Heart Tips from and for the Heart

The phone rang... I answered. The reply was simple and almost joyful. "It's just gallstones!"

Yes, that was an actual sentence screamed through the phone, directed at my ear, whilst I was in the midst of maneuvering through rush hour traffic.

Okay. Why would anyone be happy about gallstones? My friend will still need surgery... her doctor thinks it is best to remove her entire gallbladder now.

She is glad because she just knew her pain and discomfort over the last year was due to heart problems- heart disease, heart blockage. She has been so fearful over heart disease being hereditary that even though she is only 44 and otherwise healthy as a horse... she could have a fatal heart problem... just waiting once she had it diagnosed before it fully activated. (In her mind, as long as she remained in the dark, so would the hereditary heart disease.)

Her father has a history of heart problems... three heart attacks in almost as many years. She is a bit of a worrywart.

Her sister-in-law and I sat down with her one day to discuss her going to the doctor. We came up with a list of ways to improve her heart health... as well as questions for her to ask her doctor. We encouraged her that being in the dark was not staying on top of things... and she did have two young daughters whom to consider.

Tips for better heart health- let your fingers do the walking

Pick up the phone and call your doctor. Have the list of questions ready at your fingers. Ask about risk factors, blood work, cholesterol, etc... Ask, ask, and ask. After each question, mark with a check or a heart. The more you ask, the more info your doctor can provide.

Tips for better heart health- also let your feet do some walking

My friend resides less than one half mile from her children's school. Her sister-in-law and I offered to show up once or twice a week to walk with her to go pick up the girls from school. A walking regime is hard to start (I know, it is just putting one foot in front of the other... but that can be a daunting task, indeed!) alone. It can be so easy to unmotivated yourself or come up with excuses. If one were not alone initially, then the routine stands a better chance of establishing itself. (We have kept it up for two weeks thus far!)

Tips for better heart health-be a mover and a shaker

Dance around your home. Dance and wiggle while you are doing chores. Keep your feet moving while you are on the computer. (I am right now.) Listen to your favorite music and let the rhythm take you. (If you feel as I feel, that Gloria Estefan erred, and that the rhythm did not get you, who cares.... You are dancing for you and your family... not to win a contest.)

Tips for better heart health- be a quitter

If you smoke- quit. Set a date and stick to it. My cousin set the date at age thirty; and she had not started up again yet... in over ten years. Another friend set the date for when she went into labor-she knew all the risks and negatives, but that was the date she picked. She has not lit up in over 17 years.

Tips for better heart health-don your thinking cap

Diet is a bad word. It is scary word. It can mean so many things: from life changing to small potatoes. We allow this four-letter word so much power... is it because the first three letters spell die... I do not know. Still, we can learn to avoid the traps of this word, simply by thinking differently. We are not on a diet... we are simply opting to eat more leafy greens. We are not saying know to chocolate chip ice cream, we are saying yes to dark chocolate M &M's.

With the list in hand... and the questions on her notepad, my friend called her doctor. She went in for tests... and you know the rest....

She is so happy.