Preventing Heart Disease in Mothers

As a busy mom during my 30's and 40's, I didn't think much about heart disease. Hey, I was running around with all the kids, jogging in the mornings, playing tennis in the afternoon, hiking and camping on the weekends and generally felt pretty good. And then my knees developed joint problems from all the years of being a jogger on hard pavement. And slowly my fairly strong physical condition declined until walking was the most strenuous activity I could endure.

I would like to say that I handled it well and surgeries went well and knees were returned to pre thirty year old days, but unfortunately I didn't. And as my physical conditioning declined, my chances for heart disease shot off the charts. Every women, regardless of age, should be on top of their cardiac risk for heart disease. After all, your family is counting on you to be there now and for years to come. A mother at the center of a home and family is a good thing.

What are some of the steps you can take right now, no matter what age, to guard against the top killer of women in this country? 50,000 women die every year from heart attacks and heart related diseases.

Don't Smoke!

Okay, you've heard this one, haven't you? Then why are you still smoking! The number one thing you can do to protect yourself is not smoke. So quit already. There are programs that can be designed to help you. I read about one recently where the person made a chart of how many cigarettes they smoked each day. Then every few days or so, they would smoke one less, removing it from their pack for the day. Within 3 months, they no longer smoked. You can do it. And if you're young and you don't smoke, fantastic. Don't start!

Exercise and pump it up!

The next thing you can do is find some way to exercise every day. That may seem difficult if you're working, have children, have to run the carpool, make three meals, clean the house and do all the shopping. You probably say, I'm exercising enough already! I mean, you try running around after little Harry!

But unfortunately as good as all that may be, it doesn't take the place of focused, concentrated exercise that really causes your heart rate to elevate and pump some blood through your body! Take 30 minutes in the morning and go for a bike ride or walk for 30 to 60 minutes in the evening after the kids are in bed. You do not have to join an expensive gym, walking fast will do it. Figure out a way and just do it, get your heart beating and work up a sweat.

Exercise is great for the heart, but it's also good for muscles, bones and joints, depression, anxiety, blood pressure and blood sugar as well as your strength and flexibility. I can't run 10 kilometer races any more, but I can walk every day and do! It's all about love, taking care of your heart.

Eat heart healthy foods

I know, donuts with coffee in the car on the way to work are the easiest and face it, best tasting breakfast in the world! After all, it's hard to enough to keep three meals on the table and do all the shopping and cooking without figuring out how to eat heart healthy foods. What are they anyway? Something weird like that nasty Kashi your neighbor had you taste!Here's all you have to do, straight from the American Heart Healthy Website.

Eat some of the Top Five antioxidants every day. I shoot for three a day. Berries, broccoli, tomatoes, red grapes, and garlic.

Have 4-5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Divide them up, Have one for breakfast, 2 for lunch and 2 for dinner. How hard can that be. And we're not talking corn and potatoes here! Make it leafy, green, orange, yellow or red! Make it colorful!

Eat 6 servings of grain, preferably half of them whole grain. It's easy. Oatmeal and Whole wheat toast for breakfast. Whole Wheat pasta or bread for lunch. Brown Rice and Whole Wheat Roll for dinner.

Have fish twice a week.

Choose fat free and low fat products. They're out there for everything from cheese to yogurt to sour cream!

Limit red meat to once a week. Have vegetarian meals several nights a week, Have fish, have poultry, stay away for pork and cows!

Know your health facts and numbers

Visit the doctor enough to know what your numbers are. Not the betting kind, the living kind. What is your blood pressure, your cholesterol (all of them; low density, LDL, HDL) and your BMI (body mass index) It'll scare you bad at first. Hopefully it will scare you into changing your bad habits! Research or have the doctor explain what each of those numbers mean to your health condition. Also know your family history as relates to heart disease.

Your heart's counting on you..and so is your family!