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Cardiovascular disease continues to be the number one health problem in the United States affecting women and men equally. Despite tremendous improvements in the fight against cardiovascular disease, it remains a potent killer. It is time to change the paradigm away from fighting disease to the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Many of us make resolutions or commit to drastic diets and exercise routines only to later be overwhelmed or lose focus. We need to find ways to adopt healthy ways of living that can stand the test of vacations, holidays and bad days. A recent study of young women showed that adherence to a healthy lifestyle could prevent more than 70% of cardiovascular diseases, as well as helping to alleviate high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.
Exercise has long been recognized for its ability to improve heart health. Not only can exercise prevent disease before it happens, it can also stop heart attack from reoccurring in patients that have already had them. Like dieting, many people feel a drastic and time-consuming effort is required. They jump into a vigorous exercise routine soon to be overwhelmed, discouraged or unable to dedicate the time to get to the gym. Not managing or understanding initial expectations leads to failure. It is important to find a routine that works for you and recognize that even short periods of exercise are good for you.
The body just needs to MOVE. Exercise guidelines recommend more than 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise (e.g. brisk walking or bicycling < 10 mph) or more than 75 min per week of vigorous exercise (e.g. Running or bicycling >10mph). It is important to recognize that even a fraction of this amount of exercise improves cardiovascular health, with the greatest benefit occurring during the initial efforts. Even when exercising only 65% of the recommended minutes, heart related events can be reduced by 20%, while 3-4 times as much exercise leads to an approximate 40% decrease in events. In other words, the greatest comes at the initial effort in an exercise routine. The good news is that as you keep exercising you continue to increase the benefit. The biggest bang for your buck is to start moving your body…walk, garden, yoga, bicycle, swim, dance, run!
The opposite of exercise is a sedentary lifestyle. The more time sitting, the worse the heart health. There is data to show that even people who work out regularly but maintain a sedentary work and home life are still at higher risk of heart disease than those that remain active throughout the day. Standing, or better yet, short walks or movement incrementally improves cardiovascular health. Technology can track our activity and may help remind us to increase our activity throughout the day.
Here are some important tips to promote cardiovascular health:
Know the warning signs of a heart attack: The classic description of a heart attack is crushing, squeezing chest discomfort that travels to the left arm and is accompanied by nausea and sweating. Many women, as well as diabetics and seniors, feel their symptoms differently. They may feel only indigestion, neck or jaw discomfort, extreme fatigue, shortness of breath or nausea. Trust your instincts — if something is wrong, call 911!
Know your risk: Traditional risk factors include smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. Be up-to-date with your physician and treat these accordingly. Other risk factors include:
Family history of early heart disease (a heart event before age 55) may place you at high risk of heart disease despite a good lifestyle.
Premature menopause – if you stopped having your period for any reason before the age of 40, your risk of heart disease is at least double that of other women.
Women who have had pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension or low birth weight babies are at higher risk for future heart disease.
Birth control pills can increase risk of high blood pressure- Smoking while taking birth control pills can increase heart disease by 20%!
Early screening: Some patients with intermediate risk of heart disease or non-traditional risk factors may benefit from heart disease screening using techniques such as CT scans to detect coronary artery calcium build up. These tests may help your doctor to prescribe more aggressive medical treatments, in addition to healthy lifestyle changes.
Get out and move! The best exercise program is the one you will keep doing! Vigorous exercise such as running 30-45 minutes 4-5 times per week or walking 30-60 minutes daily is great! However, studies have shown that there is substantial benefit (compared to not exercising) with just 20 minutes per week of running or walking daily for 20 minutes.
Healthy eating: Four simple steps to eating right
Don’t drink your calories – avoid sodas and juices. Moderate alcohol consumption to one drink per day.
Avoid foods that are white – white sugar, flour, bread, pasta and rice can all be unhealthy.
Eat whole foods – for example, vegetables, whole grains, fruit, low-fat dairy, fish and seafood.
Avoid processed foods – many processed foods are high in solid fats and simple sugars, not to mention salt, refined grains and saturated fats.
Relax, de-stress, enjoy life: Make time to focus on positive ways to reduce stress. In New York City, our stress is not going away, but we can manage it better. Personal and work-related stress, including depression and anxiety, can produce toxic responses in our body that contribute to heart disease and heart events such as heart attacks and strokes. Try meditation, yoga, tai chi, and improve personal and work communication to build social support networks. Get professional help if you think you need it.
Stop Smoking: If at first you don’t succeed…try, try, try, try, try, try, try again. On average, it takes seven attempts before you are successful. Call 311 for more help today!
-Dr. Geoffrey Webber is a physician at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital Moody’s Foundation for Cardiovascular Health.