PREVENTION

PREVENTION Try to follow these tips to prevent atherosclerosis: Quit smoking. Smoking accelerates the development of atherosclerosis, which often leads to coronary heart disease. Women who smoke are two to six times as likely to suffer a heart attack as nonsmoking women, and the risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The good news is that quitting dramatically cuts your risk, even during the first year, no matter what your age. Lower your blood pressure. Even slightly high blood pressure levels can double your risk for heart disease. Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80 mm/Hg, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. High blood pressure, or "hypertension," is a blood pressure reading of 140/90 mm/Hg or higher. Between 120/80 mm/Hg and 139/89 mmHg is considered prehypertension. High blood pressure also increases your chance of stroke, congestive heart failure and kidney disease. High blood pressure can be treated successfully with medication. Commonly prescribed drugs include diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, beta blockers and calcium channel blockers (CCBs). If your blood pressure is not too high, you may be able to control it entirely through weight loss (if you are overweight), regular physical activity and cutting down on alcohol as well as salt and sodium. Sodium is an ingredient in salt that is found in many packaged foods, carbonated beverages, baking soda and some antacids. Get regular exercise and lose weight. Regular physical activity is defined as 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as brisk walking, on most and preferably all days of the week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise, such as running, at least three days a week. Control your blood sugar if you have diabetes. Diabetes is typically diagnosed by a fasting glucose (sugar) over 126. Patients with diabetes should be treated to prevent complications from cardiovascular disease; treatment typically consists of a combination of lifestyle changes and medications. Your goal hemoglobin A1C with treatment should be less than seven percent. Those with diabetes who also have good sugar control are much less likely to develop cardiovascular complications than those with poor sugar control. Those individuals with a fasting glucose (sugar) of 100-126 may be considered pre-diabetes or glucose intolerant. This is often associated with metabolic syndrome and individuals with glucose intolerance are at high risk for developing true diabetes within the next couple years. Weight loss, healthy diet, and exercise are important to improve blood sugar levels and prevent the onset of diabetes. Lower your LDL-cholesterol level. Today, about a quarter of all American women have blood cholesterol levels high enough to pose a serious risk for atherosclerosis and heart disease. More than half of the women over age 55 need to lower their blood LDL cholesterol. Keep triglycerides in check. The lipoprotein profile that determines your cholesterol levels also measures another fatty substance called triglyceride. Produced in the liver, triglycerides are made up of saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. The optimal target triglyceride level for individuals without heart disease or heart disease-related risk factors is less than 150 mg/dL, with 100 mg/dL being an ideal level. For most people, cutting back on foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol will lower both total and LDL cholesterol. Regular physical activity and weight loss if you're overweight also reduces blood cholesterol levels. Losing extra weight, quitting smoking and becoming more physically active may also help boost HDL cholesterol levels. Reduce your homocysteine level. Homocysteine is an amino acid normally found in the body. Recent studies suggest that high blood levels of this substance may increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and reduced blood flow to the hands and feet. It is believed that high levels of homocysteine may damage the arteries, making blood more likely to clot and/or making blood vessels less flexible. Homocysteine levels are affected by three vitamins—afolic acid and vitamins B6 and B12. Women who consume less than the recommended daily amounts of these vitamins are more likely to have higher homocysteine levels. Recommended daily amounts are 400 micrograms of folic acid, two mg of B6, and 2.4 mcg of B12. Good sources of folic acid include citrus fruits; tomatoes; dark green, leafy vegetables; whole-grain and fortified-grain products (whole wheat bread and oatmeal, for example) and beans and lentils. Foods high in B6 include beef, poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables and grain products. Major sources of B12 are beef, poultry, fish, milk and other dairy products. SEE WEB SITE