Heart-healthy tips

Good heart health is not just a roll of the dice. Heredity plays a part, of course, but many major risk factors are within our control.

The American Heart Association has developed a set of guidelines based on results from hundreds of studies and thousands of patients.

Here is a rundown of AHA’s tips, plus some other heart-healthy advice to keep in mind, from Dr. Brian Snoddy, M.D. and nurse practitioner Cynthia Massey of the Birmingham Heart Clinic.

• Smoking (or using smokeless tobacco) is the No. 1 most preventable cause of death and illness. So don’t smoke. If you are addicted to nicotine, ask your doctor for help. A new drug called Chantix is working for some patients.
  
• Blood pressure. Unfortunately many people subject their bodies to excess blood pressure for years before realizing a problem exists. Know your goal. The target for blood pressure is readings consistently below 140/90. If you already have heart or kidney failure the number is less than 130/85. If you are a diabetic the goal is less than 130/80, Dr. Snoddy said.
  
• Cholesterol management. You probably heard people talk about 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. Physicians urge patients to consume less than 7 percent saturated fat and less than 200 mg of cholesterol per day.
  If diet alone does not get you to your goal, there are cholesterol-lowering drugs available.
  
• Weight. The goal is a BMI (body mass index) between 18.5 and 24.9. When BMI is above 24.9, we look at waist circumference. The waist circumference goal in men is less than 40 inches and in women less than 35 inches.
  
• Diet. Diet impacts two important risk factors: cholesterol and weight. Replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats. Examples of polyunsaturated fats include sunflower, safflower, corn, vegetable and soybean oil. Examples of monosaturated fats include olive and canola oil.
  
• Physical activity. The AHA recommends 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week. The best bet, though, is to do what you can. It’s better to walk for fifteen minutes than not to walk because you don’t think you have thirty minutes to spare.