By Annette Campbell
To coincide with this year’s World Heart Day on September 25, we’ve gone to the experts for some advice about keeping our hearts healthy.
“Being overweight and carrying that excess weight, particularly around the abdomen (being ‘apple-shaped’), is a major risk for heart disease, reducing the likely age of your first heart attack by about four to eight years,” he says.
“Coronary heart disease is the number one killer in Australia. It causes 18 percent of all deaths. And we know this is largely preventable. Nine out of 10 people have at least one modifiable risk factor, while 25 percent have three or more risk factors. So prevention is very important.”
Here are Professor Tonkin’s top tips for heart health.
Quit smoking.
Depending on the age you quit, you can regain quite a few years of your life. If you quit by 30, you could regain 10 years you might otherwise lose.
Be physically active.
A good prescription is 30 minutes of moderate activity (such as a brisk walk) on most days. And you don’t have to do it all at once.
Eat healthily.
Decrease your intake of saturated fat by eating lean red meat, taking the skin off chicken and choosing reduced fat rather than full-fat dairy products.
Enjoy two meals of fish each week and plenty of fruit, vegetables and grain-based food.
Keep an eye on your blood pressure.
There is a significant link between high blood pressure and hardening of arteries and heart failure later in life.
So have your GP check your blood pressure, as it can be modified by changes in lifestyle such as physical activity, avoiding excess salt (especially from processed foods), moderating alcohol intake and losing weight.
Check cholesterol.
If your cholesterol hasn’t been checked, I’d recommend it be checked at the age of 45 as part of a cardiovascular check-up — or earlier if you have a significant family history of premature coronary disease in a parent less than the age of 60 or another risk factor such as smoking or high blood pressure.
For more information about World Heart Day and the Heart Foundation’s message about abdominal obesity, phone the Heartline on 1300 36 27 87.
You can also visit their website: www.heartfoundation.com.au
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