AskDrRachel.com

Your Guide to a Healthier Heart

By Rachel Franklin, M.D., "Your Family Doc"

OU Physicians Family Medicine

You have the power to reduce your risk of having a heart attack by up to 75% with these simple strategies.

First, the bad news.  Over one million Americans will suffer a heart attack this year.  Despite the amazing advances in medical and surgical cardiac care that you hear about in fancy TV and radio ads, the fact is that one in three Americans will not survive their first heart attack, and for those who do survive, many will suffer from heart failure, irregular heart beats, decreased energy, depression and a host of other problems for the rest of their lives.

Now, I'm not a "bad news" kind of person.  So, here's the good news.  While you can't change your age, your family history or your sex, those "unavoidable" risk factors account for only a portion of your risk of having a heart attack.  You have the power to change the majority of your risk!  Implementing a healthy lifestyle can reduce your risk of heart disease by up to 75%!

Here's the magic formula to reduce your risk of heart attack:

• Stop smoking. The #1 preventable cause of heart disease is smoking.  If you do only one thing, become smoke-free.  No cigars or pipes, either - your heart doesn't care if you inhaled.
• Exercise regularly. Aim for 150 minutes every week of moderate-intensity exercise.  Get a little short of breath and a little sweaty, but pain is not required.  If you can't do 30-60 minutes at a time, exercise for at least 10 minutes several times a day for similar benefit.
• Maintain a healthy weight. You don't have to be a skinny supermodel to help prevent heart disease!  Women with a waist measurement less than 35 inches and men whose waists measure less than 40 inches have a lower risk of heart disease (as well as diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol problems) than those with measurements above these numbers.  The closer you can get to your ideal weight, the lower the risk.  Ask your doctor what you should weigh.
• Prevent, or keep tight control of, diabetes. People with diabetes have the same risk of having a heart attack as someone who has already had one. Prevent diabetes to prevent this risk.  If you already have it, work with your doctor and her team to keep your A1C below 7%, your LDL (bad) cholesterol below 100 and your blood pressure below 130/80.  For more explanation of these numbers, please ask your doctor - she wants to help!
• Watch your blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is below 120/70.  Your risk begins to rise when your blood pressure is above 130/80.  If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, do all you can to get your numbers in line.  I'll blog more about this later.
• Eat "heart-healthy". The model for a heart-healthy diet is the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet.  You can find it at www.dashdiet.org</a>.  Low in fat and salt but rich in fruits, vegetables, potassium, magnesium and calcium, DASH has been proven to lower your risk of heart attack even if you don't have high blood pressure.

Think about what we discussed as you were working on resolutions.  Remember that it's not realistic to expect that you'll do everything at once.  Keep this list and aim to do the first two items first.  Work as you can to do the rest and watch your life improve!  Please remember to email april-sandefer@ouhsc.edu or contact OU Physicians at 405-271-5067 if you have ideas you'd like to read about in this column.  Here's to your good health!

Dr. Franklin is a board certified family medicine specialist. Her areas of special interest include preventive health and wellness and women's and children's health. Her advice has been featured in outlets including The Learning Channel, Parents Magazine and FitPregnancy. For an appointment with Dr. Franklin or any of the OU Physicians Family Medicine physicians, call 405-271-4311