What Is your Risk of Heart Disease?

The American Heart Association informs you with tons of useful information about your cardiovascular system. How to keep it in shape with the right food, the right exercise and how to reduce risks of cardiovascular disorders. Get information about a healthy life style, health topics and how to get involved a volunteer which can be anything. From a lifesaver, over a fundraiser to as an advocate for state issues like enacting smoke-free air laws. And of course you can read about the latest development in research and publications.
Virtual Workouts
Keep Moving on heart.org by one of their best exercise motivators.
But the Most Important Thing to do is
Doing the Test
It might save your life !
Risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease:
HOW TO REDUCE YOUR RISK ?

STOP SMOKING
Easy to say, I know. Still: if you'd quit smoking you'd cut your risk of an heart attack into half !
improve your cholesterol levels
The best diet to improve your cholesterol levels is one that is high in fiber. Saturated fat and refined sugars cause cholesterol level raise.
Below you'll find limits of the different kinds of cholesterol:
• Total cholesterol level over 200
• HDL ("good") cholesterol level under 40
• LDL ("bad") cholesterol level over 160
• Triglycerides over 150
check your blood pressure regurlarly
Check your blood pressure every month in particular if high blood pressure occurs in your family more often. If you don't have a blood pressure monitor yet, make sure you'll buy an upper arm device for the most reliable results. Cuff devices aren't that accurate.
keep moving
People who sit all day have an increased chance to get heart disease and die from it. The solution is obvious: exercise more. Not necessary to do this on a high intensity level. Low impact exercise during around 30 minutes a day works perfectly to stay fit and avoid heart disease. Always check with your doctor before you start!
follow a cardiac-healthy diet
As mentioned above: Eat a diet low in cholesterol and high in fiber. Avoid saturated fat and refined sugars. On your shopping list must be fruits and vegetables, next to whole grains, nuts, beans, legumes and other plant-based foods.
For the essential proteins and good fats you can eat fish like salmon or tuna containing the omega-3 goodies. And then of course poultry and lean meat (occasionally for sustainability reasons).
Finally: avoid salt and sugar as much as possible and reduce alcohol consume!
avoid stress
We all have stress from time to time and that is not always bad. The good stress can help us to reach our goals in a way and speed we wouldn't be able to without it. The bad stress however can take over control and even change you in a more or less permanent "angry" person. That is something you want to avoid since it is one of the causes of cardio-disease. Managing your stress level by doing regular low impact physical exercise (cycling/walking), mental exercise (meditation) or a combination of it in form of yoga is a perfect way to lower it.