Good heart health is not just due to luck. Heredity does play its part, but many major risk factors are within an individual’s control.

Dr. Brian Snoddy and Nurse Practitioner Cynthia Massey say those guidelines, much like the American Medical Association’s (AMA) New Year resolutions featured earlier, are not only for their heart patients with existing conditions, but for anyone who wants to avoid heart disease at any age.

Their first piece of advice?
It’s the same as the AMA’s guidelines, and drives home the point of what patients can do to benefit every body system.

“Don’t smoke or use smokeless tobacco,” says Snoddy. “It’s the number one preventable cause of death and illness.” Snoddy recommends that anyone addicted to nicotine ask their doctor for help. A new drug called Chantix has proven helpful to some patients.

Another avenue to heart health is keeping track of one’s blood pressure.
Many people have undetected high blood pressure for years, say these BHC professionals. They urge patients to know their goal. A healthy target should be consistent blood pressure readings below 140/90. For those who already have heart or kidney failure, the goal is less than 130/85. For diabetics, the goal is less than 130/80.

Diet also plays a big part in heart and other disease.
Adults should consume less than 7 percent saturated fat and less than 200 milligrams of cholesterol each day, say AHA guidelines. Cholesterol is measured in total cholesterol, LDL (low density lipoprotein), triglycerides, and HDL (high density lipoprotein). Of these, the most important is LDL, followed by triglycerides. The LDL goal is less than 100. In patients with existing heart disease the LDL goal is less than 70. The triglyceride goal is less than 150.

Massey encourages patients to replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. Examples of polyunsaturated fats are sunflower, safflower, corn, vegetable, and soybean oil, while examples of monounsaturated fats include olive and canola oil. If diet alone does not meet an individual’s goal, he or she should discuss cholesterol-lowering drugs with a physician.

Often scales and tape measures can offer a gauge of disease risk. “The AHA healthy goal is a body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9. When BMI is above 24.9, doctors look at waist circumference,” Snoddy says. The waist circumference goal in men is less than 40 inches and in women less than 35 inches.

One way to reduce both risk and weight is through daily exercise.
Although the AHA recommends 30 minutes of physician-approved exercise most days of the week, BHC tells its patients to do what they can. “It’s better to walk for 15 minutes than not to walk because you don’t have 30 minutes to spare,” says Massey.

Although good luck does play its part in one’s overall health, these measures increase the chance of not only heart health, but overall wellness.