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Amy's Blog

Nashville Beats With One Heart

Posted Mon. 29, Mar, 2010

Listen to your heart. Go Red. Our Hearts Our Choice. All familiar catch phrases to get your attention. Stop and think about what you're doing each day for your heart. Is it a walk? Maybe taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Fixing a bowl of oatmeal in the morning for breakfast. Taking five minutes to meditate or just clear your mind and do some deep breathing. Call a friend. Call your mom or sister or anyone you care about and listen. Tell them what's on your mind. These are all simple steps we can take to live better, both physically and mentally, all part of a healthy heart lifestyle.

I've noticed lately I pick up the newspaper and read the obituaries and when I see a middle aged woman's face on the page and it doesn't say what caued her death, I really wonder if it was undetected heart disease, and a sudden heart attack. We really have the tools to find out whether we are at risk or not, and if so, what we can do to prevent a heart attack or heart disease from slowly creeping up on us, or suddenly striking us down in the prime of our lives.

I spoke to my cardiologist last week about my cholesterol numbers, concerned about my bad cholesterol, the LDL, being too high. He had looked over my numbers and felt everything was good, and with my HDL, or good choleterol being extremely high (That's what you want!) he said I don't need to be on any medicine. He was very pleased with my HDL numbers, which can be raised by exercise. I try to go to Zumba classes at the Y as often as I can. I do believe it's made a difference in my HDL increasing, plus it's loads of fun. My cardiologist also mentioned a recent Time magazine article about women and statins. I immediately looked it up on the internet and read it. I would suggest you do the same. It questions the effectiveness of using cholesterol lowering medicine or statins in some women with fewer risk factors because of side effects. Very interesting article. You may want to discuss this with your physician.

If you're interested in attending a wonderful heart luncheon, the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women Event is coming up April 28th at the Franklin Marriott in Cool Springs. There will be free pre-lunch health screenings, interactive exhibits and breakout educational sessions. A heart disease survivor and mother of three will be the keynote speaker at the luncheon, and of course I'll be there too. Hope to see you on the 28th. For more information, call 340-4139.