7 Top Ways To Improve Your Heart Health� |� JudiFreedman

"It looks like you may have had a heart attack," said doctor S as she read the EKG during my annualcheckup in December.

"OMG! Are you kidding me?" I gasped. I grew faint. I thought about all the stomach and chest pains Ihad experienced throughout the year. I wondered if indeed one might have been a heart attackinstead of indigestion or muscle spasm.

"I don't see any report on your previous EKG from your cardiologist," said doctor S. "This EKG looksdifferent than the one from a few years ago. I'm going to fax it to your cardiologist's office and seewhat they say. Stay calm."

Stay calm. Stay calm. Are you kidding me! I put my head down on the table and practicedmindfulness meditation. Breathe in. Breathe out. This potential news hit hard. For the past six yearssince losing my husband I'd been trying to mend my broken heart, but what if what the doctor saidwas true? What if my heart was forever damaged? Breathe in. Breathe out.

After what seemed like the longest 30 minutes ever, doctor S returned. "I'm pleased to report thatyour cardiologist's purchase heart rate monitor office reviewed the EKG and the findings areNEGATIVE," said doctor S.

Ohm, ohm, ohm! Ahh, ahh, ahh!

In January, I saw my cardiologist doctor P to confirm the findings. She said that sometimes doctorswho are not used to reading EKGs can misread them. Dr. P suggested I have a stress test to doublecheck my heart since I had been having a few flutters and also have an eco and carotid doppler toreview my arteries for any clogs. The results were all NEGATIVE.

Ohm, ohm, ohm! Ahh, ahh, ahh!

February Go Red For Women

This month, the American Heart Association celebrates Go Red For Women to raise awareness of thefight against heart disease -- the number one killer of women, claiming more lives than all forms ofcancer combined.

Menopause doesn't help matters either. According to the Penn Medicine blog, "the decrease inestrogen caused by menopause has multiple negative effects on the female cardiovascular systemincluding: changes in the walls of arteries and blood vessels which makes plaque and blood clotsmore likely to form; increased fibrinogen levels which make blood clots more likely to form andnarrow the arteries; a decrease in HDL -- or "good cholesterol" -- and an increase in LDL or "badcholesterol."

Are boomer women doomed? No, no, no. However, heed the warning and make sure you have yourcholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure under control. I try to get annual checkups and I'm glad

I do.

Penn Medicine Heart & Vascular Center reminds women to take action to improve heart health with"Life's Simple 7," including:

1. Get active. (I do yoga, bike and walk. What exercise do you do?)

2. Lose weight. (I try to watch my weight. The scale is part of my daily routine and I have a digitalscale so I can see the numbers without my specs!)

3. Reduce blood sugar. (My glucose number was 95 this year. It's inching up there. Better watch it.)

4. Stop smoking. (Never smoked and never will.)

5. Manage blood pressure. (All good -- stress levels under control.)

6. Control cholesterol. (My total cholesterol is on the high side at 245. Bad cholesterol is high toowith an LDL of 148. Good cholesterol or HDL is 80. I'm allergic to statins, so I have to manage mycholesterol with diet and exercise for now. Maybe one day there will be a new medication that I cantake instead of statins.)

7. Eat better. (I watch my fat consumption, use olive oil when I cook, eat lots of fish with Omega-3sand take fish oil supplements. The Mediterranean diet is supposed to be good for you.)

The American Heart Association recommends knowing your risk and getting regular checkups. Aswomen, we tend to be caregivers to others and oftentimes do not take care of ourselves. AHA offersa Go Red Heart CheckUp to assess your main cardiovascular health risk factors. It only takes a fewminutes and along with your results, you'll receive a Personal Action Plan. I took the assessment andfound it very helpful. My risk for heart disease was low.

February 7th is National Wear Red Day to raise awareness of heart disease in women. So glad Ididn't have a heart attack. I'm going to drape my red pashima across my chest. It's time to continuestrengthening my spiritual heart and celebrate every moment of every day. As Helen Keller said,"The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with theheart."

Earlier on Huff/Post50:

Fried food is loaded with fat and calories while offering zero nutritional value. It's a lose-lose! Sure,fries and chips TASTE good, but healthier items also taste good. Just say no to the deep fried itemson your menu. You'll be thinner, healthier and won't have greasy fingers.

If you simply must have a French fry, then make them at home in your oven. Use sweet potatoes, asthese are a more complex carbohydrate. Cut into matchsticks, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oilalong with a dash of salt, then place in your oven on broil. Turn every five minutes until the fries aretender on the inside and crispy on the outside.

White bread products have minimal nutritional value and are quickly converted by your body intosugar. So you may as well eat a cupcake. Even breads that are technically wheat, but are as soft andsmooth as white bread, should be avoided. Don't be afraid to discard the bread from your sandwichor to push away that bread basket. Your waist will shrink and you'll lose that bloated feeling that

high carbohydrate meals give you.

If you must have bread, then stick with sprouted. Sprouted grain bread is a lot easier on yourdigestion and is packed full of nutrients. Two delicious brands are Food For Life's Ezekiel bread, andManna Organics. Sprouted grain breads are often kept in the freezer section since they don't containpreservatives to prolong shelf life.

You were so good to order a salad, but then canceled out the low-cal benefits by drenching the saladin fattening creamy dressing. Just a few tablespoons of creamy dressing contain more than 20 gramsof fat and hundreds of calories.

Vinegar-based dressings pack amazing flavor in with minimal fat and calories. You can even mixyour own dressing at home. Take high quality vinegar, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper, yourchoice of dried herbs, and a bit of olive oil.

Just like white bread, white rice has minimal nutritional value, and the glycemic load will quicklyprime your body for storing fat.

Brown rice has three times the amount of fiber, more B vitamins as well as other nutrients and willkeep you feeling fuller for longer. That should be enough to convince you to swap your large pile ofwhite rice out for a small pile of brown rice.

Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are the epitome of anti-fitness food. Nothing will destroy yourprogress, expand your waist and plummet your energy levels like sugar. If you only take away onedo-not-eat food from this slideshow, please let it be sugar.

Don't turn to artificial sweeteners to get your sweet fix, instead turn to nature's wholesome source ofsugar: fruit. Eat organic fruit that is seasonal and locally grown. Stay away from dried fruit and fruitjuices, as these are high in simple calories.