One out of every four Americans has high blood pressure, according to the American Diabetes Association. This means that many Americans have hearts pumping way too hard and arteries clogged by LDL cholesterol and fatty acids. It’s natural to panic when people first learn they may be more at risk for congestive heart failure, a stroke, kidney disease, diabetes or atherosclerosis. The good news is that reversing heart health is easier than we may think.

Over at the Harvard School of Medicine, researchers have developed a dietary program known as “DASH,” an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet includes: 8 grain servings, 5 vegetable servings, 2-3 low fat dairy servings, 1-2 servings of meat, poultry or fish and 5 servings per week of nuts, seeds or beans. Saturated fats and sugars should be limited and serving sizes generally run ½ cup cooked, 1 cup raw or 2 tbsp nuts and seeds. Exercise is crucial! Within just two weeks, the diet already began having an effect on Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s patients, with 70% returning to normal blood pressure levels. He says that increasing minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium had a strong impact, as did limiting fat and sodium. The diet triggers a diuretic effect, much like certain medications that work to “flush the system.”

For some people, the thought of monitoring their diet may seem like an overwhelming obsession. How do you know if you’re doing the right thing to lower high blood pressure or making the right choices to maintain heart health? Generally, most people need a little help getting started. Some people may try a free website like sparkspeople.com, where you enter everything you eat each day and receive a report tallying up your fat, calories, protein and nutrients, in relation to your weight loss or heart health goals. Or others may spend a little money on a dietician who can offer guided meal plans tailored individually to their needs. Many books have been written on the subject as well. After looking around a little, you’ll find something that is enjoyable, you feel comfortable with and that works. Once you get into a routine, you won’t even think about it anymore. Suddenly, your cardiovascular health will improve and your life will seem so much more manageable.

If you have high blood pressure and you’re at a high risk for having a stroke, then be aware that small exercise is probably better for you. A 2000 study found that men who took a one-hour brisk walk five days/week cut their stroke risk in half. Intense workouts should be avoided for high risk individuals, particularly those who may have had congestive heart failure or some sort of medical emergency in the past. These activities include: shoveling snow, heavy lifting, heavy gardening, jogging, tennis and even speed walking. Roughly 40% of young men who die suddenly during a workout have previously experienced, and ignored, symptoms of poor heart health like chest pains, irregular heart beats and undue shortness of breath.

As we start to get older there are significant numbers that start to weigh heavily upon us. We have to concern ourselves about our blood pressure, weight and our cholesterol level. These are some of the things that most of us have ignored for the vast majority of our lives now all of a sudden have great importance. However these are things that should not have been pushed aside. A lifetime of mistreatment on the body renders merely damaging things when left unchecked.

Your cholesterol level is certainly chief if you want to continue in good health and your body operating the right way. High levels can lead to heart attacks as well as stroke, both things you do not want to have to deal with. Being concerned when it comes to your cholesterol level is not only for the aging. It is something both younger people as well as older people must worry as well as be cognisant of if they want to lead a healthy life. In this article we will cover the fundamentals of cholesterol and hopefully you will realize how crucial a healthy level is to your body as well as peace of mind.

What is good cholesterol?

Good cholesterol is called HDL which is high-density lipoproteins. Doctor’s believe that the high levels of HDL can actually protect your heart whereas low levels of HDL can increase your risk of heart disease. It is thought that HDL can carry cholesterol away from your arteries and back to the liver where it is passed from the body.

What happens when cholesterol gets too high?

Well when LDL gets too high then the cholesterol begins to accumulate on the artery walls and then hardens into plaque. The build up continues until the entire artery is blocked off. This added blockage makes it hard for blood to get to the heart where it can be pumped to the rest of the body. It can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

When HDL levels are high this is a good thing because researchers believe that HDL helps rid the body of cholesterol build-up. That is why a diet rich in foods that promote HDL is always heavily recommended.

How is the blockage from the arteries removed?

The first stage is through medicines however if there is a critical constrictive or occlusion in the artery or blood vessel then a somewhat more intrusive operation is necessary. The actual processes may change however one frequent method is done through the use of a balloon angioplasty. The mechanical device is inserted into the artery and then naviagted to the occlusion where the build up of plaque has occurred. The balloon is then inflated to clear the passage. Nowadays the procedure is minimally intrusive and most patients are capable of going home that day.

How do I know what my cholesterol is?

Well in order to know what your cholesterol is you should have a blood cholesterol testing performed at least every five years. The most recommended test is a fasting lipoprotein blood profile. This test measures not only your total cholesterol but it also specifies the LDL and the HDL levels. It is a great idea to be knowledgeable about where your numbers are and to ensure that they are in the proper healthy range.

To learn further informative content click here: Cholesterol Numbers also Cholesterol Control as well as Low Cholesterol Diet Tips

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