One in five deaths in the U.S. is caused by heart disease. February is American Heart Month, and a great time to focus on how to help our hearts and fight America’s top killer.
“This is real stuff. And it's the most common reason why we exit mortality.”
Viet Le, a Physician Assistant with the Intermountain Heart Institute wants his patients to postpone their exit from this life.
“So, men over 45 and women that have hit menopause - that that puts you in the risk factor for having events. If you have high blood pressure, if you have high cholesterol, if you've developed diabetes, or maybe not developed diabetes, but are on your way - so called pre-diabetes, those are all risk factors that all add up to injury to arterial walls that lead to heart attack and stroke,” said Le.
Diet and exercise offer simple, but not easy ways to prevent or slow heart disease. Not easy because our culture and economy seem designed to hurt our hearts.
“We sit in offices. So that's designed sedentary. We have schedules that don't allow us to prep for meals. When you prep for meals, it means you're intentional. You buy food, you cut it, you take the time you cook it, it's got nutrients, and then you sit down and eat it,” said Le.
Think about your trip to the grocery store. If it’s a meander up and down all the aisles, Le suggests my teenage dance strategy – hug the walls.
“That's kind of the outer portions of the grocery store, as you head down and the fresh fruits and vegetables as you get to the back the dairy, etc. That's the kind of food that you want to think about,” he said.
And the kind of exercise we need? Also simple and consistent, with some resistance exercise built in.
“You could do chair squats, you can do pushups, wall pushups. It doesn't have to be you know…we're not all in military. Resistance training is really making sure that we activate those muscles, because that helps build bone,” said Le.
The great news? Heart health is all about a better future, starting today.
“It's one thing to live longer, but you should have quality now,” said Le.
The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of exercise ever week. That’s two and a half hours, which could be five half hour sessions, or a mix of exercise activities with physical activity sprinkled throughout your workday.
