Heart disease is now the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women.

The fact is that one in four deaths last year (630,000 people) died from heart disease. The most common form of heart disease is known as coronary heart disease and accounted for nearly half of the heart disease-related deaths.

According to the CDC (center for disease control), someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds. It is not limited to a certain genetic race as a factor – everyone is at risk, African Americans, Hispanics, Caucasians, American Indians, Asians, and Native Eskimos alike.

Money spent on treating this disease category is a staggering $200 billion dollars each year. This includes health care services, medications, and lost wages due to inability to work.

What leads to heart disease?

• High blood pressure left untreated
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Poor diet choices which lead to a nutritional deficiency
• Lack of exercise
• Alcohol in excess
• Poor genetics

While you can’t do a thing about your genetic makeup, all of the other factors are under your control. Getting regular checkup’s by your doctor is important so that heart disease can be caught early and treated so you don’t end up in dire straights down the road.

Eating a heart-healthy diet consists of fresh non-processed foods, sticking with a moderate to low fat diet with healthy fats such as fish, avocados, coconut oil, and organic butter, limiting iodized table salt and replacing it with pink Himalayan salt if your food really needs to be salted at all, and grass-fed meats that do not contain hormones and additives. Watch out for farm raised fish and stick with wild caught.

When working out, move. Get up, get out, stretch, cardiovascular such as walking, jogging, biking, or swimming are great but make sure to add in some weight baring exercises as well.

Keeping your weight in check will help your heart stay healthy and strong.

Monitor your blood pressure. If it is consistently high, ask your doctor if you may need to be placed on a blood pressure medication.

If you drink, do so in moderation only. Alcohol in excess is terrible for your heart and not so great on the rest of your body either.

Give Tampa Cardiovascular Associates a call to set up a consultation and we can help you get on track to the best heart health possible. Being proactive can greatly increase the quality of your life as well as the potential duration. Our office number is 813-975-2800. You may also visit us on the web at www.tampacardio.com to learn more.