Maintaining Heart Health

Women get heart disease at a high enough rate to need to prevent heart disease and to maintain a healthy heart just as much as men do. It can happen to women of any age so that women between the ages of 20 to 80 need to watch out for things they can do to prevent heart disease. The things you do to prevent heart disease at age 20 can be slightly different from those at higher ages.

The biggest prevention tip includes paying attention to the family history you have around heart disease. If it runs in your family, you need to take extra steps to prevent heart disease in yourself. If you smoke, you should stop smoking and if you don’t smoke, you should never start. Secondhand smoke can be bad for you as well so stay away from those who smoke. Alcohol makes you gain weight which can increase your blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease. Drinking one alcoholic beverage per day for women and two alcoholic beverages per day for men are usually acceptable.

Younger women need to consider what kinds of birth control they are taking. Some oral contraceptives can make the blood pressure higher and this is worse with smoking. Use non-hormonal birth control if you are at risk for heart disease. At the very least, you should avoid estrogen containing birth control measures.

Pay attention to your body mass index or BMI, which is a calculation based on your height and weight and should be less than or equal to 25 (less than 23 for Asians). Pay attention also to your waist circumference, your blood pressure, your fasting blood sugar and your cholesterol. Have your heart examined every time you have a physical examination. Older women and men should have a baseline ECG sometime between the ages of 40 and 50 if you are at risk for heart disease.

You should eat a heart healthy diet at all times, even if you are a child. A heart healthy diet includes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, skinless chicken, fish, low fat dairy products, foods low in saturated or trans-fats, foods that are broiled, grilled, poached, baked or steamed. Read the nutrition labels on foods you eat so you know what’s in the food and how much fat is in the food.

Exercise regularly—doing exercises that get your heart rate up. You should get about 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week or about 75 minutes of aerobic exercise per week. Keep your weight down through exercise and eating a healthy diet.