Your Heart Health Is Important

Assistant Professor of MedicinenMichigan State University-College of Osteopathic MedicinennYour heart is important. You know this is true. Without our hearts we wouldn’t be here. Our hearts beat thousands of times a day pumping blood throughout our bodies nourishing us, sustaining us.nnWe rely on our physical hearts. Yet, many people don’t pay enough attention to their heart health. A recent report from the American Heart Association has shown nthat heart disease is still the number one killer in America. (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3018015) nLast year nearly a million people died because of cardiovascular disease. Women are also at risk. One out of every five women die because of heart disease and heart illness. Its clear that women’s health issues should include a focus on the heart.nnSo if we know that our hearts are important we should begin taking strides to take care of our heart health. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We can begin the process with some very simple steps. nn1. Begin choosing to eat less saturated fat.nnOne very simple why to begin working on our heart health is to just cut back on our consumption of saturated fat. Saturated fat is the fat that comes from animal products. It has been shown to be a direct cause of coronary heart disease. The main sources of saturated fat are beef, most pork, and the dark meat from chicken. Eating these foods puts 40% saturated fat into your body. By comparison, the white meat of chicken has 20% saturated fat. nnPeople often ask me about deer, buffalo, or venison. They want to know if they are healthier? Unfortunately, reports by the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that these dark meats also contain 40% saturated fat. So them may be better than eating bacon, but they still contain a large amount of fat.nnOther foods that contain saturated fat include dairy products. Fortunately, most products now list the amount of saturated fat that they contain. nnSo if you want to improve your heart health begin making the decision to put less saturated fat into your body.nn2. Choose to move more. nnIt seems like such a simple concept. We need to move to keep our hearts healthy, but you’d be amazed at the number of people who do almost no physical activity. If you’re someone who hasn’t been doing much, don’t overdo it in the beginning. nnStart very slowly. Keep it simple. Choose to take the stairs more instead of the elevator. Don’t always park in the closest parking stall. Make the choice to walk 20-30 yards every time to go somewhere. If you watch television, during commercials move out of your chair do some easy calisthenics. It doesn’t have to be anything outstanding, just some gentle activity. It’s frequently the little things that we do consistently that are most important. nnDecide to move more. Put this thought into your head and you’ll be amazed at the ways you can put more movement into your life. Following these simple steps can make a difference in your life.nn3. Spent 15 minutes a day on your emotional heart health.nnIts been well documented that our emotions influence our heart health. Negative emotions: fear, anger, sadness, frustration, depression, anxiety, and just plain old stress- can have a harmful effect on our bodies. They can create heart disease.nnMost people don’t have a daily program for reducing the stress and negative emotions in their life. I consistently talk to the heart patients who I see in the office and its only 1/10 that engage in any daily form of stress reduction.nnAn easy way to reduce the stress in your life is to sit quietly for 15 minutes and just breath deeply. Force yourself to take a deep breath in and blow it out. Do this for about 10 breaths and then just sit quietly and be aware of your breathing. nnMany other simple forms of stress reduction are available. Yoga, tai chi, sitting meditation, Sufi prayer, biofeedback, and TM- are just a few. What’s important is to find a method that you feel gives you comfort and then do it. Spend 15 minutes every day defusing your stress.nnWhat’s certain is that heart disease is preventable. Countless medical studies have shown this to be true. You can make the choice to live a life free from heart disease.nnIf you value your heart why not make the effort to live a life free from heart disease?nIt’s all up to you.nnn