Women's Healthy Heart Numbers (Part 3)

BMI - Body Mass Index
The more overweight you are, the higher your risk of heart disease - even if you have no other risk factors.  Being overweight or obese also raises the chance of you developing diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  So, how do you know if you are overweight or obese?  One way, certainly not the only way, is to determine your BMI.  Use the chart below (you will need to ckick on it to enlarge it)

Once you have found your BMI, check it against the normal ranges -
Normal Weight:  BMI = 18.5 - 24.9
Overweight:  BMI = 25 - 29.9
Obese:  BMI = 30 or higher

How do you score???

Women's Healthy Heart Numbers (Part 2)

The second number we are going to look at is Blood Cholesterol. The Doctor will usually test for 4 different measures: Total Cholesterol, LDL Cholesterol (the “Bad” guys), HDL Cholesterol (the “Good” guys) and Triglycerides.

Total Cholesterol:
Desirable:   less than200 mg/dL
Borderline High:   200-239 mg/dL
High:  240+ mg/dL

LDL Cholesterol:
Optimal:  less than 100 mg/dL
Near Optimal:  100-129 mg/dL
Borderline:  130-159 mg/dL
High:  160-189 mg/dL
Very High:  190+ mg/dL

HDL Cholesterol:
High:  60+mg/dL (for HDL, high is good!)
Low:  40 mg/dL or less

Triglycerides:
Normal:  less than 150 mg/dL
Borderline High:  150-199 mg/dL
High:  200-499 mg/dL
Very High:  500+ mg/dL

Although having a low level of blood cholesterol doesn’t mean you won’t have a heart attack, a high level will increase your chances of having heart disease/high blood pressure by accumulating on artery walls…meaning, the arteries get narrower, making it more difficult for the blood to be pumped through…which makes your heart work harder…all the time!

Your body produces most of the cholesterol circulating in your bloodstream (we all need some cholesterol), but foods high in saturated fat, transfats and cholesterol, together with sedentary living, can raise the level even higher.

If your LDL cholesterol is borderline high, your Doctor should recommend lowering it by reducing the saturated and trans fats and cholesterol in your diet, losing weight (if you are overweight) and increasing your level of physical activity (which also helps to raise the good HDL Cholesterol). If these lifestyle measures do not work or your LDL Cholesterol is high or very high, or, if you have other risk factors for heart disease (i.e. a hereditary predisposition), your Doctor may recommend cholesterol-lowering medicines, such as statins, together with the lifestyle changes. The triglycerides (associated with LDL) are the fat that is deposited in the blood vessels, which causes athrosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). The blood vessels need to be flexible to allow the blood to flow through…the more triglycerides, the narrower the tube and the less flexible it is…once again, making the job difficult for the old ticker!

To protect yourself, have your cholesterol checked at least every 2 to 3 years, more often if you have high cholesterol or other risk factors.

“"Exercise is king, nutrition is queen, put them together and you've got a kingdom. ...”  Jack Lalanne

Women's Healthy Heart Numbers (Part 1)

Over the next few days, I will deal with an important “number” each day, how to obtain the numbers, and, then, what they mean, in terms of your health. Often we hear the terms bandied about, but really do not understand them.


Let’s start with Blood Pressure. How many times have you sat in your Doctor’s office and had it done, seen them nod their heads and record it. They never tell you unless you ask or it is high enough to make the alarm bells ring! And, even if they did tell you, do you even know what they mean?

Normal   -   119/79 or less

PreHypertension   -  120-139/80-89

Stage 1 Hypertension  -  140-159/90-99

Stage 2 Hypertension  -  160+/100+

More than half of women over age 55 have high blood pressure (HBP), which often has no symptoms. HBP increases the heart’s workload, putting added strain on blood vessels and increases the chances of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, or kidney problems.

So, what exactly do all those numbers mean? The top number, is called the systolic measurement…which is the pressure against the walls of your arteries when your heart is beating. The dystolic, the bottom number, is the pressure against the walls of your arteries when your heart is at rest. So, ideally, the less pressure, the better…right? Blood pressure should be checked annually; more often if it is elevate

If you are prehypertensive, your doctor will recommend (or should) you control/reduce your weight, exercise, discontinue smoking (if you do), limit your alcohol intake and sodium intake, rather than give you medication. If you have full-blown hypertension, you will likely be given blood-pressure lowering medications as well as the lifestyle changing recommendations.

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing - but a lot of ignorance is more dangerous.” - Unknown