We owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to take care of
ourselves. We’ve all heard the advice,
“get active, eat healthy, pay attention to our mental health including managing
stress and getting enough sleep, and avoid unhealthy behaviors such as smoking,
not wearing a seatbelt or bicycle helmet.” http://womenshealth.gov/whw/ The Women’s Health website offers this
information about health screenings at http://womenshealth.gov/whw/health-resources/screening-tool/index.cfm
Heart Health risks. Did
you know that heart disease ranks as the #1 killer of American women? While we often worry about cancer, we should
be thinking about our heart health. What
should we be doing to protect our heart health?
Know your numbers. By
this, I mean your blood pressure. A
normal blood pressure is below 120/80. I
am lucky that I inherited a tendency for low blood pressure from my father and
not Mom (who had very high blood pressure for years, a contributing factor in her
developing congestive heart failure.) If
you have high blood pressure, work with your doctor to bring it down. High blood pressure quietly does harm to your
body including your heart and kidneys.
The second set of numbers is your cholesterol panel. High cholesterol panel indicates how your
diet and exercise habits are affecting your heart health. Here’s the numbers to strive for:
Total cholesterol below
200 mg/dL
Triglycerides
below 150 mg/dL
HDL (high density
lipoproteins or good cholesterol) above 40 mg/dL
LDL (low density
lipoproteins or bad cholesterol) below 100 md/dL
If your cholesterol numbers are elevated, talk with your
doctor/healthcare provider. Become
educated to what you can do to improve your heart health numbers. You may find you want to make lifestyle
changes. Are you taking good care of your heart?
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