Love Your Heart…and Know Your Numbers

I encourage every woman who walks into my office to take a moment to love her own heart.  Yes, I’m talking about the flesh and blood heart that is beating away in your chest.  This heart has faithfully served you since you were a wee embryo, and continues to beat tirelessly day in and day out, asking little in return.

The human heart beats at an average rate of 70 beats every minute.  Think of it…that’s 4,200 beats in one hour…and over 100,000 beats a day!  This fantastic organ keeps life’s blood flowing through your veins, and deserves a moment of recognition.  There are many things you can do to keep a healthy heart- here are just a few to get you started.

1. Exercise!  The benefits of exercise on heart health have been solidly proven.  I usually counsel my patients to walk.  Its cheap, it works and it has the lowest dropout rate of any exercise regimen.  If you have a gym membership, then walk the treadmill 30 minutes a day at least 3 days/week.  If not, then walk at the mall.  Walk at home.  Take the dog for a walk.  In short, walking works.  www.startwalkingnow.org can help you get started.
2. Eat right.  God only knows that I am as guilty as anyone else of ordering takeout for dinner at the end of a long day (isn’t every day a long day?).  Our culture of eating out is making us fat, and in turn, destroying our hearts.  Despite our busy lives, I really do believe that with some effort, healthy meals can be made at home.  It is a mindset.  To help you get started, the American Heart Association has a website www.heart.org , with a Nutrition Center link that can guide you.
3. Have your cholesterol checked.  And get to know your numbers! Cholesterol screening is recommended once every 5 years for everyone over the age of 20.  Have you had your cholesterol checked?  You’ll remember having it done, because it is a fasting blood test, which means that you couldn’t have anything to eat or drink overnight before your blood was drawn.  There are a lot of numbers in cholesterol screening, but here  are the very basics:
1. LDL is bad cholesterol. You want to have levels under 100.
2. HDL is good cholesterol.  Aim for levels above 60.
3. Your total cholesterol should come out less than 200.
4. Triglycerides, which are another measure of heart health, should measure less than 150.

I have so many patients daily who ask me about their risk for breast cancer.  I have yet to have anyone ask me about their heart- despite the fact that heart disease is the number one killer of women.  More women die of heart disease per year than all types of cancer, including breast cancer.  So make an effort to change your lifestyle a bit, know your cholesterol screening numbers and take good care of your heart!  In turn, it will take good care of you.