Secrets to a Healthier Heart

1. Know your heart health numbers.  Establish a baseline to help plan every preventive step for the rest of the year.  Know your HDL or “good” cholesterol, LDL or “bad” cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, weight, and body mass index (BMI) numbers.

2. Target your triglycerides.  Shoot for a level of 150 or lower.  Triglycerides are a better marker for high risk of diabetes and heart disease.  Triglycerides are also much more responsive to lifestyle changes than other types of blood fats.

3. Go for nuts and plant sterols.  Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help to decrease inflammation in the arteries surrounding your heart, so they keep your heart functioning longer and better. Walnuts will also make you feel fuller faster so you are less likely to overeat at meals. You may want to give pistachios a try as well. A recent study shows that a serving or two of pistachios each day may help reduce levels of LDL cholesterol, as long as you are mindful of calories. One cup of pistachio nuts has about 700 calories!

Other nuts, such as peanuts, macadamia nuts, and almonds are a rich source of plant sterols, which block cholesterol absorption in the intestines. Studies have shown that eating foods enriched with plant sterols lowers LDL cholesterol. Eating 2-3 grams a day lowers LDL cholesterol by 6-15%, without affecting HDL cholesterol or triglycerides. Sterols are found in all plant foods, but the highest concentrations are found in unrefined oils, such as vegetable, nut, and olive oil. Some foods have also been fortified with plant sterols, including milk, yogurt, juices, and spreads.

4. De-stress your heart.  Unplug yourself from the news cycle and your email. It’s good for you and your ticker.  Stress raises blood pressure, heart rate, and levels of the stress hormone cortisol.  Consider swapping your BlackBerry for another handheld gadget — your iPod.  Put some relaxing music on your iPod, close your office door for 10 minutes, and listen and breathe.

5. Get heart healthy social support.  You know exercise improves heart health by keeping weight down and raising levels of HDL cholesterol, but doing it with a friend adds benefits. Finding an exercise buddy is really important because social support lowers your risk of heart disease and helps you stay motivated.   Build up to 60 minutes of exercise a day, but even 20 minutes is better than nothing.

In fact, being married and having a strong social network may help protect against heart disease, according to a study of nearly 15,000 men and women. It turns out that people who have a spouse, go to church, join social clubs, and have a lot of friends and relatives have significantly lower blood pressure and other heart disease risk factors than loners.

6. Take a heart-felt approach to quitting smoking.  Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease, but kicking this nasty habit can be much easier said than done.  Secondhand smoke counts too. A recent study found that women who are exposed to other people’s smoke increased their risk of heart attacks by 69%, strokes by 56%, and peripheral artery disease (PAD) by 67%, when compared with women who did not hang out around smokers. Clogged arteries in the legs, abdomen, pelvis, arms, and neck are linked with PAD.

 7. Strengthen your heart with weight training.  Strength training reduces your percentage of body fat, keeps your weight down, and increases your muscle mass and endurance for aerobic exercise.

8. Reduce your blood pressure by reducing your salt.  High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, and reducing salt intake can help lower blood pressure. Cook with herbs in place of salt, and make sure you read food labels to see just how much salt is in prepared foods.

9. Sleep to your heart’s content.  People who sleep fewer than seven hours a night have higher blood pressure and higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, making the arteries more vulnerable to plaque buildup. In fact, the latest research shows that people who do not get enough sleep are more than twice as likely as others to die of heart disease. Try to avoid caffeine after noon, and develop a stress-free wind-down ritual before bed. Hint? Take a bath, and don’t pay your bills right before bed.

Information found at WebMD