Cardiovascular disease is a broad term that includes diseases of the heart and blood vessels. By far, the most common diseases that plague American adults are high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. More than 73 million Americans have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. More than 16.8 million have coronary artery disease. The good news is that they are both treated through similar approaches: diet, exercise and medication.
Getting Started
Before embarking on any regimen to manage your blood pressure or cholesterol levels, it is important to understand your current health challenges so that you know where you are headed and how to get there. The place to begin is your doctor's office. Make an appointment with your family physician for a complete physical examination. Be sure it includes a health history, blood pressure measurements on both arms while at rest and a comprehensive blood lipid panel. If you are older than 40 or have a family history of cardiovascular disease, you may need a resting electrocardiogram and exercise stress test. Schedule a time to go over the results with your doctor.
Hypertension is blood pressure higher than 120/80. The first number is the systolic blood pressure and the second number is the diastolic blood pressure. Both numbers are important and reflect your risk for heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends that blood cholesterol levels higher than 200 mg/dl be managed by your physician.
Limiting Sodium in Your Diet
One of the easiest ways to get started managing your blood pressure is to limit your daily intake of salt or sodium. Americans consume between 3,900 to 4,300 mg of sodium a day. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends lowering your sodium intake to 2,300 mg or less. A good way to start is by exchanging high sodium foods with lower sodium alternatives. For instance, limit the amount of canned vegetables in your diet and exchange them for fresh or frozen vegetables. Some types of canned vegetables contain as much as 460 mg of sodium, while fresh vegetables contain fewer than 70 mg. If you must eat canned vegetables, rinse them before eating.
Replacing High Sodium Foods
After you have eliminated high sodium foods from your diet, try exchanging them for low-sodium alternatives. Instead of high fat dairy products, try natural and low-fat varieties. Look on the packaging label for the amount of sodium in each serving. Eat fresh poultry, fish and lean meats instead of canned, smoked or processed meats. Limit cured foods like pickles and olives and buy the low-sodium brands of soy sauce and salad dressings. Use spices instead of salt. Cook with herbs, lemon juice, line, vinegar and salt-free bands of seasoning.
Managing High Cholesterol
The easiest way to ensure you are limiting the amount of cholesterol in your diet to less than 300 mg per day is to eat a heart-healthy diet. The American Heart Association recommends eating 8 to 10 servings per day of fruits and vegetables. Include 6 or more servings of whole grain products like breads, cereals, rice and pasta. Eat 2 to 3 servings of fat-free or non-fat dairy products, along with 5 to 6 oz. of lean meats or poultry. Finally, add 2 servings a week of grilled or baked fish and 4 to 5 servings of nuts and seeds. Switch to unsaturated vegetable oils like canola, corn, olive and safflower oils.
High Cholesterol Foods to Eliminate
Foods to limit include whole milk products, butter, eggs and cheese, marbled meats, duck and goose meat, organ meats like liver, kidney and brains and highly processed meats like sausage, hot dogs and bologna. Eliminate saturated cooking fats like lard, shortening and partially hydrogenated margarine.
