Stymied by Low-sodium Needs? Some Simple Steps to Cut Sodium
Salt is simply everywhere, from frozen dinners to canned soup, and fast food to fine dining fare.
Heart Failure Society of America
Even if you never touch the salt shaker while cooking or sitting down to eat, you may still be consuming a high salt intake that might work against you if you have heart disease. For anyone, following a low-sodium diet can be a challenge.
Many health conditions – most notably high blood pressure or heart failure – call for reducing your daily consumption of sodium, the main ingredient in salt. If you’ve recently suffered a heart attack or been diagnosed with heart failure, your doctor likely wants you to reduce your sodium intake because heart failure causes the body to retain sodium. Extra sodium can cause fluid to build up in your body, and extra fluid makes your heart work harder – not a good thing for a muscle already under strain. Read More
Being active when you have heart disease
Getting regular exercise when you have heart disease is important.
Exercise can make your heart muscle stronger. It may also help you be more active without chest pain or other symptoms.
Exercise may help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. If you have diabetes, it can help you control your blood sugar.
Regular exercise can help you lose weight. You will also feel better.
Exercise will also help keep your bones strong.
Always talk with your health care provider before starting an exercise program. You need to make sure the exercise you would like to do is safe for you. This is especially important if:
- You recently had a heart attack.
- You have been having chest pain or pressure, or shortness of breath.
- You have diabetes.
- You recently had a heart procedure or heart surgery.
Types of Exercise You Can Do
Your provider will tell you what exercise is best for you. Talk with your provider before you start a new exercise program. Also ask if it is okay before you do a harder activity.
Aerobic activity uses your heart and lungs for a long period of time. It also helps your heart use oxygen better and improves blood flow. You want to make your heart work a little harder every time, but not too hard.
Start slowly. Choose an aerobic activity such as walking, swimming, light jogging, or biking. Do this at least 3 to 4 times a week.
Always do 5 minutes of stretching or moving around to warm up your muscles and heart before exercising. Allow time to cool down after you exercise. Do the same activity but at a slower pace.
Take rest periods before you get too tired. If you feel tired or have any heart symptoms, stop. Wear comfortable clothing for the exercise you are doing. Read More
About 5.1 million people are living with heart failure.
Heart Failure: The heart is the muscle that pumps blood throughout the body. If the heart weakens, reducing its ability to pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs, it is failing. Heart failure is a progressive but treatable condition.
People who are elderly, African American, or overweight are more likely than others to experience heart failure; women are less likely than men. Prevalence varies across the United States.
Racial and ethnic minorities are at particularly high risk of heart failure.
Health problems that may cause heart failure include coronary-artery disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Heart-failure treatment focuses on the underlying cause and includes medication and improvements in diet and exercise. If these treatments are unsuccessful, a heart transplant may be necessary.
As the heart begins to weaken, the heart and blood vessels adjust as best they can to maintain adequate blood flow, but the strain eventually begins to show. Symptoms of heart failure include fatigue, shortness of breath, and swollen feet and ankles.
Physicians track the progress of heart failure by a classification systems that incorporate a range of evidence. The New York Heart Association Functional Classification is used widely.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has information on treatment, prevention, and living with heart failure, as well as clinical trials. The American Heart Association and the Heart Failure Society of America also have a variety of heart-failure resources for patients.
Each day, new treatments are being developed to address the health challenges facing diverse communities
Each day, new treatments are being developed to address the health challenges facing diverse communities, including African American, Asian American and Hispanic populations. Unfortunately, these communities are underrepresented in the clinical trials that test the effectiveness of treatments. We can change that.
Clinical trials are used to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of potential medications by monitoring their effects in individuals who volunteer to participate.
This process should accurately take into account the patient populations that will eventually take them. However, that’s simply not happening.
The Clinical Trial Engagement Network will serve as the healthcare industry resource addressing a critical need in drug research – improving the representation of diverse populations, including African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics, in clinical trials.
Clinical trial sponsors that join the Clinical Trial Engagement Network, gain exposure to, and connect with, clinical trial investigators and diverse patients who volunteer to be considered for clinical trials. These sponsors can access the Clinical Trial Recruitment Center, a secure web-based tool containing zip code level maps showing not only these investigators and patient volunteers, but also disease prevalence and counts, clinical trial locations and minority-serving physicians, hospitals, clinics, academic research centers, physician networks and other points of care, patient advocacy organizations and key influencers serving diverse communities.
18 Superfoods For Your Heart
To prevent heart attacks, avoid unhealthy food, and eat foods rich in nutrients, fiber, and healthy fats.
Heart-healthy foods
by Amanda Gardner
While deaths due to heart disease have dropped in recent years, it’s still the No. 1 killer of Americans. The good news is that we now know a ton about how to prevent cardiovascular disease, which includes both strokesand heart attacks.
It’s clear that healthy eating and living (like exercising more!) can make a huge difference. Read More