Heart health under the pump
07 Jan 2013
Your heart is the most important and hardworking muscle in your body, beating more than 2.5 billion times in the average lifetime.
While a healthy heart keeps you alive, heart disease is the leading cause of death in Australia for both men and women.
Four times as many men die from heart disease as from prostate cancer, and five times as many women die from it as from breast cancer.
Heart disease is when the coronary arteries (the ones leading to and from the heart) become narrow or blocked. This happens when fatty deposits called plaque stick to them, essentially causing traffic jams in blood flow, which can result in a heart attack.
Heart disease can be a consequence of lifestyle factors such as poor diet, inactivity, smoking, obesity, high cholesterol and blood pressure levels, but a family history of the disease also plays a part.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, around 90 per cent of Australians have at least one risk factor and, regardless of age, most are likely to have two risk factors.
Chief Medical Adviser to the Heart Foundation Professor James Tatoulis explains that it’s important to look after your heart health as you age.
“As your age increases, so does your risk of developing coronary heart disease. Age is one of the risk factors of heart disease you cannot change.”
Heart food
A poor diet is another major risk factor for heart disease, but with a little tweaking, your diet can become your heart’s best friend.
Accredited practising dietitian Melanie McGrice is from Health Kick Nutrition and Dietetics. She specialises in diet for heart health and ageing.
McGrice specifies two dos and two don’ts when it comes to your diet and heart health. “Don’t eat foods high in saturated fat,” she says. “They increase cholesterol levels, which can lead to hardening of the arteries.”
This means steering clear of pastries, cakes, biscuits, chips, cheese, butter, salami and sausages.
She also rules out foods high in salt. “Salt increases your blood pressure, which is a marker for heart disease,” she explains. “Look for foods that have less than 500mg of salt per 100g on the nutritional information panel.”
Processed meats, breads, soups, stock, sauces and marinades are generally high in sodium.
“Do eat a diet rich in plant sterols such as vegetables, fruits and wholegrains. They assist in preventing cholesterol absorption,” she says.
“Do eat lots of soluble fibre. It helps dispose of cholesterol in your body.” Foods high in soluble fibre include legumes, lentils, chickpeas, wholegrains and oats.
Active ageing
Exercise can actually reverse the damage done to the heart from years of inactivity and a poor diet, according to Professor Steve Selig, a clinical exercise physiologist at Deakin University.
“Exercise is the most potent and beneficial lifestyle strategy that people with heart disease or a risk of developing it can adopt to protect their heart,” explains Selig. “It improves heart function so it works more efficiently, reduces cholesterol levels, improves the elasticity of arteries and can help fight obesity,” says Selig.
Most people should exercise most days of the week for about 30-45 minutes. Selig recommends an hour each day for weight loss, and suggests walking, cycling, swimming, aqua aerobics and light weight training for muscle strength. “It is never too late to start exercising,” he says.
A little help
While your heart health is essentially in your own hands, you don’t have to go it alone. There are plenty of services that can lend a helping hand.
A GP is the first port of call for all health and medical matters. You should have a thorough check-up with your GP at least once a year, and more often if you have a history of heart disease, high cholesterol or blood pressure. Your GP can also help you quit smoking and provide referrals to specialists if necessary.
The Heart Foundation is a terrific source of information on heart health, with a number of professionals available to offer support, while a dietician can help you look after your heart through your diet.
If you haven’t exercised in a while, have never exercised or have an injury or health condition, an exercise physiologist may be able to help you on your way.
Warning signs
There are many heart attack symptoms and their severity varies. The most common signs of a heart attack are:
- Chest pain and discomfort. People who have had a heart attack describe the sensations as having an elephant sitting on their chest. Sharp, stabbing chest pain is less common.
- Ache or heaviness in your shoulders.
- A choking, burning or painful feeling in your neck.
- A heaviness, numbing, tingling or discomfort in your arms.
- A tightness or ache in your jaw.
- A dull ache between your shoulder blades.
- Feeling nauseous.
- Feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
- Breaking out in a cold sweat.
- Being short of breath or having difficulty breathing.
If you experience any of these signs for a duration of 10 minutes, or if they are severe or get progressively worse, call 000 and ask for an ambulance.
Top Ten Tips
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Exercise regularly.
- Eat a balanced diet, low in saturated fat and sodium.
- Ensure your blood pressure is around 120/80.
- Aim to keep your cholesterol levels low, ideally no higher than 4.5mmol/L in total.
- Butt out. Smokers are six times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers.
- Find out the health history of your family.
- Have regular check-ups with your GP.
- Drink no more than two standard drinks of alcohol a day.
- Work on reducing your stress levels.
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