American Heart Month

February is American Heart Month! According to the Heart Foundation, cardiovascular disease (which includes heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases) is the number one cause of death in the United States. In 2011 heart disease killed nearly 800,000in the United States which means that it claimed more lives than all forms of cancer combined.But sometimes it’s hard to imagine a number like 800,000. In the United States, someone has a heart attack every 34 seconds. Every 60 seconds, someone in the United States dies from a heart disease-related event. At Healthy Living Dallas, we educate our patients on how lifestyle choices can prevent chronic illness. Here are some additional statistics for the prevalence of many common conditions in the U.S. population according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Overweight or Obese 69.2%
Elevated Total Cholesterol (>200 mg/dL) 46.8%
Metabolic Syndrome 34%
Elevated Blood Pressure 31.9%
Pre-diabetes or Diabetes 46.9%

You CAN reduce your risk of heart disease:

1. Engage in moderate aerobic exercise for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week.
2. Adopt a diet low in salt, saturated and transfats, and replace these unhealthy fats with unsaturated fats such as fatty fish,olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.
3. Try eating at least 8 servings of fruits and vegetables each day! Include a variety of colors!
4. Avoid smoking and other tobacco containing products as well as recreational drug use.
5. Obtain and maintain a healthy body weight.
6. Assess your omega-3 index (specifically DHA and EPA status) and supplement as needed! Remember that not all supplements are created equally! And in case you’ve been watching the news lately, FISH OIL IS NOT THE SAME AS EPA/DHA CONCENTRATES. Check out our video on choosing a good Omega 3 at http://www.healthylivingdallas.com/educational-videos/.

Schedule your appointment at Healthy Living Dallas by calling 214-736-7405 for a full work-up including body composition testing, assessing blood pressure, and running a comprehensive lab report which will check your lipid panel, inflammation markers, blood sugar panel, omega-3 index, genetic factors related to heart disease and more! Take the steps now to avoid being a heart disease statistic later!