12 Signs of a Heart Attack

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Kathy

You may feel healthy today, but does that necessarily mean your heart is pumping along just fine? No. One thing to remember about heart disease: It doesn’t always announce itself–its entrance is typically silent.
Many people don’t know they have heart disease until they begin to experience symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath. In fact, for many folks, a heart attack is their first physical symptom of a problem. This is why it’s so important for you and your doctor to talk about all your medical concerns and carefully track your symptoms each year.
The more proactive you are about your heart health, the less likely you are to be surprised by a heart attack or stroke.

Heart Attack Symptoms
Would you know it if you were having a heart attack–or if you saw someone else having one? Symptoms are not necessarily the same for both sexes.

Most common heart attack symptoms:
Chest discomfort that lasts more than a few minutes and can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or crushing pain.

Discomfort in other areas of the body like the arms, back, neck, jaw or stomach.

Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.

Breaking out in a cold sweat

Light-headedness

Nausea

Less common symptoms:
Pain or discomfort above the waist that is fleeting, including pain in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

Nausea or indigestion

Shortness of breath; women are more likely than men to experience this.

Sweating

Extreme fatique

Dizziness
Source: Guide to HeartHealth 2012

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Cut Calories…Your Own Way

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Kathy

It doesn’t seem to matter if you cut calories drastically two days a week or modestly every day, says the longest study in humans to compare the diet plans so far.
Researchers randomly assigned 107 overweight premenopausal women to cut 25 percent of their calories in one of two ways:
the “continuous” group ate roughly 1,500 calories a day (instead of 2,000), while the “intermittent” group ate about 500 calories a day for two days a week and their typical diets the rest of the week.
Each 500-calorie day consisted of four cups of low-fat milk, four half-cup servings of vegetables, one serving of fruit, a salty low-calorie drink, and a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. It supplied 50 grams of protein.
After 6 months, each group had lost about 13 pounds. And levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, triglycerides, and inflammatory markers were similar, as was blood pressure. The only difference: insulin levels fell slightly more in the intermittent group. That’s a plus.
Interestingly, the women who cut calories only two days a week didn’t overeat on the other five days.

What to do:
If a two-day-a-week, very low-calorie appeals to you, give it a try. If you don’t want to drink four cups of milk on those days, try plain yogurt, cottage cheese, chicken breast, fish, tofu, or other low-calorie foods that supply roughly 50 grams of protein and no more than 400 calories.
Source: NutritionAction Health Letter Jan. Feb. 2012

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Blood Pressure Numbers You Need To Watch

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Kathy

Reading about cholesterol and metabolic syndrome might be enough to make anyone’s blood pressure (BP) rise–temporarily. That’s perfectly normal. What’s not normal is having high BP every day.
High Blood Pressure is something you can’t feel, and you can’t know your pressure until you get it tested. Blood pressure is the force your blood creates as it pushes against the walls of your arteries when the heart beats. Untreated high BP damages artery walls, causing them to harden. That could lead to a heart attack.
If you’ve been diagnosed with high BP, check your pressure regularly, especially if you have other risk factors for heart disease.
Depending on age and other factors, everyone’s BP varies slightly–even the time of day can affect your reading. If you’ve ever been tested, you know that your BP is represented as one number “over” another number.

The top number is your systolic BP (the pressure of blood flow against the walls of your blood vessels).

The bottom number is your diastolic BP, which measurers the pressure in between heartbeats.
Generally speaking, the lower your blood pressure numbers, the better.

Blood Pressure Numbers That Matter
Systolic (top) Diastolic (Bottom)
Low BP 90 or lower 60 or lower
Ideal BP under 120 under 80
Pre-hyper-
tension 120-139      80-89

Hypertension    140 or higher     90 or higher
Source: Guide to HeartHealth 2012

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5 Good Reasons to Quit Smoking Now

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Kathy

Need a good reson to quit smoking? How about:
You’ll feel better, look better and be much more kissable.
Here’s more:
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), smokers are up to six times more likely than nonsmokers to suffer a heart attack. That’s because nicotine causes your blood vessels to constrict and raises your blood pressure and heart rate.
At the same time, nicotine also decreases your exercise tolerance and your good (HDL) cholesterol–which all lead down a slippery slope to heart trouble.
If you need help to quit, contact one of these organizations.
SmokEnders–www.smokenders.com
American Lung Association www.lungusa.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/tobacco
American Cancer Society www.cancer.org
SilkQuit www.silkquit.org

Source: Guide to HeartHealth 2012

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Yoga Tips

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Kathy

Practice with common sense. Move slowly, pay attention and ask for help.

Know your body. Know your troubled spots and how to avoid irritating them.

The instructor is not king. You don’t have to do everything the teacher says.

Practice at your own pace. Don’t try and keep up with the person sitting next to you. There may be postures you are unfamilier with that require more time and patience. Know your limits.

Yoga is about technique. Practice proper alignment to avoid a yoga injury.

It’s all about the breath. If  your teacher doesn’t integrate breath work in class, find another instructor.

Pain is not good. Don’t push into it. Don’t hold your breath. Just get out of the pose.

Repetition increases injury risk. Some yoga disciplines employ a set number of the same postures at every class, such as Bikram. Others, such as Ashtanga, move rapidly from one posture to another and can compromise proper form. Both situations increase the chance of injury.
Source: The Chronicle-Telegram Feb. 16, 2012

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Diabetes: Are You At Risk?

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Kathy

Is Type 2 Diabetes Waiting For You?
Type 2 Diabetes is a serious chronic disease that is related to many health problems, including heart disease, stroke, vision loss, and kidney failure.
Approximately 18.8 million people in the U.S. know they have diabetes, while an additional seven million people don’t even know they have it.

The early symptoms may be feeling very tired, thirsty, hungry, irritable, urinating often, unexplained weight loss, and/or blurred vision. You may have none or all of these symptoms.
The most common treatment includes watching your diet, increasing your exercise, testing your blood sugar, and taking medications if prescribed. Health problems can be greatly reduced if you keep your blood sugar under good control.
Your risk for getting diabetes is higher if you have any of the following risk factors:
Overweight
Physically inactive
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Smoke
Poor eating habits
Age, race, gender, family history
Diabetes in pregnancy (gestational diabetes)

If you have any of these risk factors, it is important to visit your doctor or healthcare provider for a check-up. The earlier you are diagnosed with diabetes, the sooner you can start to treat it. Diabetes doesn’t have to control you. You can control it by making healthy lifestyle changes.
Source: Healthy Outlook EMH Healthcare 1st quarter 2012

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Eliminating Allergens

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Kathy

Alcohol sanitizers don’t effectively remove allergens.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers kill bacteria.   They don’t destroy food proteins, which cause food allergies.
In a study of 12 people at John Hopkins University, alcohol sanitizers were no better than plain water at removing peanut residue from participants hands. Washing with soap and water or using wipes were the most effective methods.
Source: ConsumerReports on Health February 2012

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10 Tips For Eating Heart Smart

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Kathy

1. Know and limit your fats.
2. Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without
added saturated and trans fat.
3. Eat at least two servings of fish each week.
4. Select fat-free, 1% fat and low-fat dairy products.
5. Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to
reduce trans fat in your diet.
6. Cut back on foods high in dietary cholesterol.
7. Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugar.
8. Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt.
9. When regularly eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, soluble fiber, the fiber from ot bran, beans, nuts and certain fruits–helps lower blood cholesterol and may also help reduce the risk of diabetes.

10.  Read labels for heart-healthy ingredients.

Source:  Guide to Heart-Health 2012

 

 

 

 

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The Whole Truth About Whole Wheat Bread

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Kathy

Are you hearing chatter that whole wheat bread may be no better for you than white? It’s true that the “wheat bread” most delis and restaurants serve contains little whole grain. But now some experts are saying that even whole wheat breads with at least 2 g of fiber per serving are not exactly health food either.
William Davis. MD, the author of the bestselling book Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, warns the products made from today’s modern strains of wheat contain a type of starch that spurs insulin production and obesity. But many others, including Andrew Weil, MD, director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, continue to assert that whole wheat bread is advisable, provided you choose a chewy, dense bread in which you can see whole grains and pieces of grains–the kind of bread you’re more likely to find at a traditional bakery than the supermarket.
Source: Prevention February 2012

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Beware of Germy Spots

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Kathy

Gas pumps, mailboxes, ATM buttons, and escalator railings are the most contaminated places, according to an analysis of 350 swabs from surfaces in six major cities by a large cleaning-supply company.
To protect yourself, wash your hands often with soap and water. If they aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. And don’t touch your eyes, mouth, or nose with unwashed hands.
Source: ConsumerReports on Health February 2012

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