HEART

HEALTH ALERT

LIVE a HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

Heart Health

A person's risk of coronary heart disease and other diseases related to plaque build-up, depends on the person number of metabolic risk factors. These metabolic risk factors are abdominal obesity, high levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol, low levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol), high blood pressure and high blood glucose. The more metabolic risk factors, the higher the risk of heart disease. The following information refers to the healthy values a person should have.

Total Cholesterol	- less than 5.2mmol/L.
LDL ('bad') cholesterol	- less than 3.3mmol/L.
HDL ('good') cholesterol	- more than 1.02mmol/L for men; 1.3mmol/L for women.
Triglycerides	- less than 1.7mmol/L.
Body Mass Index (BMI)	- between 18.5 and 25.
Waist Circumference	- less than 102cm for men; less than 88cm for women.
Blood Glucose	- 3.8 to 6.1 mmol/L before meals; less than 7.8 mmol/L two hours after meal.
Blood Pressure	- less than 130/80mmHg.

Take a close look at yourself and your lifestyles. Ask yourself the following questions:

Are you overweight?
Are you eating a low-fat, high-fibre diet?
Do you exercise regularly?
Are you a smoker?
Do you smoke to cope with stress?
Are your poor eating habits the result of bad time management?

Knowing your risk factors and being able to identify the areas in your lifestyles which require changes will help you to understand the magnitude of challenge and come up with a solution.