Inspired by Heart Month (February) and the Heart Truth fashion show at LG Fashion Week, we decided to get an update on our health facts. Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum talks to us about when to worry, what to do, and how to keep our hearts healthy...
At what age should you start worrying about your heart's health?
It's important to start thinking about it very early; the second that it becomes part of your consciousness. In our 20’s, we all think about our weight, and it tends to be more about how you look in your jeans than the health of your heart. Clogs in your arteries can start developing in your teens. A study was done on younger women that were in traumatic accidents; when they looked inside their arteries, there was already plaque at the age of 18. Plaque builds up over time and is what leads to heart disease. You need to understand that risk begins at 20. Younger women today are in a really unique position because they’re given so much more information. There is so much that we didn’t know 10 years ago.
What are the most basic ways to take care of your heart?
Never smoke. There is no such thing as social smoking. It increases your risk 2 to 4 times if you have an occasional 1 to 4 cigarettes. You have to really understand that the lifestyle choices you make, at the age of 20, are going to affect you for the rest of your life. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, stress, family history and smoking are the major risk factors that lead to heart disease. Over time these things can develop and become much more difficult to control. What we don’t realize at 20, that we realize at 40 to 45, is that your body starts changing. If you set the precedent at 20 of exercising and eating right and that becomes part of your life, when you actually hit the menopausal age, you go through it much easier and your chances of developing these risk factors are actually much lower.
What foods should you be eating to lower cholesterol?
In your 20’s, how you choose your food really makes a huge difference as life goes on. Foods with Psyllium Fibre (Oat, Pears, Apples, Bran) really stabilize and decrease cholesterol. This becomes important at 20 years old because that’s when cholesterol can develop, and then 20 years later, that’s when it becomes out of control. When you start taking control over these dietary issues early in life, it never becomes a problem. Along with Psyllium Fibre, eating fruits, vegetables, drinking water, nuts, fish; all of these things are so important. Not only does it protect your heart, but it protects your skin, it protects you against arthritis and Alzheimer’s.
What are the best exercises to do for your heart?
You have to know how to exercise. It’s not just getting outside and walking because when you’re younger, your heart is strong enough that really getting your heart rate up is important. One of the calculations we use is: 220 – (your age) x 87% = THR. That’s what we call your target heart rate, and you want to get your heart rate up to that level for 30 minutes almost every day of the week. That’s really the way to condition your heart.
Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum is an attending cardiologist and the Director of Women and Heart Disease of the Heart and Vascular Institute at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Dr. Steinbaum has devoted her career to the treatment of heart disease through early detection, education, and prevention. She is also an active member of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.
- Get going! See our favourite exercise gadgets (and start exercising your heart)...
- If you're not willing to splurge on a membership, find out how to exercise at home...