You are here: Home » News » Brain & Nervous System » How’s your heart health?

How’s your heart health?

January 25, 2010 | By Michael McCarthy More

The American Heart Association has launched a ten-year program to reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke in the U.S. 20 percent by helping Americans to adopt heart-healthy lifestyles.

The initiative focuses on seven elements, called “Life’s Simple 7″, that the association says are key for “ideal cardiovascular health”.

To attain ideal cardiovascular health you should:

Either have never smoked or have had quit for more than one year ago.

Have a body mass index (BMI) less than 25 kg/m² (You can calculate your BMI with the BMI calculator in the right sidebar.)

Engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate intense physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week.

Have a total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL

Have a blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg.

Have a fasting blood glucose less than 100 mg/dL

And include in your diet four to five of the key components of a healthy diet, such as eating 4.5 cups of fruits or vegetables a day, two or more servings of fish a week, more whole grains and less sodium, and drinking fewer sugar-sweetened drinks (see chart below).

To help you find out how you measure up the association has created a short and easy-to-use online assessment tool called My Life Check (www.heart.org/MyLifeCheck), where you can see how well you do at achieving these seven goals.

Most of us taking the assessment will likely fall short of the ideal and at least by on some measures fall into intermediate or poor health categories.

Life's Simple 7 Health Metrics Chart

But don’t despair, the Website also has additional information about all these factors and tips on how to improve your profile including action plans and strategies for losing weight and increasing your physical activity.