Heart
disease is increasingly becoming one of the leading cause of death
in the India. Coronary artery disease (narrowing of the arteries
supplying the heart muscle with blood) causes about one million
heart attacks each year. Even more worrisome, 220,000 people with
heart attacks will die before ever reaching the hospital.
How do you know if you are at risk for this common killer?
Medical research has helped identify certain conditions, called
risk factors, which place people at increased risk for heart disease.
It is important to know:
Some risk
factors, called "nonmodifiable risk factors," cannot
be changed.
Some risk
factors, called "modifiable risk factors," can be
modified, controlled or treated.
The more
risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing
heart and blood vessel disease.
The greater
level of each risk factor, the greater your risk.
Do
you have any nonmodifiable risk factors?
(check which ones apply to you)
Male gender - Men have a greater risk of heart attack than
women. After menopause, a women's risk increases, but does
not reach the level of men's.
Older age - Heart disease is more likely to occur as you get
older.
Family history (including race) - You are more likely to have
coronary artery disease if your parents had it. Heart disease
risk is also higher in African Americans, Mexican Americans,
American Indians, native Hawaiians and some Asian Americans.
This is partly due to higher rates of high blood pressure,
obesity and diabetes.
If you have any of
these nonmodifiable risk factors, it is more important to control
the risk factors you CAN change.
What are the risk factors you CAN change?
(check which ones apply to you)
Cigarette
smoking
Smokers
have more than twice the risk for heart attack.
Smoking
is the biggest risk factor for sudden cardiac death.
Those
who smoke pipes and cigars are at increased risk for heart
disease. Even those who are exposed to constant smoke,
but do not smoke themselves are at increased risk for
heart disease.
Smoking
is the most preventable risk factor.If you smoke, quit.
Better yet, never start smoking at all.
Goal:
Do not use any tobacco products. Stay away from other's
smoke.
High blood cholesterol
The
risk for heart disease increases with each increase in
blood cholesterol, with a sharp increase in risk at levels
of total cholesterol over 240.
Although
there is no single right age to check your cholesterol
levels, it is reasonable to check men at around age 30
and women around age 40. If you have a family history
of heart disease or high cholesterol, or if you have other
risk factors, you should be checked earlier and work more
aggressively to lower your cholesterol.
A
cholesterol profile includes more than just your total
cholesterol. It should include total cholesterol, low-density
lipoprotein (LDL, the bad cholesterol,a major cause of
heart disease), high-density lipoprotein (HDL, the good
cholesterol that may help prevent heart disease), and
triglycerides, another type of fat in the blood stream.
The test should be performed after fasting.
Goal:
The following values are ideal:
Cholesterol
level less than 200 mg/dl
LDL
level less than 100 mg/dl
HDL
greater than 60 mg/dl
Triglycerides
less than 150 mg/dl
High blood pressure
Over
50 million people in the United States, aged six and older
have hypertension, or high blood pressure.
One
in four adults has high blood pressure. Of those, more
than 30 percent don't know it.
Of
those who have high blood pressure, about 15 percent are
not on any treatment plan, about 30 percent are not being
treated adequately.
High
blood pressure increases the workload of the heart and
kidneys, increasing the risk for heart attack, heart failure,
stroke and kidney disease.
High
blood pressure is easy to detect and control.
Goal:
Blood pressure of less than 140 over 90 is a normal reading
for adults. Ideal blood pressure is 120 over 80. Control
high blood pressure through diet, weight management and
if needed, medications.
Physical Inactivity
People
who don't exercise have higher rates of death, heart and
blood vessel disease compared to people who perform even
mild to moderate amounts of physical activity
Exercise
should be done regularly and long term.
Exercise
should be aerobic, involving the large muscle groups,
and performed at a moderate intensity. This includes activities
such as brisk walking, cycling, swimming, jumping rope
and jogging.
Goal:
Exercise at a moderate pace, 30 minutes a day, on most days.
If you are unable to keep up with this vigorous pace, even
mild to moderate amounts of physical activity performed
30 minutes each day, such as gardening, bowling, or walking,
can lower the risk of heart disease. If you have heart disease
or more than two risk factors, or are a male, over 40 years
of age or a female over 50 years of age, you should consult
your doctor prior to beginning an exercise program.See Exercise
for your health for more information
Obesity and Overweight
The
more you weigh, the harder your heart must work to carry
and nourish the excess weight.
Obesity
is defined as being very overweight (greater than 25 percent
body fat for men or 30 percent body fat for women).
How
your weight is distributed is also important. People who
carry their weight in the middle have a greater risk of
developing heart disease compared to people who carry
their weight in their arms and legs. A high-risk waistline
is more than 35 inches for women and more than 40 inches
for men.
