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Heart Disease Trifecta

Posted on April 25, 2011

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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Having high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes or any combination of the three puts you at greater risk for heart disease. All three of these conditions are considered chronic diseases which means they cannot be cured but they can be managed. You can’t change who your parents are, so you cannot alter your genes and your predisposition to certain diseases. But, you can manage your lifestyle, which could significantly alter your risk for getting any one of these chronic conditions and ultimately lower your risk for heart disease.

We throw medical terms around freely, but how many of us can define exactly what high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes really is? Let’s start there.

You have high blood pressure — also called hypertension — if you have a systolic blood pressure (upper number) of equal to or greater than 140. And, if you have a diastolic blood pressure (lower number) that is equal to or greater than 90. If you have diabetes, high blood pressure is defined as equal to or greater than 130/80. Normal blood pressure is below 120/80. If you take blood pressure medication to control your high blood pressure you are reducing your risk, but you still have a chronic condition – hypertension – which will return without the medication.

Seventy-two million Americans over the age of 20 have high blood pressure. It is believed that most of these cases can be controlled with medication and healthy living – being active, eating healthy, watching your weight, and avoiding excess alcohol. If you are of African American decent you are over 40% more likely to develop high blood pressure, which is simply a case of not being able to change your gene package, but you can manage your lifestyle to lower risks.

You have high cholesterol – also called hypercholesterolemia – if you have a total blood cholesterol of equal to or greater than 240. It is estimated that over 36 million Americans have high cholesterol. If you take cholesterol-lowering medication, you are controlling the risk but you still have a chronic condition that needs attention.

There has been much discussion about whether a high total cholesterol value is truly a marker for heart disease. What it does signal is that a patient who presents with high cholesterol needs to be looked at more closely for other risks factors. Is your HDL (good cholesterol) number higher than 40? Is your LDL (bad cholesterol) lower than 130? Are your triglycerides 150 or less? Are you now totally confused with all these numbers?

Many experts believe that our blood cholesterol ratios (number of HDL vs. LDL) are set by our genes. That may be true as people with high HDLs seem to be at less risk for heart disease even when their overall cholesterol value is high. The same holds for those with low cholesterol, but high LDLs.

Triglycerides are the main type of fat found in food and the major type of fat stored in our bodies. Your risk for high triglycerides goes up if you are overweight, do little exercise, eat too many carbs (especially those low in fiber and high in sugar), drink too much alcohol, and smoke. Note that all of these risks can be modified by making lifestyle changes toward more healthy living.

You have diabetes if you have a fasting blood glucose over 126. The doctor will usually do a second test to confirm the diagnosis of diabetes. In most cases your risk for diabetes is from your genes. It is estimated that 1 in 3 children born in 2000 will have diabetes in their lifetime. Currently, it is estimated that almost 26 million Americans have diabetes and 7 million have not been diagnosed. Normal fasting blood glucose is below 100. So what happens between 100 and 126 you’re wondering?

People who fall in that range are currently classified as prediabetic – the probability that you will develop diabetes in the future. Probability is only a likelihood that something might happen, it is not an absolute certainty. Those with prediabetes who begin exercising, eating well, and losing weight can often prevent the occurrence of diabetes completely. They do, however, have to maintain their healthy lifestyle for the rest of their life. As I’ve said, over and over, all of these conditions are chronic – they can be managed and risks can be reduced, but the underlining problem will not go away and will resurface without proper care.

You should know – 45% of all adults in the US have at least one of these chronic conditions. One in eight adults has two of the conditions, and 3% of adults have hit the trifecta having diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Do you know your odds?
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with 12 current titles and sales of more than 8.5 million books. The books are widely available at your local or on-line bookseller.
Current titles include:
The Diabetes Counter, 4th Ed., 2011
The Protein Counter, 3rd Ed., 2011
The Calorie Counter, 5th Ed., 2010
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2009
The Fat Counter, 7th ed., 2009
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
The Cholesterol Counter, 7th Ed., 2008

For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to TheNutritionExperts

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