Newswise — Lori Daniels, M.D., cardiologist at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center offers cardiac patients five easy ways to love their hearts throughout the year.
1) Sunday Night, Count Them OutInstead of managing multiple pill bottles, manage one pill box. Almost every pharmacy sells pill boxes marked with the days of the week. Variations are offered with multiple compartments if you are taking more than one prescription. Every Sunday night, at a designated time, fill up one weeks worth of pills. Reduce the time you spend counting your prescriptions to four times a month instead of thirty.
2) One Crème Brulee = Five MilesResearch shows a direct link between obesity and increased cardiovascular disease. One way to keep your weight down is to reduce the number of calories you intake and increase the number of calories you burn. So before diving into a crème brulee or double chocolate sundae, find out how many calories the dessert contains. Then determine how many miles you would need to walk to burn the calories off. On average, 100 calories are burned walking one mile. Is one dessert worth a three mile trek? You decide.
3) Do Not Hesitate to LaminateKeep an up-to-date list of medications and physician contact info in your bag and car glove compartment. In a time of emergency, this will serve as a quick and easy reference for family and medical personnel. Be sure to share this list with friends and family before traveling in case you need to fill a prescription or get medical attention while overseas.
4) One Aspirin, CrushedKeep a supply of aspirin handy. If you have heart disease you should be taking some form of aspirin every day at any time you choose. If you or a companion believe you are suffering the onset of a heart attack, take either one adult or two baby aspirin. Instead of swallowing the pill whole, crush it first so that the aspirin is more rapidly absorbed into your body.
5) Avoid Salt of All ColorsYou may be able to significantly lower your blood pressure by reducing the sodium in your diet. Be aware that white table salt is just one form of sodium in your kitchen. Other culinary culprits with high sodium content come in black (soy and teriyaki sauce), yellow (mustard), pink (lunch meats) and brown (canned soups and gravies.) Check the sodium content before ingesting a processed product; if you dramatically reduce your intake of sodium, you might, under your doctor's care, be able to eliminate some blood pressure medications.
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