Eat Well, Live Well

Healthy eating leads to healthy living.  We are blessed with an appetite and taste buds, and most of us eat because we like to.

However, when we eat too much or eat an unbalanced diet, we increase our risk of heart disease, cancer and stroke, the leading causes of death in the Unites States.  A low-fat, low-cholesterol, high-fiber eating style is a great way to reduce your risks and put the odds in your favor.

Keep in mind:  the only diet that really works is  the one that helps you develop a lifetime of healthy eating habits. When you make it a regular habit to eat moderate portions of a well-balanced diet, you give yourself the best possible chance to combat today's most common health problems.

Following the guidelines below, symptoms of heart disease can be detected early and reversed by lifestyle changes and/or medication.

Reducing The Risks of Heart Disease

Stop Smoking
Your risk of a heart attack decreased within a year after quitting.  A recent study found that only three years after quitting, ex-smokers had the same risk of a heart attack as people who never had smoked.

Regular Medical Checkups
Regular medical checkups can spot some of the warning signs of heart disease.  Know your risk factors and ask your doctor what tests are appropriate for you, and how often you need them.

Adopt a Healthy Eating Plan
Adopt a healthy eating plan that emphasizes lots of whole grains, fruit and vegetables and minimizes fats.  The American Heart Association recommends the following guidelines:  limit total fat intake to less than 25% of your daily calories; limit saturated fats to less than 10% of daily calories; and limit cholesterol intake to less than 300 milligrams per day.

Regular Aerobic Exercise
Regular aerobic exercise (the kind that gives your heart and lungs a workout) for 30-60 minutes at least three times a week increases oxygen consumption, raises HDLs, lower LDLs, reduces blood pressure, boosts energy and reduces stress.

Control High Triglycerides
To best advice to control high triglycerides is familiar:  lose weight and exercise regularly, reduce cholesterol and saturated fat as well as total calories in your diet, decrease your intake of alcohol, and control any other risk factors–such as high blood pressure and smoking–since they multiply the danger of high blood triglycerides.

Vitamins
There's some evidence that shows that a high intake of folate and vitamin B6 appears to reduce levels of homocysteine, a substance found in the blood that, in large amounts, may be associated with a higher risk of heart disease.  Aim to get about 400 micrograms of folate and around three milligrams of vitamin B6 daily by taking supplements or eating fortified cereals, spinach and other leafy green vegetables.  Take 400 I.U. daily of vitamin E.

Heart Disease Diagnosis

Several tests are available to diagnose possible heart disease. The choice of which (and how many) tests to perform depends on factors such as the patient's risk factors, history of heart problems, current symptoms and the physician's interpretation of these factors.

In a person being evaluated for possible heart disease, the tests usually begin with the simplest and may progress to more complicated ones. Specific tests depend on the patient's particular problem(s) and the physician's assessment. Some of these tests are noninvasive, they don't involve inserting needles, instruments or fluids into the body. Those that do are call invasive tests.

What are some examples of noninvasive tests?

• Resting Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
• Signal-averaged Electrocardiogram (SAECG)
• Chest X-ray
• Holter Monitor (ambulatory electrocardiogram)
• 30-Day Event Monitor
• 2-D Echocardiogram, Stress Echo-Exercise/Medication Induced
• Treadmill stress test - Exercise/Medication Induced
• Tilt-Table Test

What are some examples of invasive tests ?

• Nuclear Imaging (each requires a needle puncture in an arm vein)
• MUGA Scan
• Thallium-Sestamibi Stress Test
• Electrophysiology Evaluation
• Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE)
• Cardiac Catheterization ("cath") - also known as coronary angiography
• Swan-Ganz Catheter

Carolina Regional Heart Center provides all the diagnostic tests mentioned above, including:

Preventive Services

• Blood Pressure
• Checks Nutrition
• Counseling
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Clinic Cardiac Screening Programs
• Risk Factor Modification Clinic
  

Treatment Services

• Coumadin Clinic
• Drug Research Studies
• Pacemaker clinic
  

Rehabilitation Services

• Phase I-IV through Heartstrides
• Congestive Heart Failure Clinics
• Nutrition Counseling
• Risk Factor Modification Clinic
• ICD support Group
• Referral Back to Primary Care for Follow-up Care