Simple Ways For Women To Prevent Heart Disease

Some simple adjustments to your lifestyle can help you avoid cardiovascular problems down the road.

If you have reduced or eliminated saturated fats, cheese and butter from your diet, don’t smoke and exercise 6 days a week, your heart may still be in jeopardy. The American Heart Association says that is all part of the story but there is more to it. Over half of heart attack and stroke sufferers have good cholesterol levels, according to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Other research suggests that there are two other potent risk factors women and their doctors aren’t addressing well enough. Borderline high blood pressure and inflammation get overlooked by physicians in young women they assume are healthy and fit. The longer they go unnoticed, the more damage they can do on your cardiovascular system.

The good news is there are a number of ways you can reduce these risk factors right away with just a little tweak to your routine.

Take a minute next checkup to ask your doctor, or the nurse who takes it, what your blood pressure is. Even if she didn’t tell you it was high (a reading of 140/90 or higher), don’t assume you’re in the clear. If they’re above 119/79, start making changes. Hypertension forces your heart to work harder to pump blood through the body, which can cause arteries to narrow and increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

The University of California, San Francisco did a study and found nearly 20 percent of people under the age of 35 have prehypertension (between 120/80 and 139/89). The study found that these young adults were more likely to develop high blood pressure, or hypertension, over the next twenty years than those who had healthy readings.

We have probably all heard at one time that to prevent hypertension, lower our sodium intake. The average American consumes 41 percent more sodium a day than the recommended 2,400 milligrams. Much of this sodium comes from processed foods, like canned soups, salad dressings, and frozen entrées.

Next, think about nutrition. Eat more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, poultry, low-fat dairy, and nuts, as well as less saturated fat, red meats, and sugar. Following a diet like “DASH” will help you get sufficient nutrients proven to lower blood pressure. If you can stick with the plan you’ll reduce your heart disease risk by 24 percent. For more details, search “DASH” on http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/.

Be sure to put a bunch of bananas in your shopping cart. Potassium works with sodium to regulate the water balance in the body, which promotes normal blood pressure. Most women get only half the 4,700 milligrams of potassium they need daily; in addition to bananas (422 milligrams each), eat your way to this quota with foods such as halibut (490 milligrams for 3 ounces) and tomato sauce (453 milligrams per half cup). An alternative to eating enough is to use a supplement instead. You can save some bucks by getting quality supplements on line. Just click on these links for Potassium and Fish Oil.

Those dark circles under your eyes aren’t the only consequence of partying too long. Some research at Harvard stated that people who slept five or fewer hours a night had a 39 percent greater risk of having heart disease than those who had at least eight hours of down time. Your body needs time to repair the daily damage to cells and tissues. Try a power nap on the weekend. It’s also a way to relieve built up stress. Snoozing for 30 minutes at least three times a week reduce the odds of dying from heart disease by more than one-third.

Make yourself a PBJ to fight inflammation. Peanut butter is loaded with magnesium, and researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina found that people who consumed at least 320 milligrams of the mineral daily halved their risk of having elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, which signal inflammation. A 2-tablespoon serving of peanut butter provides 49 milligrams of the mineral; beans are also an excellent magnesium source, as are spinach and artichokes.

One last thought is to rethink your birth control plan. The same hormones that prevent pregnancy (estrogen and progestin) could also make your blood vessels less flexible and, over time, and raise your blood pressure. Go over your options every once in a while with your gynecologist. As an example research in Obstetrics & Gynecology said that women who use the birth control patch, have double the risk for blood clots as those who take oral contraceptives. This might be because they’re exposed to 60 percent more estrogen.

For most women, the benefits of birth control pills outweigh the drawbacks. But if you smoke or have pre-hypertension or hypertension and you’re on the pill, check your blood pressure with a home monitor at least once a week. If there are any changes let your family doctor and gynecologist know so they can keep an eye on your immune system.