Latest Heart New Center

Is it safe to take an aspirin a day to prevent heart disease?

If you have already had a heart attack, aspirin helps to lower the risk of having another one. It also helps to keep arteries open in those who have had a heart bypass or other artery-opening procedure such as coronary angioplasty.

But, because of its risks, aspirin is NOT approved by the Food and Drug Administration for preventing heart attacks in healthy people. It may even be harmful for some persons, especially those with no risk of heart disease.

Talk to your health care provider about whether taking aspirin is right for you. Be sure not to confuse aspirin with other common pain relieving products such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), or naproxyn sodium (Aleve).

I had my cholesterol checked but I do not understand the results. What do they mean?

Talk to your health care provider about the results of your cholesterol test. The following guidelines come from the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health. Cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per deciliter (dL) of blood.

Total cholesterol level - a level of less than 200 mg/dL is desirable. But even levels of 200-239 mg/dL (borderline high) can increase your risk of heart disease.

Total Cholesterol Level Category
Less than 200 mg/dL - Desirable
200 - 239 mg/dL - Borderline high
240 mg/dL and above - High

LDL (bad) cholesterol - a level of 160 mg/dL or above is high. Work with your health care provider to determine a goal LDL level that’s best for you.

LDL Cholesterol Level Category

Less than 100 mg/dL Optimal
100-129 mg/dL - Near optimal/above optimal
130-159 mg/dL - Borderline high
160-189 mg/dL - High
190 mg/dL and above - Very high

HDL (good) cholesterol - a level of 60 mg/dL or more is good and helps to lower your risk for heart disease. Remember that HDL (good) cholesterol protects against heart disease, so for HDL, higher numbers are better. A level less than 40 mg/dL is low and increases your risk for developing heart disease.

Triglyceride levels - can also raise your risk for heart disease. Levels that are borderline high (150-199 mg/dL) or high (200 mg/dL or more) may need treatment in some people.

What increases my chances for getting heart and cardiovascular disease?

Many things can put a woman at risk for heart and cardiovascular disease. The more risk factors (or things that increase risk) a woman has, the greater the chance that she will develop heart or cardiovascular disease.

There are some factors that you can’t control such as getting older, family health history, and race. But you can do something about the three biggest risk factors for heart and cardiovascular disease - smoking, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol. Stopping smoking will reduce your risk and you can get help, through support groups, special behavior change programs, and medication, to quit.

High blood pressure and high blood cholesterol can be controlled through diet, exercise, and medication. Talk with your health care provider about developing a plan for heart and cardiovascular health.

Studies have shown that physical inactivity adds to a person’s risk for getting heart and cardiovascular disease. People who are not active are twice as likely to develop heart and cardiovascular disease compared to those who are more active. Excess body weight in women is linked with coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and death from heart-related causes. The more overweight you are, the higher your risk for heart disease.

Diabetes, sometimes referred to as high blood sugar, is a serious condition that raises a woman’s risk for heart and cardiovascular disease. Women with diabetes have a greater risk of heart disease and stroke than do women without diabetes. Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity often go hand-in-hand, raising a person’s risk for heart disease. And, diabetes has been found to double the risk of a second heart attack in women but not in men.

Being around tobacco smoke for large amounts of time, or all the time, can increase a person’s risk for cardiovascular disease, even if you do not smoke. Today’s low-dose birth control pills carry a much lower risk of heart disease and stroke than the higher-dose earlier pills did. But this is not the case for women who smoke or who have high blood pressure.

There are many forms of heart and cardiovascular disease, and Atherosclerosis is one disease categorized under CV Disease

Atherosclerosis is a type of arteriosclerosis (or thickening and hardening of the arteries). As we age, some hardening of the arteries can occur naturally. When a person has atherosclerosis, the inner walls of the arteries become narrower due to a buildup of plaque. Plaque results from deposits of fat, cholesterol, and other substances. Blood clots form, blocking blood flow, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. High blood cholesterol, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and not being physically active all put you at greater risk for atherosclerosis.