Love Your Heart
Fighting Heart Disease Should Begin Before Problems Develop

Don't wait for a heart attack to strike or your cholesterol levels to reach dangerous zones before you start taking better care of your heart.

Protecting yourself against coronary artery disease (CAD) should begin years before a "scare" occurs, says Sam Gadallah, MD, Medical Director of the Cardiovascular and Catheterization Laboratory at Lancaster Community Hospital.

You may be able to avoid or delay heart problems by modifying your practices and behavioral patterns now.

Eat Right, Exercise
"Many risk factors for heart disease -- including high cholesterol and high blood pressure -- can be reduced or eliminated through a course of regular exercise and proper diet," Dr. Gadallah says.

A diet that is high in fruits, vegetables and fiber -- and low in sodium and fat -- can help keep blood pressure and cholesterol levels in normal ranges.

Smoking cessation also is important. "Smokers are twice as likely as nonsmokers to develop CAD," Dr. Gadallah warns. "So it's imperative to quit if you smoke."

Understanding HDL, LDL Cholesterol
Based on their family histories, many people may begin having regular blood pressure readings and cholesterol checks in their late 20s or early 30s.

While it is critical to have low levels of triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) -- known as "bad" cholesterol -- it is also important to have high levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), or "good," cholesterol.

"HDLs are responsible for taking bad cholesterol out of arteries and getting it to the liver for processing," Dr. Gadallah explains. "While people usually don't pursue treatments to increase their HDL levels, they should; that is just as important as lowering bad cholesterol."

He points out that people with diabetes should be extra vigilant about keeping their cholesterol levels in check, as the illness is associated with cholesterol abnormalities and an increased risk for CAD.

Control Blood Pressure
Reducing high blood pressure, or hypertension, is another significant step toward combating CAD. Hypertension occurs when extra weight causes the body to create new blood vessels to support additional tissue, which strains the heart.

"The heart has to work harder to supply blood to these new vessels, and then blood pressure rises," Dr. Gadallah says. According to him, sometimes people can lower their blood pressure simply by losing weight.

"In fact," Dr. Gadallah says, "the first action to take if your blood pressure is borderline high is to lose a few pounds."

Lose Weight
The benefits of losing weight extend beyond eliminating hypertension. Individuals who maintain a healthy weight also are less likely to suffer from stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and depression.

Lancaster Community Hospital, 43830 N. 10th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93534 Phone: 661-948-4781