October 20, 2013 by Agency Reporter
Human heart
| credits: science.howstuffworks.com
| credits: science.howstuffworks.com
Avoid
salty, fatty food. To save money, eat out at restaurants less and cook
at home from scratch eating simple fresh foods. Also maintain a healthy
weight. Obesity has been shown to increase the risk of heart attacks,
heart failure and diabetes.
• Don’t skimp on health care. Delaying
seeking care when you have symptoms or splitting pills to cut costs is
not helping your health in the long run. If prescription costs are a
concern, check with your doctor, since many pharmaceutical companies
offer lower cost prescription programmes.
• Keep up the exercise. Even if you have
to drop your gym membership due to costs, participate in more
inexpensive options like walking in the neighborhood or swimming at the
local pool. New recommendations are to exercise for 30 to 60 minutes
daily.
• Stop smoking and avoid secondhand
smoke. It’s better for your heart to quit smoking — and for your wallet,
since it’s an expensive habit. Smoking markedly increases the risk of
heart attacks and heart failure.
• Reduce stress. Life can be especially
stressful during times of financial hardship. The key to keeping stress
from harming your health lies in finding a positive outlet, like
exercise or meditation.
• Get your cholesterol levels checked.
High cholesterol does not cause any symptoms until it is too late. The
only way to know if you have a healthy cholesterol level is to get it
checked.
• Maintain a healthy cholesterol level.
The ideal level for your LDL (“bad” cholesterol) is less than 100.
Certain individuals need to achieve even lower LDL cholesterol levels.
Keeping your HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels up is also important.
• Get your blood pressure checked. Many
patients with hypertension are not aware that they have this condition,
for which very effective treatments are available.
• Maintain a normal blood pressure. High
blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes and
heart failure. Your systolic blood pressure should be below 140 and your
diastolic blood pressure below 90.
• See your doctor regularly. Medical
follow-up is one of the best ways to keep your heart healthy and avoid
problems down the road.
Source: www.today.ucla.edu
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