| Know the facts | Know your numbers | Know your risk factors | Manage your risk factors |
| Exercise for life | Eat heart healthy | Manage your stress | Work with your doctor |
| Additional Resources | |||
Heart Health
Eight Steps to a Healthy Heart
Step Four: Manage your risk factors
Managing your risk factors will reduce your risk of heart disease. Ways to reduce your risk include:
- Quit Smoking
- Control Your Blood Sugar
- Develop an eating plan
- Control Your Cholesterol
- Control Your Hemoglobin A1c
- Control Your Blood Pressure
- Maintain a Healthy Weight
QUIT SMOKING!
Talk with your health care provider if you need help quitting. For more information on smoking cessation click here.- Smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease among women. Risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked and the duration of smoking.
- Women who smoke have an increased risk for ischemic stroke (blood clot in one of the arteries supplying the brain) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding in the area surrounding the brain).
- Women who smoke have an increased risk for peripheral vascular disease.
- Smoking cessation reduces the excess risk of coronary heart disease, no matter at what age women stop smoking. The risk is substantially reduced within 1 or 2 years after they stop smoking.
- The increased risk for stroke associated with smoking begins to reverse after women stop smoking. About 10 to 15 years after stopping, the risk for stroke approaches that of a woman who never smoked.
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DEVELOP A HEART HEALTHY PERSONAL EATING PLAN
Be sure to talk with your health care provider first, before starting any type of eating plan.When you develop your personal eating plan, be sure to:
- Choose foods low in saturated fat.
- Choose foods moderate in total fat.
- Choose foods low in cholesterol.
- Cut down on sodium (salt).
Additional Resources
Frequently Asked Questions about Heart Healthy Eating[ back to top ]
CONTROL BLOOD PRESSURE
As blood is pumped from your heart through your body, the blood puts force or pressure against the blood vessel (or artery) walls. Your blood pressure is a reading, or measure, of this pressure. When that reading goes above a certain point, it is called high blood pressure, another name for hypertension. When you have high blood pressure, it is partly because your blood vessels become narrower, forcing your heart to pump harder to move blood through your body. These changes cause the blood to press on the vessels walls with greater force.Once you have high blood pressure, you usually have it for life. You can prevent high blood pressure or you can control high blood pressure if you already have it.
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CONTROL YOUR CHOLESTEROL
What are the right cholesterol numbers?Talk to your health care provider about the results of your cholesterol test. Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood.
Total cholesterol level
A level of less than 200 mg/dL is desirable. But even levels of 200-239 mg/dL (borderline high) can increase your risk of heart disease.
| Total Cholesterol Level | Category |
| Less than 200 mg/dL | Desirable |
| 200-239 mg/dL | Borderline high |
| 240 mg/dL and above | High |
LDL (bad) cholesterol
A level of 160 mg/dL or above is high. Work with your health care provider to determine a goal LDL level that's best for you.
| LDL Cholesterol Level | LDL Cholesterol Category |
| Less than 100 mg/dL | Optimal |
| 100-129 mg/dL | Near optimal/above optimal |
| 130-159 mg/dL | Borderline high |
| 160-189 mg/dL | High |
| 190 mg/dL and above | Very high |
| * Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood. | |
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CONTROL YOUR BLOOD SUGAR
High blood sugar may indicate that you are at risk for developing diabetes.A diagnosis of diabetes can be confirmed by a series of tests that might include:
- A blood test that measures the glucose in your blood.
A blood glucose level of 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or greater, with symptoms, means that you have diabetes.
- A blood test for glucose after you have fasted, called fasting plasma glucose (FPG) value.
An FPG value of 126 mg/dL or greater means that you have diabetes.
- A measurement of glucose in your blood through an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).
Although this test is no longer recommended because it is cumbersome, some health care providers may still use it. After fasting, you have to drink a glucose syrup and have a blood sample taken 2 hours later. An OGTT value of 200 mg/dL or greater means that you have diabetes.
People with test results between "normal" and "diabetes" levels have impaired glucose metabolism and are at risk for developing diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes.
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CONTROL YOUR HEMOGLOBIN A1c
If you have diabetes, check your hemoglobin A1c and keep it under control.Hemoglobin A1c measures blood sugar control over the previous three months. Ask you doctor to check your Hemoglobin A1c four times a year.
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MAINTAIN A HEALTHY WEIGHT
To determine the body weight that is healthy for your height, it is helpful to calculate your body mass index (BMI). Body Mass Index Calculator will take you to a website that will calculate your BMI.BMI Categories:
- Underweight = BMI < 18.5
- Normal weight = BMI 18.5-24.9
- Overweight = BMI 25-29.9
- Obese = BMI of 30 or greater
Additional Resources
Click on one of the following websites for more information on the impact that being overweight can have on your health.[ back to top ]
