Clyde Yancy, medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and spokeswoman for the American Heart Association.
A report in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that if Americans reduced the daily salt intake by 3 grams, which could significantly reduce the annual number of new cases of coronary heart disease (from 60,000 to 120,000), accidents stroke (for 32,000 to 66,000), heart attack (by 54,000 to 99,000), and even the number of deaths from any cause (from 44,000 to 92,000). The study authors said previous research showed that the average American man consumes 10.4 grams of salt daily, while the average American woman received 7.3 grams.
Conclusion: The AHA recommends limiting salt intake of Americans to 1.5 grams per day. Beware: sodium creeps through unexpected sources, and not so much the salt shaker on the table that is to blame. Research suggests that getting up to 80 percent of our daily salt intake from processed foods.
3. Sugar intake
Not only you get salty, sweet, too, may ultimately become a cause for concern, says the American Heart Association. Like salt, sugar creeps processed foods that make up much of the American diet, and sugary soft drinks, juices and sports drinks are especially charged with the matter. Here's a little disturbing math for you: A 12-ounce can of soda has about 8 teaspoons (or 33 grams) of added sugars, totaling about 130 calories. (One gram of sugar leads to 4 calories.)
A can of Coca-Cola or Pepsi, then basically takes you to the new upper limit of the AHA over the recommended amount of sugar Americans should eat daily. the association's main concern is the number of excess calories that added sugars in our diet slip and pile up in your waist, which can contribute to the metabolic changes that increase the likelihood of developing a number of diseases.
Conclusion: According to the AHA, women should receive no more than 100 calories per day of added sugars and men should stop at 150 calories per day.
4. Resting heart rate
How hard is your heart works and how quickly it has to pump-for oxygen-rich blood through your body? A lower number suggests that the cardiovascular system is more efficient in doing this. Therefore, a highly trained athlete can have a resting heart rate in the 40's, says Whiteson.
And while research is still emerging as one's resting heart rate predicts the risk of heart disease, a picture begins to take shape. "There is some evidence to support [the idea that] a higher resting heart rate is associated with heart disease," ischemic heart disease in particular, he says, which reduces blood flow (and oxygen) to reach heart arteries and heart muscle. This effect appears to be more pronounced in women than in men, but a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests that women up to age 70 years, each increase of 10 beats per minute resting heart rate increased the risk of dying from coronary heart disease by 18 percent. In men, the risk increased by 10 percent for each increase of 10 beats per minute, and age had no impact. The study also found that women who have high levels of physical activity were able to reduce their risk of death significantly, compared with those who did little or no activity. The same effect was not observed in men, but researchers suggest that the results may have been biased because men tend to overestimate how much exercise they do.
Conclusion: The normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Check yours to find the pulse of your wrist, counting the beats in a period of 15 seconds, then multiply by four.
5. Hours of sleep per night
A overcaffeinated America seems to perpetually yearn for more close your eyes. And evidence is growing to suggest that the dream of a night of poor people not only feel the next day, but could have implications for the heart in the long term. It is well established that sleep apnea, which gives rise to numerous interruptions of breathing during sleep, is associated with coronary artery disease and stroke.
The reason is unclear, says Whiteson, but it has been hypothesized that people with interrupted sleep breathing have higher blood pressure in general and not get sleep, which normally allows blood pressure decrease and gives the cardiovascular system a break during sleep. And a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that people of middle age who has five hours of shut eye a night or less were at increased risk of developing coronary artery disease than those who received eight hours. The key was the beginning of the buildup of calcium in their arteries, CT is much before the disease process is usually collected.
In short: Get eight hours of sleep per night. Making it is not easy, we know.
6. Exercise
You've heard it a thousand times, and the message remains the same: regular exercise for the heart pounding offers a multitude of health benefits, particularly for cardiovascular fitness. Perhaps the doctors (and health writers) keep hitting us over the head with that fact, because of eye-popping number of American adults who reported vigorous activity to get zero in 2008 a Center for Disease Control and Prevention Survey: 59 percent.
Conclusion: For a clean bill of health, major health organizations (including the AHA and American College of Sports Medicine) recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each week, for example, brisk walking which increases your heart rate. This translates into 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. strength training twice a week for eight to 10 years, up to 12 repetitions each, is also on its list of pending tasks.
Whiteson at NYU Langone Medical Center suggests that those without heart disease should strike the recommendation of 60 minutes a day, five days a week of vigorous activity, which is breathing very hard and sweating. But offers a concession: "You can break" in, say, three sessions of 20 minutes per day, and that "the effect of aerobic exercise is cumulative." He also thinks that those without heart disease should do strength training three times a week. People with heart disease should always discuss a new exercise regimen with a doctor first, he says.
7. Cigarettes
A 2009 study of Norwegians found that heavy smokers, those who blow by at least 20 cigarettes per day were 2.5 times more likely to die over a period of 30 years than nonsmokers. But the cardiovascular risks associated with smoking is not only seen in heavy smokers.
The more nuanced message across is not always the risk that the occasional smoker is exposed. Even 10 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke can affect cardiovascular function. The fact that you may not smoke a pack a day or even a week does not mean you're safe. "There is no safe level of exposure" to tobacco snuff, Yancy said.
Conclusion To protect against heart disease (not to mention cancer, stroke and reproductive problems), the aim is to smoke cigarettes exactly zero.
8. Blood Sugar
Over time, high levels of sugar in the blood associated with diabetes can damage nerves and blood vessels. This may stimulate the accumulation of fat in the blood vessel walls, which can impede blood flow and promote atherosclerosis. Have a risk of diabetes significantly increases cardiovascular disease. Three quarters of people with diabetes die from heart or blood vessels.
Your body's ability to use glucose (blood sugar) can be properly tested to achieve a blood glucose test fasting, which is a snapshot of your blood sugar at the time, or to obtain a hemoglobin test A1C, which measures whole blood glucose in the last three months. Both can be profound. "There is evidence to suggest a significant decrease in the risk of cardiac and vascular diseases with each 1 percent reduction in hemoglobin A1C," says Whiteson.
Conclusion: The more control the better. The normal range for blood glucose test fasting is usually less than 100 milligrams per deciliter; prediabetes is indicated by a level between 100 and 125 mg / dl and diabetes by a reading of 126 mg / dl or higher. A normal A1C level is below 6 percent, and people with diabetes should try to keep it under 7 percent.
9. C-reactive protein
Inflammation is a process that our body uses to fight off an assault, as a cold or an injury to heal. But in the long term, chronic inflammation plays an unhealthy because the nasty byproducts-inflammatory molecules such as cytokines, are believed to be part of several disease processes, including atherosclerosis, obesity and Alzheimer's Disease . In the field of heart disease, much ado has been made of c-reactive protein, a marker of our level of inflammation that can be collected through a blood test called PCR, for high sensitivity c-reactive protein.
Who should be tested, and what the doctors are going to do with the results? These are matters of considerable debate. "We can not treat high [C-reactive protein]," says Whiteson. Is an indicator of potential heart problems, but the medicine does not have the tools, through drugs or procedures, for an elevated C-reactive protein to normal. You may, however, the direct handling of other critical risk factors as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Doing so may reduce the risk of future cardiac events and death. A landmark study in late 2008 found that subjects who do not have heart disease and had normal cholesterol who took statins had a lower risk of heart attack and stroke, and also had fewer angioplasties and bypass surgeries during the study, compared with the group taking a placebo. But many questions remain about the study to make a general statement that people should take statins more liberal.
Conclusion: According to the American Heart Association, a measurement of hs-CRP of 1 mg / L means that are at low risk for cardiovascular disease, a measure of between 1 and 3 mg / L means that they are at average risk and levels above 3 mg / L means that your risk is high. Getting the test may be useful, says Yancy, if you are at intermediate risk of heart disease based on other risk factors and their doctors would like another data point to determine treatment. But "there is no need to check the PCR if a person already has a high risk or is actually in support healthy," he says.
10. Waist circumference
Although not a direct measure of heart disease, high waist circumference tracks with an increased risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, all of which have a direct impact on heart health. And the bigger the belly, the heavier it tends to be. Obesity, of course, is a well-known risk factor for a number of diseases, including heart disease.
Importantly, a higher waist circumference indicates the distribution of fat around the abdomen and the packaging of fat in the vital organs, research has indicated that it is more dangerous to carry the weight on the thighs or buttocks. Make sure you are measuring correctly. Measuring waist circumference is correct taken by wrapping a tape measure around your natural waist at the navel, not around the hips.
Conclusion: Men should have a waist circumference of less than 40 inches. The figure for women is less than 35 inches.
11. Body mass index
Her weight issues, but must be considered in the context of how you measure. BMI has two account numbers. As waist circumference, body mass index is an indirect measure of risk, but a higher measure correlates with an increased risk. The catch, however, is not always entirely accurate. A person in excellent condition that has a lot of muscle mass may have a high BMI.
Too much excess weight is closely associated with diabetes, heart disease and stroke, some cancers, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, fatty liver disease, and complications in pregnancy.
Conclusion: People with a BMI below 18.5 are underweight. Target BMI range is between 18.5 and 24.9. Being overweight is considered between 25 and 30, and a BMI greater than 30 puts you in the obese category.
12. Blood pressure
This is essential for heart health. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 1 in 3 Americans have high blood pressure. When a nurse wraps the cuff around your arm, which is having a reading of the force on the walls of the arteries, which is subject to fluctuations in the pressure when the heart beats to pump blood through your body. The problem is that high blood pressure have symptoms, so a person can be unknowingly living with hypertension. In the long term, high blood pressure can damage organs and fuel a cascade of problems.
Measures to reduce blood pressure may include medication, but diet and exercise really can beat the numbers above into submission. The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, high in vegetables, fish, fruit and whole grains, but low-fat red meat and sugar has been shown to reduce blood pressure significantly. And research has suggested that the DASH diet packs a punch especially strong when people while working to reduce salt intake, a blood pressure booster known.
In a nutshell: "The only number that really matters is 120 over 80" which is the cutoff point for normal blood pressure reading, says Yancy. The pressure of one more in the blood exceeds that level, the more damage to the vascular system, heart and kidneys. The top number is called systolic blood pressure is a measure of pressure as the heart beats. The bottom number is called diastolic measurement is the pressure between heartbeats. A reading above 120/80 but below 140/90 is considered pre-hypertension, above anything that is high blood pressure. Both require attention and action to lower blood pressure under control.
13. Cholesterol
Your cholesterol level is a measure of fat circulating in your bloodstream. To blow off cholesterol levels is an increased risk of coronary artery disease and stroke. Reduce saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and total fat can help lower your cholesterol level. And exercise, Whiteson says, "is a pill that treats all diseases. You can catch all the risk factors of heart disease, including weight loss, reduce stress, improve profiles of blood sugar, reducing high blood pressure and to reduce total cholesterol, lowering LDL (bad cholesterol), increased HDL (good cholesterol) and lowering triglycerides, a type of blood fat.
In short: you are aiming for total cholesterol below 200 mg / dL above 240 mg / dL puts you at twice the risk of coronary heart disease as a person within the normal range. HDL should be above 40 mg / dl for men and above 50 mg / dL for women (women tend to have higher HDL before menopause), above 60 mg / dL is the category of protection your heart. Ideal LDL should be less than 100 mg / dl, even up to 129 mg / dL is near optimal. High LDL is considered 160 mg / dl or higher. Triglycerides should be below 150 mg / dL, a move above 200 mg / dl is considered high.
Consciousness is worth having. The American Heart Association noted in its 2010 annual review that while the death rate from cardiovascular disease in the United States declined between 1996 and 2006, the disease burden remains high. More than 1 in 3 deaths related to heart disease in 2006.
U.S. News consulted with experts in cardiology to round destination numbers that you should strive to maintain its listing on good working conditions over time.
1. Alcohol
Lovers of the drink may be dismayed, but the science of alcohol as an agent to promote heart health is not only final. "If you have heart disease, alcohol plays no role in his cabinet, and if [you] not, alcohol is not the right way to reduce your risk," says Jonathan Whiteson, director of the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Program at New York University Langone Medical Center. Some research has suggested that drinking red wine can increase your HDL, or good cholesterol, "but said Whiteson that the momentum is minimal. "The exercise [provides] an increase in HDL better," he says.
Although not against a drink in a social environment is certainly not something that people-especially those with heart disease, should participate in the idea that it will offer a heart benefit, says Whiteson. In fact, the efficacy of drugs "can be hindered or enhanced by the alcohol, sometimes to a dangerous degree. (Common herbal supplements can interact with medications for heart, too). And drinking can cause your blood pressure high or elevated blood levels of triglycerides, a type of fat.
Conclusion: The American Heart Association suggests that healthy individuals who drink do so in moderation. Which is defined as one or two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. And be careful pouring: The AHA defines a drink as a 12-ounce beer, a 4-ounce glass of wine, 1.5 ounces of 80 proof spirits or 1 ounce of 100 proof liquor.
2. Salt intake
Some experts say that widespread use of sodium in the diet of the United States is wreaking havoc on our cardiovascular system. "Sodium causes fluid retention in circulation, and if you're sodium-sensitive, which expands blood volume and can contribute to hypertension, stroke and heart disease," said Clyde Yancy, medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and spokeswoman for the American Heart Association.
A report in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that if Americans reduced the daily salt intake by 3 grams, which could significantly reduce the annual number of new cases of coronary heart disease (from 60,000 to 120,000), accidents stroke (for 32,000 to 66,000), heart attack (by 54,000 to 99,000), and even the number of deaths from any cause (from 44,000 to 92,000). The study authors said previous research showed that the average American man consumes 10.4 grams of salt daily, while the average American woman received 7.3 grams.
Conclusion: The AHA recommends limiting salt intake of Americans to 1.5 grams per day. Beware: sodium creeps through unexpected sources, and not so much the salt shaker on the table that is to blame. Research suggests that getting up to 80 percent of our daily salt intake from processed foods.
3. Sugar intake
Not only you get salty, sweet, too, may ultimately become a cause for concern, says the American Heart Association. Like salt, sugar creeps processed foods that make up much of the American diet, and sugary soft drinks, juices and sports drinks are especially charged with the matter. Here's a little disturbing math for you: A 12-ounce can of soda has about 8 teaspoons (or 33 grams) of added sugars, totaling about 130 calories. (One gram of sugar leads to 4 calories.)
A can of Coca-Cola or Pepsi, then basically takes you to the new upper limit of the AHA over the recommended amount of sugar Americans should eat daily. the association's main concern is the number of excess calories that added sugars in our diet slip and pile up in your waist, which can contribute to the metabolic changes that increase the likelihood of developing a number of diseases.
Conclusion: According to the AHA, women should receive no more than 100 calories per day of added sugars and men should stop at 150 calories per day.
4. Resting heart rate
How hard is your heart works and how quickly it has to pump-for oxygen-rich blood through your body? A lower number suggests that the cardiovascular system is more efficient in doing this. Therefore, a highly trained athlete can have a resting heart rate in the 40's, says Whiteson.
And while research is still emerging as one's resting heart rate predicts the risk of heart disease, a picture begins to take shape. "There is some evidence to support [the idea that] a higher resting heart rate is associated with heart disease," ischemic heart disease in particular, he says, which reduces blood flow (and oxygen) to reach heart arteries and heart muscle. This effect appears to be more pronounced in women than in men, but a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests that women up to age 70 years, each increase of 10 beats per minute resting heart rate increased the risk of dying from coronary heart disease by 18 percent. In men, the risk increased by 10 percent for each increase of 10 beats per minute, and age had no impact. The study also found that women who have high levels of physical activity were able to reduce their risk of death significantly, compared with those who did little or no activity. The same effect was not observed in men, but researchers suggest that the results may have been biased because men tend to overestimate how much exercise they do.
Conclusion: The normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. Check yours to find the pulse of your wrist, counting the beats in a period of 15 seconds, then multiply by four.
5. Hours of sleep per night
A overcaffeinated America seems to perpetually yearn for more close your eyes. And evidence is growing to suggest that the dream of a night of poor people not only feel the next day, but could have implications for the heart in the long term. It is well established that sleep apnea, which gives rise to numerous interruptions of breathing during sleep, is associated with coronary artery disease and stroke.
The reason is unclear, says Whiteson, but it has been hypothesized that people with interrupted sleep breathing have higher blood pressure in general and not get sleep, which normally allows blood pressure decrease and gives the cardiovascular system a break during sleep. And a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that people of middle age who has five hours of shut eye a night or less were at increased risk of developing coronary artery disease than those who received eight hours. The key was the beginning of the buildup of calcium in their arteries, CT is much before the disease process is usually collected.
In short: Get eight hours of sleep per night. Making it is not easy, we know.
6. Exercise
You've heard it a thousand times, and the message remains the same: regular exercise for the heart pounding offers a multitude of health benefits, particularly for cardiovascular fitness. Perhaps the doctors (and health writers) keep hitting us over the head with that fact, because of eye-popping number of American adults who reported vigorous activity to get zero in 2008 a Center for Disease Control and Prevention Survey: 59 percent.
Conclusion: For a clean bill of health, major health organizations (including the AHA and American College of Sports Medicine) recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity each week, for example, brisk walking which increases your heart rate. This translates into 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. strength training twice a week for eight to 10 years, up to 12 repetitions each, is also on its list of pending tasks.
Whiteson at NYU Langone Medical Center suggests that those without heart disease should strike the recommendation of 60 minutes a day, five days a week of vigorous activity, which is breathing very hard and sweating. But offers a concession: "You can break" in, say, three sessions of 20 minutes per day, and that "the effect of aerobic exercise is cumulative." He also thinks that those without heart disease should do strength training three times a week. People with heart disease should always discuss a new exercise regimen with a doctor first, he says.
7. Cigarettes
A 2009 study of Norwegians found that heavy smokers, those who blow by at least 20 cigarettes per day were 2.5 times more likely to die over a period of 30 years than nonsmokers. But the cardiovascular risks associated with smoking is not only seen in heavy smokers.
The more nuanced message across is not always the risk that the occasional smoker is exposed. Even 10 minutes of exposure to secondhand smoke can affect cardiovascular function. The fact that you may not smoke a pack a day or even a week does not mean you're safe. "There is no safe level of exposure" to tobacco snuff, Yancy said.
Conclusion To protect against heart disease (not to mention cancer, stroke and reproductive problems), the aim is to smoke cigarettes exactly zero.
8. Blood Sugar
Over time, high levels of sugar in the blood associated with diabetes can damage nerves and blood vessels. This may stimulate the accumulation of fat in the blood vessel walls, which can impede blood flow and promote atherosclerosis. Have a risk of diabetes significantly increases cardiovascular disease. Three quarters of people with diabetes die from heart or blood vessels.
Your body's ability to use glucose (blood sugar) can be properly tested to achieve a blood glucose test fasting, which is a snapshot of your blood sugar at the time, or to obtain a hemoglobin test A1C, which measures whole blood glucose in the last three months. Both can be profound. "There is evidence to suggest a significant decrease in the risk of cardiac and vascular diseases with each 1 percent reduction in hemoglobin A1C," says Whiteson.
Conclusion: The more control the better. The normal range for blood glucose test fasting is usually less than 100 milligrams per deciliter; prediabetes is indicated by a level between 100 and 125 mg / dl and diabetes by a reading of 126 mg / dl or higher. A normal A1C level is below 6 percent, and people with diabetes should try to keep it under 7 percent.
9. C-reactive protein
Inflammation is a process that our body uses to fight off an assault, as a cold or an injury to heal. But in the long term, chronic inflammation plays an unhealthy because the nasty byproducts-inflammatory molecules such as cytokines, are believed to be part of several disease processes, including atherosclerosis, obesity and Alzheimer's Disease . In the field of heart disease, much ado has been made of c-reactive protein, a marker of our level of inflammation that can be collected through a blood test called PCR, for high sensitivity c-reactive protein.
Who should be tested, and what the doctors are going to do with the results? These are matters of considerable debate. "We can not treat high [C-reactive protein]," says Whiteson. Is an indicator of potential heart problems, but the medicine does not have the tools, through drugs or procedures, for an elevated C-reactive protein to normal. You may, however, the direct handling of other critical risk factors as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Doing so may reduce the risk of future cardiac events and death. A landmark study in late 2008 found that subjects who do not have heart disease and had normal cholesterol who took statins had a lower risk of heart attack and stroke, and also had fewer angioplasties and bypass surgeries during the study, compared with the group taking a placebo. But many questions remain about the study to make a general statement that people should take statins more liberal.
Conclusion: According to the American Heart Association, a measurement of hs-CRP of 1 mg / L means that are at low risk for cardiovascular disease, a measure of between 1 and 3 mg / L means that they are at average risk and levels above 3 mg / L means that your risk is high. Getting the test may be useful, says Yancy, if you are at intermediate risk of heart disease based on other risk factors and their doctors would like another data point to determine treatment. But "there is no need to check the PCR if a person already has a high risk or is actually in support healthy," he says.
10. Waist circumference
Although not a direct measure of heart disease, high waist circumference tracks with an increased risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, all of which have a direct impact on heart health. And the bigger the belly, the heavier it tends to be. Obesity, of course, is a well-known risk factor for a number of diseases, including heart disease.
Importantly, a higher waist circumference indicates the distribution of fat around the abdomen and the packaging of fat in the vital organs, research has indicated that it is more dangerous to carry the weight on the thighs or buttocks. Make sure you are measuring correctly. Measuring waist circumference is correct taken by wrapping a tape measure around your natural waist at the navel, not around the hips.
Conclusion: Men should have a waist circumference of less than 40 inches. The figure for women is less than 35 inches.
11. Body mass index
Her weight issues, but must be considered in the context of how you measure. BMI has two account numbers. As waist circumference, body mass index is an indirect measure of risk, but a higher measure correlates with an increased risk. The catch, however, is not always entirely accurate. A person in excellent condition that has a lot of muscle mass may have a high BMI.
Too much excess weight is closely associated with diabetes, heart disease and stroke, some cancers, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, fatty liver disease, and complications in pregnancy.
Conclusion: People with a BMI below 18.5 are underweight. Target BMI range is between 18.5 and 24.9. Being overweight is considered between 25 and 30, and a BMI greater than 30 puts you in the obese category.
12. Blood pressure
This is essential for heart health. According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, 1 in 3 Americans have high blood pressure. When a nurse wraps the cuff around your arm, which is having a reading of the force on the walls of the arteries, which is subject to fluctuations in the pressure when the heart beats to pump blood through your body. The problem is that high blood pressure have symptoms, so a person can be unknowingly living with hypertension. In the long term, high blood pressure can damage organs and fuel a cascade of problems.
Measures to reduce blood pressure may include medication, but diet and exercise really can beat the numbers above into submission. The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, high in vegetables, fish, fruit and whole grains, but low-fat red meat and sugar has been shown to reduce blood pressure significantly. And research has suggested that the DASH diet packs a punch especially strong when people while working to reduce salt intake, a blood pressure booster known.
In a nutshell: "The only number that really matters is 120 over 80" which is the cutoff point for normal blood pressure reading, says Yancy. The pressure of one more in the blood exceeds that level, the more damage to the vascular system, heart and kidneys. The top number is called systolic blood pressure is a measure of pressure as the heart beats. The bottom number is called diastolic measurement is the pressure between heartbeats. A reading above 120/80 but below 140/90 is considered pre-hypertension, above anything that is high blood pressure. Both require attention and action to lower blood pressure under control.
13. Cholesterol
Your cholesterol level is a measure of fat circulating in your bloodstream. To blow off cholesterol levels is an increased risk of coronary artery disease and stroke. Reduce saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and total fat can help lower your cholesterol level. And exercise, Whiteson says, "is a pill that treats all diseases. You can catch all the risk factors of heart disease, including weight loss, reduce stress, improve profiles of blood sugar, reducing high blood pressure and to reduce total cholesterol, lowering LDL (bad cholesterol), increased HDL (good cholesterol) and lowering triglycerides, a type of blood fat.
In short: you are aiming for total cholesterol below 200 mg / dL above 240 mg / dL puts you at twice the risk of coronary heart disease as a person within the normal range. HDL should be above 40 mg / dl for men and above 50 mg / dL for women (women tend to have higher HDL before menopause), above 60 mg / dL is the category of protection your heart. Ideal LDL should be less than 100 mg / dl, even up to 129 mg / dL is near optimal. High LDL is considered 160 mg / dl or higher. Triglycerides should be below 150 mg / dL, a move above 200 mg / dl is considered high.
No comments:
Post a Comment