Habits for Better Heart Health

Research shows these habits listed below can be very destructive and play havoc with your heart.

Being overweight, poor diet, alcohol in excess, smoking and not exercising and being active. These can also affect blood pressure, cholesterol and even blood sugar levels. They can also lead to a long list of heart complications such as stroke, heart attack, heart failure etc. etc. Long-term excessive drinking increases your risk of developing problems with your heart. Check out this statistic, being a nonsmoker who is at an average healthy weight, who exercises and eats right would be 83 percent less likely to have a heart attack or heart disease. That’s very encouraging.

Don’t get discouraged, if you struggle in some of these areas, you can always make some positive changes. Start exercising. Find something you enjoy doing. Mix it up. Try to do something for at least 30 minutes a day. You can always work your way up to some serious cardiovascular exercise that will really benefit your heart. You don’t have to exercise strenuously to achieve benefits, but you can see bigger benefits by increasing the intensity, duration and frequency of your workouts. Physical activity helps you control your weight and can reduce your chances of developing other conditions that may put a strain on your heart, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

Excess weight can really put a strain on your heart. Change your nutritional plan. Add fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and fiber to you diet. Try to really limit processed foods, simple carbohydrates and sugar. Pay close attention to the kinds of fats in your diet. So there are good and bad cholesterols; LDL is the dangerous kind of cholesterol and HDL is the beneficial kind to your heart. You can produce more of the HDL cholesterol by exercising regularly and limiting saturated fat, and cholesterol by avoiding too many animal products such as red meats and full-fat dairy, and including healthier fats such as certain vegetable oils. It’s also important to limit trans fats (like palm oils, fried foods, and what you find in a lot of processed foods).

Smoking and heart problems go hand in hand. Smoking doesn’t just affect your lungs. Chemicals in tobacco can damage your heart and blood vessels, leading to narrowing of the arteries, which can ultimately lead to a heart attack. Physical activity helps you control your weight and can reduce your chances of developing other conditions that may put a strain on your heart, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Also, monitoring your blood sugar levels can reduce your chance of diabetes. Diabetes can quadruple your risk of heart disease or stroke, so keeping blood sugar levels under control is crucial to preventing medical problems involving the heart. If left untreated, diabetes can also cause many other health complications.

It’s never too late to make positive, proactive changes to avoid heart disease. Think of making yourself your own project. Just be more mindful of how your day to day behavior can affect your health. Get support and encouragement from those close to you. The American Heart Association can be a great resource and motivator for tips and suggestions to battle heart disease. Start with reasonable goals and you will achieve them and your heart will thank you.

What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest, also known as SCA?

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) claims nearly 350,000 lives each year.

During sudden cardiac arrest, heart function stops abruptly and without warning. When this happens the heart is no longer able to pump blood to the brain and throughout the body, and the result is death for 95% of the victims.

SCA and vascular diseases claim more lives than those lost to all forms of cancer combined. This translates to a heart-related death in America every 2 minutes. The adverse impact of heart problems is even bigger taking into account the vast numbers who avert death by having their heart conditions detected and corrected by medical attention. ¹ Every 30 seconds someone dies or is adversely impacted by a heart condition. ³

SCA is the leading cause of death in student athletes. Every year 10,000 young people die from SCA.³  Many appear healthy and have no known family history of heart-related illness. Even though medical tests can detect the presence of heart concerns, insurance companies generally do not cover their costs without the presence of symptoms or a family history of heart problems.

Typically, SCA symptoms are silent until it is too late. As a result, screening is critical to prevention. An echocardiogram can detect the potential for SCA with 99% accuracy and many of the problems detected can be treated or corrected. For this reason it is essential that screening be done at an early age. ¹
Warning signs and symptoms of SCA: ⁴
• Fainting of seizure during or after physical activity
• Fainting or seizure resulting from emotional excitement, distress or startle
• Chest pain or discomfort/ racing heartbeat
• Unexplained fainting or seizures
• Family history of heart disease
• Unusual shortness of breath
• Unusual fatigue/tiredness
• Dizziness/ lightheadedness during or after physical activity
• Family history of unexpected sudden death during physical activity or during a seizure, or any other unexplained sudden death of an otherwise healthy family member under age 50

Consult a physician promptly if you or someone you know has one or more of these signs and/or symptoms

We at Living for Zachary hope to bring this knowledge and awareness to every family.

Let your HEART be heard!

1- Heart Rhythm Society
2- Boston Scientific
3- American Heart Association
4- Parent Heart Watch

Simple Summer Steps to help Prevent SCA

Did you know that simple steps of action can help lower your risk of major cardiovascular problems?

With the rising risks of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), heart attacks and strokes in youth and adults alike, it’s become a real cause for concern in taking preventative steps and protecting you and your family. Have some plans in place.

Make some plans
By putting together a plan and course of action will help you stay accountable to your goals. Start by jotting down some ways to lower your risk, such as “Cut excess fat from my diet” or “1 hamburger a week” and slowly check these off your list. Trying to do too much too fast can make preventative steps seem discouraging.

Just Get Healthier - plain and simple
Plan to walk at lunch in your parking garage, or take the stairs instead of the elevator. If you are still smoking, talk to your Doctor about getting some help to quit. Also, cut down on salt - just cut down - or try using Sea Salt instead.



Celebrate Success
It’s also important to keep track of progress you’ve made on all of your goals. Enjoy the progress you’ve made and celebrate successes by saving up and purchasing that new pair of running shoes that you’ve wanted or indulge in a dessert at your favorite restaurant.

Don’t be discouraged. Small healthy changes can help you enjoy a long and bountiful life. Go ahead and make some changes this summer of 2013 - who knows, you might even lose a few pounds.