Do you know your numbers?

[Smokey Bear]

Okay folks, the loss of Randy Beigh is a good reminder about one of my pet projects - heart health. My brother had a quintuple (yup, that's 5 valves) bypass at 49. He whined and complained that his heart disease was "genetic" but had eaten himself into diabetes and obesity (more than 100 lbs overweight). I agreed that it "ran in the family", meaning learned lifestyles, but that was different from it being genetic. In actuality, most heart disease (and other disease as well) is life-style related, and the good news is, that means it's mostly in our control.

My father died unexpectly last Christmas of a heart attack as well. He had just returned from a 30 day cruise. He was 78, and his siblings had lived well into their 90's. (No sympathy please, he was an absentee father and I hadn't seen him in over 25 years.)

So, how many of you monitor your heart health? It's really easy. First you go to the doctor and get a blood test and have your blood pressure checked. Things to be sure they include in your bloodwork:

C-Reactive Protien (CRP)
Homocysteine
Lipoprotien (a) (Lp(a)
Triglycerides

If your tests or family history show an elevated risk of heart disease, ask for a treadmill stress test with EKG. This takes about 15 minutes. If that is inconclusive, (like mine was) they'll do an Exercise Stress Test with Nuclear Imaging, which gives better results.

The more tests you can get, the better, because the more you'll know about your heart health.

Things you can do right now to improve your health:

Exercise, even if it's only walking 1/2 hour a day.
Lower your sodium consumption. (Improves blood pressure)
Take 3 fish oil capsules 3 times a day 1,000 mg each capsule (builds good cholestherol, lowers bad cholesterol) + improves your mood.
Take CoQ10 - lowers blood pressure, useful with diabetes
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables
Stay away from "white" food: white bread, white rice, sugar, potatos, etc.
Take Folate supplements (lowers blood pressure)
Eat foods low on the glycemic index - reduces heart disease risk, reduces cholesterol levels, reduces hunger, etc.
Eat lots of anti-oxidants - broccoli, spinach, kale, blueberries, strawberries, red bell pepper, etc.
Make sure that your diet is 30% fats, eating healthy fats, like olive oil, flaxseed oil, avocado, fish oil etc.
Eat salmon. Sockeye is the best, wild atlantic, not farmed.

Eating fresh is really great - beats prepared/canned/etc food anyday. Shop at the farmer's market. Have salmon and steamed veggies for breakfast - you'll feel awesome.

Everyone, if you don't know what your numbers are, make an appt with the doctor now and get the tests done.

One last thing, my cardiologist says that the people likely to drop dead of a sudden heart attack (as opposed to surviving) are the ones who don't exercise. I don't know anything about Randy's health history, and am not pointing him out in any way, but it's a good reminder that there ARE things we can do to stick around this place a little longer, and I'd sure like to be able to hang with y'all longer.

<stepping down off my soapbox now.>

 

[icisic7]

Thank you, Cynthia. Point well taken.

 

[john snyder]

Cynthia,

That was an excellent post. Since my family history is horrendous I try to keep up on most everything you posted and am currently trying to lower my bad chloresterol and up my good.

Hey, if you have a cure a med you like for the common cold let me have it. Dang this time of year my wife gets these colds from her classrooms/teaching and I usually follow a few days later. This one is really aggravating me.

Thanks again,

john

 

[Smokey Bear]

Not sure about the common cold but 3,000 mg of Ester Vitamin C (in capsules, not pill form, so you absorb it all) taken throughout the day kills my bad allergies better than any stupid allergy drug (stupid because the MAKE me stupid when I take them.). Side effect - I don't get sick much either.

 

[lisagruhot]

My husband had a heart attack at 36 last February. I never really thought about cholesterol or anything before then. It was really a rude awakening when it happened. I always figured we wouldn't have to worry about that stuff until way down the road. After his heart attack we found out that he has a family history of early heart disease and so do I. He was very luck as the doctor said that it was very mild and it was more like a wake up call. We have both been trying to get our numbers down and exercise more regularly. Its hard to get started, but definately worth it.

 

[xm39hnu]

That Vitamin C works. You can't overdose on it, so leave the chewable pills out in a candy dish. Better for your than M&M's.

My exercise program is based on Newton's second law of motion: A body at rest tends to remain at rest until acted upon by its wife. But I feel better and rest better after completing a rigorous afternoon of honey-do's, and I don't get nagged as much either. (I hate calisthenic exercise. Feel like a hamster in that wheel. Honey-do's are more productive, and tend to relieve stress in two people at once.)