Tissue-paper thin but tough, the valves of the human heart open and close to pump 6 quarts of blood a day through 60,000 miles of vessels. That’s equivalent to 20 treks across the United States from coast to coast.
Info & Photo from Natural Geographic
If so make sure you know your numbers. A blood sugar greater than 1oo when fasting 140 for someone two hours after eating is considered high. When you go to your health care professional for blood tests do you ask for a copy of the results, or do you simply get a call from the nurse saying it is normal? I recommend always getting a copy of your results. Over the years many are told there blood sugars are normal when in fact they are prediabetic. This should trigger either a conversation or a referral for education on how diet and exercise can help to avoid having full blown diabetes. Unfortunately this piece is often missing in many health care visits. Make sure you advocate for yourself. The infographic below is posted to help you advocate for yourself or your loved one. Keep records of your lab reports track and trend them, are they improving or worsening. You know best how well you have adhered to a healthy diet, but the numbers give you concrete data.
Great fix the heart but then get diabetes! Yes, it is a real issue, but again through tracking, diet and exercise, medications hopefully we can prevent this from occurring.
There is a strong link of heart disease in people who have high cholesterol and are diabetic. Cardiovascular disease is much more prevalent if their Hemoglobin A1c is chronically elevated. This significant contribution by elevated HbA1c to increased CVD is independent of statin therapy (cholesterol lowering medications), and thus requires appropriate HbA1c management in addition to lipids reduction. It is vitally important that any individual with known heart disease and diabetes gets their hemoglobin A1c measured approximately 4 times per year by their primary health care provider. Once a year is not enough. Tight control is imperative. If the blood sugars are constantly running high the vessels that deliver blood to the heart are constantly inflamed setting the stage for further heart issues.
There are many hemoglobin A1c calculators can be found on the internet. Here is Medscapes version
http://reference.medscape.com/calculator/hemoglobin-a1c-est-plasma-glucose
Winter is upon us. It is cold, blustery, snowy, rainy, grey outside. This makes it very hard to be motivated to go outdoors and walk. Keep in mind it is very important to go outdoors and get approximately 10 minutes of natural light every day. This gives you Vitamin D. It is beneficial in preventing seasonal effective disorder. Interestingly seasonal effective disorder peaks in February. So there is a cumulative effect of getting natural light. Depression sets in and then people stop exercising entirely. I would always hear my heart patients say they will begin their home exercise when the weather improves. Uhg….your health should not be dependent upon the weather!
Do you feel better after you exercise? I believe when we go outdoors for a walk, run, bike ride, etc. it is more beneficial than exercising indoors. I feel the best after outdoor exercise. Not only does the exercise kick in your metabolism, but the bodies need to warm itself, then cool itself due to the exercise can only help the metabolism to increase. If your body temperature regulation system never gets the opportunity to kick in, it slows down and becomes less effective. Again kind of the principle use it or lose it.
A few winter exercise tips, yes I am sure you have heard them before, but here goes.
On really nasty weather days, have a back up plan. Indoor exercise that day, do weights, yoga, calisthenics, stretching, or take a drop in class at your local gym. Sign up for the gym or an exercise class for the worst weather months. Get out and walk the mall, hit the pool
If you get angina in the cold weather, start your exercise by doing a warm up while indoors, do 5 or 10 minutes of activity that brings your heart rate up and dilates your vessels. Then when you go outdoors wear a parka, scarf or keep mouth covered. Maintain good posture. Engage your arms and legs…really think about pumping that blood throughout all your muscles.
I don’t recommend that heart patients use snow shoveling as their exercise.
You should exercise to stay fit enough to perform snow shoveling. That is why many heart attacks occur while shoveling. Many are not fit enough to perform this activity. The energy demands can be equivalent to running a marathon. If you are fit enough to run a marathon, then ok go ahead and shovel. The other thing is you can’t count on enough snow to go out and shovel every day…nice try with that one…doesn’t work.
Cold temperatures cause arteries to tighten, restricting blood flow and reducing the oxygen supply to the heart, all of which can set the stage for a heart attack.
In cold weather, there is more oxygen demand by the heart because it is working harder to do the work and maintain body heat.
Research suggests that the early-morning rise in blood pressure, or “a.m. surge,” that occurs in most people may dramatically increase the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. In the winter, people tend to exert themselves or do yard work in the morning because it gets dark earlier.
Rehabilitate Your Heart 