Heart Health Tips

The Signs of a Heart Attack

When you experience a heart attack, you sometimes only have a few minutes to recognize the signs and get help. And the faster you get help, the more likely you are to recover from an attack. Here is a list of symptoms most commonly reported by heart attack patients:

Your chest hurts or feels squeezed. Most heart attacks involve some type of discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. The discomfort can range from mild to severe.
Discomfort in one or both arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
Shortness of breath. You may feel like you can't breathe or catch your breath.
Breaking out in a cold sweat. People having a heart attack can also break out in a cold sweat.
Nausea. Some heart attack patients feel or get sick to their stomach.
Light-headedness. People having a heart attack may also feel light-headed.
Whether you're male or female, you do not need to have all of the symptoms at once to be having a heart attack. The symptoms mentioned are the most common ones, and most people experience more than one of them. If you believe you are having a heart attack, get help immediately.



Signs of Heart Failure

Heart failure is a serious health condition that affects more than 5 million people in the United States. This illness occurs when your heart cannot pump enough blood through your body. Heart failure doesn't mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. It does mean that your heart is not able to pump blood the way that it should.

Heart failure can cause the following symptoms:

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Feeling tired
Swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, and sometimes the abdomen
Fluid buildup in the lungs that may cause a cough
Weight gain
Frequent urination
If you've experienced any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor. He or she can help you determine whether they're related to heart disease.

Small Changes, Big Rewards!

If you are trying to lower your risk of heart disease, altering unhealthy eating habits can help enormously. While you may be apprehensive about these lifestyle changes, keep in mind that even the smallest steps can make a significant difference. Here are a few tips to get you started:
When Shopping:


Buy low-fat (1 percent) or fat-free (skim) milk and low-fat or fat-free cheese.
Buy nonstick cooking oil spray. Spray it on baking pans and skillets instead of using fat for greasing pans.
Use nutrition labels to identify foods that are lower in saturated fat, trans-fat, and cholesterol.
When Cooking:


Trim the fat from meat before cooking. For chicken and turkey, remove the skin as well.
Cook ground meat, drain the fat, and rinse with hot tap water. This removes half the fat.
Cool soups and remove the layer of fat that rises to the top.
When Eating:


Use fat-free or low-fat salad dressing, mayonnaise, or sour cream.
Use lean meats instead of high-fat canned meats.
Choose fruits and vegetables instead of high-fat foods like chips or fries.
As you adjust to a new, healthier eating plan, you should find your tastes changing to meet your new diet. And while these changes may be small, they offer big rewards for your heart.



The Fat Breakdown

Soon you'll be seeing new changes on the packaging in your local grocery store! By January of 2006, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be requiring that food labels list the amount of trans-fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol of all products. These types of fat and cholesterol in your diet raise the level of LDL "bad" cholesterol in the blood. The higher the LDL cholesterol, the greater the risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), the main form of heart disease and a leading cause of death, illness, and disability in the United States. Saturated fat is the chief dietary culprit that raises LDL, but consumers need to know about all three — saturated fat, trans-fat, and cholesterol — in the foods they eat to reduce their risk for CHD and stay heart-healthy.
Which products have the greatest amount of these fats? High amounts of saturated fat are found in animal products, such as fatty cuts of meat, chicken skin, and full-fat dairy products like butter, whole milk, cream, and cheese, and in tropical vegetable oils such as palm, palm kernel, and coconut oil. Trans-fat is found in some of the same foods as saturated fat, such as vegetable shortening, some margarines (especially hard or stick margarine), crackers, cookies, baked goods, fried foods, salad dressings, and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Small amounts of trans-fat also occur naturally in some animal products, such as milk products, beef, and lamb. Foods high in cholesterol include liver, other organ meats, egg yolks, shrimp, and full-fat dairy products.

It's important that you take note of how much saturated fat, trans-fat, and cholesterol is in a product you're planning to consume. By reducing your intake of foods high in fat content, you'll be reducing your chance of developing coronary heart disease — a concern that should be taken very seriously. If you are still confused about how to cut the fat out of your diet, consult your physician or a nutritionist. He or she should be able to point you on the right path!

Healthy Ethnic Eating

If you want to eat healthy and still have lots of different choices, take a taste adventure with ethnic foods. Many ethnic foods are low in calories and fat, and they taste delicious. Here's a sample of healthy food choices and the terms to look for when making your selection:

Chinese

Steamed
Jum (poached)
Kow (roasted)
Shu (barbecued)
Steamed rice
Dishes without MSG added

Italian

Red sauces
Primavera (no cream)
Piccata (lemon)
Sun-dried tomatoes
Crushed tomatoes
Lightly sauteed
Grilled

Mexican

Spicy chicken
Rice & black beans
Salsa or Picante
Soft corn tortillas

These are just three of the many enticing cuisines from around the world, so don't stop your taste adventure here. You can eat well no matter where you dine! Just look for the healthy items on the menu.