For Your Heart's Sake

We all want to be healthy. We all want to live long, disease-free lives. Unfortunately, we don't always make the day-to-day lifestyle choices that get us there. We can do better! Heart disease is one of those devastating killers we all know about. We all know someone that suffers from or has suffered from it. In fact, it is responsible for nearly 25% of deaths in the United States each year and is the leading cause of death for both men and women. The great news about heart disease is that it is largely preventable. There are certain risk factors that we have no control over. In most cases, though, we have a lot of say as to how much risk we carry around with us. Even uncontrollable risk factors can be mitigated by improving our odds in other areas. Information is power, so here are some risk factors for heart disease to consider as we make lifestyle decisions every day.

Age: We all know that as we get older we are more likely to develop heart disease. It happens, but very few young people die from heart-related issues, and most of those have other risk factors. The kicker with the age issue is that, while it would be easy to toss this one aside as unpreventable, lifestyle choices make up the bulk of increased risk as we age. If we remain aware that some poor lifestyle choices that may not seem to effect us immediately build up over time, we are better poised to make better choices to increase our quality, as well as quantity, of life over time.

Heredity: This one really is unpreventable unless, unlike most of us, you managed to pick your own pedigree. If you're like me, though, you've had no say in whether your parents or grandparents have or will develop heart disease. Knowing this risk factor is important, as with age, because if you know you are at increased risk you can make choices that decrease your risk in other areas.

Tobacco: Smoking has long been known to be a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease. It promotes atherosclerosis, a hardening of the artery walls due to plaque build up, and increases risk of clotting in the blood vessels. It increases blood pressure and decreases blood's ability to carry much needed oxygen throughout the body. Exposure to secondhand smoke can have a similar effect. Smoking is a difficult thing to quit and requires patience and support from loved ones, but it's one of the best things you could ever do to improve your health. There are lots of resources to help, including smokefree.gov.

Activity: Another well-known fact is that, generally speaking, the more we move the healthier we are. Avoiding heart disease is no exception. Being active can improve health in many ways, including improving cholesterol and blood pressure and decreasing risk of developing diabetes. Obesity is a huge risk, and staying active is one of the best ways to avoid that. For those of you who are marathon runners, way to go! For the rest of us that struggle with this one, you don't have to be a top-tier athlete to lower your risk of heart disease. It's important to find something you enjoy so you can stick with it. Walk with a friend in your neighborhood, kick a soccer ball with your kids, join a zumba or kickboxing class at a gym, or get a workout video or two you enjoy.

Diet: While a diet straight off the McDonald's menu might sound appealing to some at first, have you ever actually checked out the nutritional information on their website? Yuck! Diet is a risk factor that is entirely within our capacity to control, no matter our circumstances. Obesity, as mentioned before, increases our risk of developing heart disease exponentially. A diet low in fat, sodium, red meat, and refined sugars and high in whole grains, fresh foods, and fiber help to significantly reduce our risk of heart disease, as well as many other health-related issues. Excessive alcohol consumption can also lead to atherosclerosis and other health problems, so if you enjoy a good drink keeping it in moderation will help to protect your health. There's so much that goes in to diet, as well as exercise. They are so important to a healthy life that we'll absolutely dig deeper in subsequent posts, and the recipes I'll offer all have overall health in mind. Also, choosemyplate.gov is a great place to start.

This is not an all-inclusive list, but it gives us all a ruler to measure ourselves by. If you'd like more information on heart disease, cdc.gov/heartdisease/ is a good resource. Taking control of your health can be overwhelming, but it can also be incredibly empowering! If you just take a deep breath and attack problem issues in your lifestyle one at a time, the results can be increased energy and alertness, better self-esteem, less sickness and chronic disease, longer life, a body that's healthier and more fit, and let's not forget heart disease free.