It’s scary to think that 225 South Africans die from heart disease every day. Family history, high stress levels, poor eating, and lack of exercise all play a role. World Heart Day on 29 September is an excellent time to start taking care of your heart.
The best place to start is by keeping tabs on your numbers:
- High blood pressure (BP) is a silent killer, so check it regularly – it should be under 130/85 mmHg.
- Normal resting heart rate is around 60-100 beats per minute.
- Cholesterol can clog the arteries, leading to heart attacks and strokes. Keep total cholesterol levels below 5.17mmol/L and LDL – aka ‘bad’ cholesterol – below 1.8mmol/L.
- Diabetes significantly increases the risk of heart disease. Your fasting blood sugar levels should be below 5.6mmol/L.
- Excess weight strains your heart and increases cardiovascular risk. Keep your weight within the ‘normal’ range for your gender, age and height.
Multiply your health
Aim for these numbers to keep your heart in shape:
- Five to seven servings of fruit and veg are what you should eat per day. A serving is about the size of a medium apple or a cup of raw veg.
- Seven to nine hours are what’s considered the right amount of sleep every night.
- One teaspoon of table salt per day.
- 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.
- One to two is the maximum number of standard drinks (330ml beer or 150ml of wine) per day (one for women, two for men).
- 0 is the number of cigarettes per day – no amount of smoking is safe for your heart, so quit now!
Reference
- Heart and Stroke Foundation
