What can you do to prevent or delay heart disease and stroke?

Even if you are at high risk for heart disease and stroke, you can help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy. You can do so by taking the following steps:

Maintaining target levels for blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol are important to decrease your chances for having a stroke. Equally important are attention to diet, physical activity and other lifestyle factors such as being overweight and smoking.

Make sure that your diet is “heart-healthy.” Meet with a nutritionist or registered dietitian to  help plan a diet that meets these goals:

Try to consume at least 14 grams of fiber daily for every 1,000 calories consumed. Be sure to increase the amount of fiber in your diet gradually to avoid digestive problems.

Foods high in fiber are plant based and are naturally low in cholesterol which may also help lower blood cholesterol. In addition, the body metabolizes them more slowly which can also be of benefit to maintaining target blood glucose levels.

Whole grain foods such as oatmeal, barley and brown rice as well as legumes (dried beans and peas) such as kidney, pinto and navy beans, lentils and of course fruits, and vegetables are all good sources of fiber.

Keep the cholesterol in your diet to less than 300 milligrams a day. Cholesterol is found in meat, dairy products, and eggs.

Cut down on saturated fat. It raises your blood cholesterol level. Saturated fat is found in meats, poultry skin, butter, dairy products with fat, shortening and lard. Your dietitian can figure out how many grams of saturated fat should be your daily maximum amount.

Fortunately, food manufacturers have got on board and eliminated most trans fats from our processed foods (but only because they are really, really bad for you). However, small quantities still lurk in some crackers, cookies, snack foods, commercially prepared baked goods, cake mixes, microwave popcorn, fried foods, and salad dressings. In addition, some kinds of vegetable shortening and margarines have trans fat. Be sure to check for trans fat in the Nutrition Facts section on the food package.

Make physical activity part of your regular routine. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity at least 5 days out of the week. There are lots of easy ways to to increase physical activity, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Parking in the back of the parking lot, or simply walking on your errands (most errands are within 6/10 of a mile from home).  If you haven’t been physically active recently, see your doctor for a checkup before you start an exercise program.

Reach and maintain a healthy body weight. Almost 2/3 of the American population is overweight or obese so you certainly aren’t alone. But almost everyone can shoot to lose 5 – 10% of their bodyweight which is usually only 10 – 20 pounds. Most folks can do that by cutting sugary drinks from their diet, reducing portion sizes, cutting out unhealthy snacking and adding more fruits and vegetables to their diet. Aim for a loss of no more than 1 to 2 pounds a week.

If you smoke, quit. Your doctor can help you find ways to quit smoking.

Ask your doctor whether you should take aspirin. Studies have shown that taking a low dose of aspirin every day can help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. However, aspirin is not safe for everyone. Your doctor can tell you whether taking aspirin is right for you and exactly how much to take.