Understanding New Heart Disease and Heart Health Guidelines
The American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiologists released new prevention guidelines in November 2013 for physicians to help their patients avoid heart disease and stroke. “These guidelines are the result of experts poring over hundreds of clinical research studies and then developing recommendations about what works best,” reports AHA. The new guidelines focus on four areas: Cholesterol, obesity, lifestyle, and risk assessment.
Cholesterol
“Much of the conversation around these new guidelines has surrounded the recommendations for statin usage. Statins are medications that physicians prescribe to patients to help lower their cholesterol,” says Gopinath Upamaka, MD, FACC, a cardiologist with ProMedica Physicians.
Need-to-Knows for Mothers-to-Be
For most women, pregnancy is one of the most exciting times of their lives. With the thrill of expecting comes choosing the baby’s name and designing the nursery. The most important preparation to consider, though, is a healthy lifestyle.
The very basic steps that every woman should take when she finds out she is pregnant include:
-Maintaining a well-balanced diet.
-Taking a multivitamin.
Determining Your Ideal Weight
Setting a long-term goal weight is an important part of a weight loss plan. It can help you stay focused, push through challenges and celebrate success. But choosing your goal weight at random can be dangerous if the number isn’t a healthy one for you. Your age, gender, height, and body makeup should all factor into your ideal weight. And using a mix of tools can give you a better look at your health.
Here are a few tools that you can use to help assess your current weight and determine a healthy goal.
Body Mass Index
The number of pounds you weigh doesn’t mean much unless you have something to compare it to. Body Mass Index, or BMI, compares your weight to your height to determine if your weight is within a healthy range. If you are muscular, pregnant or elderly, BMI may not be an accurate tool. But, for most people, it can provide a quick weight assessment and an idea of what a healthy weight range for your height would be.
Use your weight and height to see where you land on this BMI chart.
