Your Heart! The most important muscle in your body.

Giving your heart a health make over will improve the way you feel, give you energy, even help you live longer.

FIRST THINGS FIRST *******NUMBERS YOU NEED TO KNOW*******

BLOOD PRESSURE- measures the force of blood against the walls of your arteries. The top number (systolic) is the pressure of blood flow when the heart beats; the bottom number(diastolic) is the pressure when your heart is relaxing.

Aim for

• 120/80 mm Hg or less

CHOLESTEROL- A strong heart needs healthy blood vessels that have a smooth lining.

There's two types of cholesterol good(HDL) and bad(LDL) cholesterol.

• LDL chol.-can cause fatty plaque in the walls of the arteries
• HDL chol.- removes excess LDL from the arteries and delivers it to the liver for disposal

Aim for

• Total Cholesterol below 200 mg/dl
• LDL (bad) below 100 mg/dl
• HDL (good) above 50 mg/dl

TRIGLYCERIDES-This blood fat fuels muscles but, in excess, is stored in the fat cells and in the liver.

Aim for

• Below 150 mg/dl

BLOOD SUGAR-Someone with the precondition has a 1.5-fold higher risk of getting heart disease than a healthy person: if you have type 2 diabetes the risk is 2 to 4 times higher.

Aim for

• Fasting glucose level of up to 100 mg/dl