Testing It Up

Everyone has a way to de-stress, such as getting a massage, shopping, traveling, or dining out with friends. While all these can keep you relaxed and re-invigorated, there’s one leisure activity that can do wonders for your heart, that is watching funny flicks.

In a small study participated by healthy men and women with normal blood pressure, watching a funny movie caused blood vessels to dilate, thereby, increasing blood flow by about 22 percent. Whereas, the participants exposed to action movie were found to have decreased blood flow by about 35 percent.

Blood vessels are lined with a protective layer of cells called endothelium where the production of nitric oxide mainly takes place. When the endothelium is well nourished nitric oxide is produced at optimal levels and blood flows freely, thereby, nurturing the heart along with every other organ.

Your ability to laugh in watching hilarious flicks is what makes your blood vessels to relax and dilate which may help protect you against heart attack. Although it’s not yet fully known why laughing protects the heart, experts agree that mental stress is associated with the impairment of the endothelium. An impaired endothelium can trigger a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack.

There are several heart-healthy foods that everyone should eat regularly. We are sharing some of them below. If these foods are still not part of your regular diet, you should consider including them now.

Breakfast

Start your day right with a bowl of oats, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, folate and potassium. It controls cholesterol levels and keeps arteries clear.

Salad

Take a spinach salad and add a bit of avocado. Spinach is packed with lutein (a carotenoid), B-complex vitamins, folate, magnesium, potassium, calcium and fiber; and avocados can lower LDL levels and increase HDL levels in the body. It also facilitates the absorption of other carotenoids.

Lunch or Dinner

Eating salmon at least twice every week may reduce one’s risk of dying of a heart attack by up to one-third. Salmon is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which keep blood pressure in control and reduce risk of clotting. If you don’t like salmon, grab a serving of mackerel, tuna, herring or sardines.

Snacks

Walnuts, almonds and macadamia nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, mono- and polyunsaturated fats, and fiber. Munch on these nuts for a healthy heart, or add them to low-fat yogurt or fruit salads.

Dessert

Who says you can’t have desserts? Enjoy some blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, all great for vascular health and can reduce one’s risk of heart disease.

Preventive procedures such as heart screenings are generally viewed as good for you, but that may not necessarily be the case at all times.

According to an article in the Chicago Sun Times, screening people with a low risk of heart disease, using a test known as coronary CT angiogram, may actually be harmful. Patients who went through the test received more medication, follow-up tests, and other procedures, but after 18 months of these tests, there was no observed reduction of risk for cardiovascular incidents.

Coronary CT angiogram takes pictures of the heart. It is a non-invasive way to detect atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the coronary arteries because of plaque build-up.  But according to the new study, patients who take the test without classic symptoms of heart disease can “trigger physician behavior which is not actually indicated based on guidelines or evidence,” as shared by lead study author John W. McEvoy of the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for Prevention of Heart Disease.

In addition, coronary CT angiogram exposes patients to low-dose radiation, which is risky.  In the study, researchers compared the results for more than 1,000 South Koreans who did the test as part of a health program, against the same number of program participants who did not. Patients who had traces of atherosclerosis were found to be more likely to receive prescriptions for aspirin, cholesterol-lowering statins, and additional heart tests, when compared against unscreened patients. But after 18 months, there was no significant difference between the screened and unscreened groups in terms of deaths due to heart disease or heart attacks.

Chicago Health Screening

In a previous post, we began sharing tips from WebMD Expert Dr. James Beckerman, an invasive cardiologist practicing in Portland, Oregon. These suggestions constitute small and livable lifestyle changes that can have a real positive impact when it comes to heart health; such changes are advisable in that they are, by nature, sustainable in the long haul, and thus have a real chance of being very helpful.

Here are a couple more tips.

Express yourself through a blog. Expressing your thoughts and feelings, triumphs and tribulations, can be both liberating and therapeutic. In the days of old, people took to writing in diaries and journals, a very private form of self-expression. Nowadays, expressing yourself can be interactive and far-reaching, if you put these thoughts through a blog.

A lot of people now maintain blogs for a variety of reasons, and yours can be about keeping your heart healthy and being physically fit. You can share your frustrations and little successes, as well as provide and receive tips, to and from your readers.

Munch on pine nuts. Dr. Beckerman shared that generations of people who lived in Siberia – the coldest place in Russia – turned to pine nuts when there was a scarcity in food. Pine nuts contain the fatty acid pineolenic acid, which causes the release of hormones linked to appetite suppression: cholecystokinin(CCK) and glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1).

In addition to reining in your appetite, pine nuts have another side effect: it lowers a person’s risk of heart disease. Pine nut oil has been used for centuries by Russians and Chinese as an appetite suppressant, metabolism booster, and digestive aid, among others.

We have always given out the basic reminders that people need to follow in order to maintain a healthy heart. A feature on WebMD, however, shared unique, off the beaten track ways that may help prevent heart disease. If you’re already following the “eat sensibly and exercise regularly” bit and would like to supplement these practices, here are some unusual ways to adopt.

Turn to man’s best friend. WebMD shared a study that linked having a pet dog to lower blood pressure. In addition, people who have dogs for pets seemed to be happier and was able to lose an average of five pounds over a six week period. Having a dog means having to take them out for daily walks, which means that you will need to get out of the house and get moving.

Get a camera phone or a smart phone. Doing this is more than just vanity or keeping up with the times; a phone and a camera can be used as an effective tool for weight loss. It is suggested that one whip out a camera phone and keep a food diary of what you eat in a day – by taking snapshots of what you eat, in order to keep close tabs on them. It is said that people who keep track of what they eat lose twice as much weight as those who do not; taking photos of your meal before you eat them has also been linked to the adoption of healthier behaviors in just a week.

We will share more unusual tips in a later post.

In a previous post, we shared several DON’Ts to ensure that you maintain a healthy heart, courtesy of WebMD. We would like to share a few more.

Don’t just accept that heart disease is genetic. Just because practically every generation, on both branches, of your family tree has heart disease does not mean you simply have to be resigned to the fact that you are bound to have it too. Nieca Goldberg, MD, a cardiologist and director of the New York University Women’s Heart Program, told WebMD: “heart disease isn’t just what you inherit. It’s also what you do about it.” Doing what was described as “heart-friendly things” can make a difference in terms of lowering one’s risk for heart disease, such as lowering one’s LDL by half.

Don’t skip checkups. It will be more difficult for one to detect silent heart risk factors if one does not get checked regularly. These “silent” factors include high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which are common, symptom-free, and easily treatable – if they are discovered in time.

Don’t ignore your growing waistline. If you are not using the same belt hole that you used to, or your jeans are simply not fitting right, then it is not vanity to feel concerned. Excess fat that accumulate in the midsection may mean metabolic syndrome, a combination of risk factors that may eventually lead to diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Dr. Goldberg shared further that a “hefty waistline” may double one’s risk for heart disease.

Don’t ignore elevated blood pressure. Ignoring elevated blood pressure will force the heart to work harder and enlarge, which can then lead to heart failure. Dr. Fonarow warns: “A good way to wreck your heart is to leave your blood pressure elevated and untreated.”

New York Health Screening

If you want to have a healthy heart, there are things that you simply should NOT do. A feature on WebMD shares what these Don’ts are.

Don’t smoke – or continue to smoke. Smoking is a major cause of heart disease, as it raises one’s blood pressure, causes blood clots, and makes exercising more difficult. It is also the primary cause of premature death in the United States, according to the American Heart Association.

Don’t ignore chest pain. There are people who simply find it more convenient to ignore aches and pains, but learning which ones merit attention may save your life. You can attribute chest pain after a heavy meal to your stomach trying to make a scene, but if it happens while exercising, then you should take notice. If you feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest and you’re breaking out in a sweat, then whip out your phone and call 911.

Don’t be a couch potato. It’s time to get movin’! Gregg Fonarow, MD, spokesperson for the American Heart Association, and associate chief of the division of cardiology at UCLA, shared: “Being sedentary increases heart risks. Physical activity simply translates to living longer.” It’s never too late to start exercising. And you can have the best of both worlds: set up a treadmill or exercise bike in front of the TV, and you can still catch your favorite shows while getting the exercise you need.

Don’t eat like there’s no tomorrow. As in most things, eating should be done in moderation. Obesity and being overweight are risk factors for heart disease, so it may be a good time as any to start eating sensibly and aim for a healthy and balanced diet, consisting of fruits, vegetables and nuts.

A study further solidifies the need for people to get moving, as shared in a feature on Time.com.

A study led by Genevieve Healy, a research fellow at the University of Queensland in Australia, revealed that sitting for long periods of time without moving is not good for the heart. It is the first study of its kind to look into the heart health consequences of prolonged sitting, according to Time.

The research gathered and analyzed data from more than 4, 700 participants, who were part of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, between 2003 and 2006. The intensity of physical activity done by the participants was measured through accelerometers, which were worn 14.6 hours a day for seven days. The waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and C-reactive protein concentrations of the participants were measured, in order to assess heart health. For a certain group of participants, diabetes markers (triglyceride levels, plasma glucose, and insulin) were also measured.

The results of the study showed that prolonged sedentary periods resulted in larger waist sizes and higher levels of blood fats, despite the fact that these same participants engaged in rigorous physical activities outside of the hours when they were sedentary. The people who fared well were those who exercised regularly, while at the same time taking breaks at regular intervals during normal desk-strapped day, to stand or take a walk.

Dr. Healy said the following in a statement: “Our research showed that even small changes, which could be as little as standing up for one minute, might help to lower this health risk… It is likely that regular breaks in prolonged sitting time could be readily incorporated into the working environment without any detrimental impact on productivity, although this still needs to be determined by further research. ‘Stand up, move more, more often’ could be used as a slogan to get this message across.”

September 26 is World Heart Day, and in honor of the observance, CanolaInfo, a source of information regarding canola oil for consumers, health professionals, chefs, media, and educators, has struck up a partnership with the World Heart Federation towards the promotion of global heart health.

In a press release, CanolaInfo shares a collection of heart-healthy recipes; these recipes may serve to urge people to lead healthier lifestyles, which will, in turn, lead to the prevention of heart disease.

The World Heart-Smart Recipe Collection was created for CanolaInfo by six culinary experts of cuisines from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, and India, bringing with it flavors from all over the world. The creation of the collection is supported by the World Heart Federation.

The culinary experts who contributed to the collection are Carla Hall, a finalist on Bravo’s “Top Chef” Season 5; Mairlyn Smith, a cookbook author from Toronto; Alfredo Oropeza, the host of “Al Sabor del Chef” and cookbook author, from Mexico City; Stella Fong, a food writer from Billings, Montana; Gene Kato, the executive chef of Japonais Restaurant in Chicago; and Raghavan Iyer, a cookbook author from Minneapolis.

All the recipes in the collection are made using canola oil, which has the least saturated fat among cooking oils and is free of trans fat and cholesterol.

World Heart Federation Senior Science Officer Kathryn Tauber, Ph. D., shared: “It’s easy to forget that heart disease is not just a problem in one’s own country but also around the world… Diet plays a significant role in protecting or predisposing people to heart disease, so we hope to inspire them to eat more healthfully and make simple changes that may reduce their risk of the disease.”

Chicago Health Screening

With all the concern that a lot of people are now having about heart disease, it is certainly nice to hear that the incidence of heart attacks have gone down in the last ten years, at least according to a study done among more than 46,000 patients at Northern California Kaiser Permanente.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that heart attach rates among the patients involved in the study dropped 24 percent between 1999 and 2008. While an increase in heart attack rates was observed from 1999 to 2000, the rate consistently decreased each year since then.

When the various types of heart attacks were considered, it was determined that ST-segment elevation heart attacks, which is the type of heart attack that can do the most damage, decreased by 62 percent.

What the study also observed is that the preventive measures that are being employed in order to prevent the occurrence of heart attacks seem to be working. As the heart attack rates fell, so did the rates of smoking. Blood pressure and cholesterol level decreased, while the use of such medications as beta-blockers and aspirin – known to prevent heart disease – increased.

Study author Dr. Alan Go, who is also the director of the Comprehensive Clinical Research Unit at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, shared: “Researchers keep trying to find more ways to treat heart attacks, but we need to focus just as much attention on things that we know work now, and doing those things on a large scale: adopting healthier lifestyles, stopping smoking, taking medications.”

San Francisco Health Screening