heart-letter
Learning about heart medicines and remembering to take them on schedule can be daunting. Get support from a doctor’s office, pharmacy, family, and friends. It may help to use new tools such as smartphone apps and smart pillboxes.
People with mild high blood pressure may be able to avoid taking medication by making lifestyle changes such as cutting back on salt, losing 5 to 10 pounds, and drinking less alcohol. If medication is needed, these changes add to its benefit.
Adopting a healthy diet improves survival after a heart attack. A Harvard study found that the one-fifth of heart attack survivors whose diets most improved had a 24% lower chance of all-cause death and a 26% lower chance of heart-related death.
People with heart disease who are otherwise fit may want to maximize the benefit they get from exercise. The best way to do this is to use a heart monitor to ensure workouts in the optimal heart rate zone.
Depression is common in people with heart disease. It puts them at higher risk of death-yet it’s often unrecognized. People with heart disease, and their families, should be aware of depression warning signs and seek medical evaluation if they appear.
It’s important to quit smoking. It’s not clear whether there’s a benefit to merely cutting back on the number of cigarettes smoked. Smoking-cessation methods are most effective in the context of a comprehensive cessation program.
Almost 25% of smokers smoke only a few cigarettes per day, or smoke only once in a while, but they are still exposing themselves to the same health risks as heavier smokers.
Using a newly developed cardiac MRI technique, Harvard researchers found that obese teens’ hearts already are undergoing changes that if left untreated will lead to irreversible heart damage and ultimate heart failure.