Stay Healthy

At Dignity Health Heart and Vascular Institute of Greater Sacramento, our cardiology team is dedicated to helping you live a heart healthy lifestyle. We invite you to share in our mission of creating a heart healthy community.

Heart and Vascular Health in Northern California

Helping patients manage cardiology disease in their daily lives is one of the goals of Dignity Health Heart and Vascular Institute of Greater Sacramento. We do this through community education, community events, a comprehensive offering of health screenings and communication resources like our Stay Healthy Newsletter designed especially for heart and vascular patients, highlighting the latest in cardiovascular care and more.

 

Dignity Health Heart and Vascular Institute of Greater Sacramento also offers a number of programs, tools and informational resources that focus on prevention, intervention and monitoring, including:

 

Lifestyle Changes for a Healthier You

The best time to act is before a heart attack. Dignity Health Heart and Vascular Institute of Greater Sacramento believes everyone should make healthy lifestyle changes, even small ones, to help prevent heart and vascular disease and improve your overall health.

 

Some cholesterol-boosting factors you have no control over, such as age, gender and heredity. However, there are lifestyle choices you can make to improve your cholesterol levels and potentially lower your risk of heart disease or stroke as a result.

 

What can you do today to lower your risk of heart disease?

 

Exercise more. Exercise can raise your "good" cholesterol. In addition, exercise helps you lose weight, reducing your risk of heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer. Aim for 30 minutes of aerobic activity (for example, brisk walking) every day. If that seems like too much, try for 20—30 minutes of exercise at least three times a week.

 

Lose weight. Even losing a modest amount (five to 10 pounds) can increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL, or good cholesterol) levels and lower your total cholesterol.

 

Quit smoking. Quitting smoking helps return your HDL to a higher level.

 

Eat less:

  • Fat. If you enjoy red meat, choose lean cuts (tenderloin, top and bottom round). Remove fat before cooking and broil or bake instead of frying. Switch to nonfat or one percent milk.
  • Cooking oil. Choose oils that are liquid at room temperature, such as canola, corn, soybean, sunflower or cottonseed.

 

Eat more:

  • Poultry and fish. Aim for two to three servings per week of baked or broiled fish, especially darker-fleshed fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring salmon and halibut. These fish have more omega-3 oils, which help lower blood triglycerides.
  • Soluble fiber. This is found in fruit, beans, peas and oats.

 

Take a vitamin E (400 IU) supplement every day. This antioxidant may help you more easily absorb low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or bad cholesterol).

 

Cholesterol-lowering drugs. Talk to your doctor about taking a cholesterol-lowering drug. This may be beneficial if lifestyle changes are not sufficient, or if you are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Statin drugs are generally safe and effective, lowering your risk of heart disease.

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