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Home > Happy heart health month – learn about your heart health this February
Happy heart health month – learn about your heart health this February
It’s February and those pretty red and pink heart symbols are everywhere. February is a good time to remind ourselves to take care of our heart.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. African-Americans experience the highest risk of dying from heart disease, mostly because of higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.
The best way to prevent heart disease is to know what causes it. Having any of these can put you at a higher risk for heart disease:
· High cholesterol
· High blood pressure
· Diabetes
· Cigarette smoking
· Overweight and obesity
· Poor diet
· Physical inactivity
· Alcohol use
Your doctor should routinely check your weight, measure your blood pressure, test you for diabetes and monitor your cholesterol level. If you haven’t had your blood pressure or cholesterol checked in the past year, speak up and ask your health care provider to do so at your next check-up. And if you don’t have a check-up scheduled for 2012, schedule one today.
Here are some simple changes you can make on your own to improve your heart health. As always, please check with your doctor, especially if you are pregnant, have pre-existing conditions or food allergies.
· Eat fish at least twice a week, especially oily fish (such as salmon, trout or sardines) to receive the health benefits of omega 3 fatty acids.
· Switch to fat-free or low-fat milk.
· Reduce your intake of foods high in saturated fats and cholesterol such as red meat, shellfish and egg yolks.
· Limit your intake of fast food.
· Watch the salt.
· Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water daily. Avoid drinking sugary drinks such as soda pop, sweet tea and sweetened energy drinks.
· Eat 5 to 9 servings of fruit and vegetables daily.
· If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation (for example, not more than 1 drink per day for women or 2 drinks per day for men).
· Get moving. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day.
· Quit smoking.
Take care of your heart and share this information with someone you care about this February. If you’re a Highmark member, log in to the member website for more resources about heart health, www.highmarkbcbs.com. You can also find more information on preventing heart disease by visiting this government website: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/index.htm
Dr. Johnson is the medical director of health equity and quality services at Highmark Inc. She leads Highmark’s efforts to reduce racial and ethnic health care disparities among Highmark members through clinical interventions and improvements in health literacy, language access and health plan cultural competency.
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