improve your odds
Did you know that 80% of heart disease is preventable? Here’s how:
* stop smoking – all smoking! Here’s how those public smoking bans have improved our health.
* eat a high-fibre heart-healthy diet (like the Mayo Clinic-recommended Mediterranean diet) and seek out heart-smart recipes to reduce sodium, sugar and saturated fat in your cooking
* maintain a healthy weight (waist measurement <35″ for women)
* Keep blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol* under strict control
* exercise at least 30 minutes every day – yes, EVERY day!
* talk to your doctor about screening tests for heart disease, especially if you have a family history (Mum or sister < age 65, Dad or brother < age 55)
* learn how to reduce and manage stress (and don’t forget to b-r-e-a-t-h-e…)
* do activities that can improve heart health: gardening, walking, stair climbing – even doing housework!
* stop being what we call a Type E-personality: ’Everything to Everybody!’ This is especially true for women, who are often the nurturers and caretakers of both friends and family members, sometimes at the expense of their own health.
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Learn more about living a heart-smart life with Canada’s Healthy Heart Kit from our Public Health Agency.
Join WomenHeart to receive monthly newsletters and research updates about women’s heart health. Membership in the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease is FREE.
Subscribe to The Heart Truth, the monthly e-mail newsletter with great news and tips about women’s heart health.
* CONTROL YOUR CHOLESTEROL: depending on other risk factors you may also have, Health Canada recommends the following cholesterol target goals:
- Total cholesterol: < 5.2 ( > 6.2 = too high)
- LDL (bad) cholesterol: < 3.5 ( > 4 = too high)
- HDL (good) cholesterol: > 1
For Americans, units for cholesterol levels are mg/dL while in Canada, we use mmol/L. The rough conversion factor is 40. To convert from American to Canadian units, just divide by 40. Find out more about good, bad and ugly cholesterol from the College of Family Physicians of Canada, or watch this one-minute video.
Note: information on this site is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.
