Your Cardiovascular Health After 50
How can I keep my heart in top shape?
Heart disease and stroke are among the leading causes of concern for men and women aged 50 and over, according to our survey. Cardiovascular disease begins to affect men in their 50s, while women in general won't see an increase in risk until their 60s. But no matter your age or gender, you can take steps to protect yourself. See the answers to your ticker-related questions.
Most of my older family members died of heart disease. Am I doomed?
Absolutely not. “You can't change your genes, but you can change your lifestyle,” says cardiologist Jennifer H. Mieres, a professor at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, and co-author of Heart Smart for Women. Now is the time to schedule an annual physical exam with your GP or cardiologist to establish benchmarks for all your relevant statistics. Also ask your doctor if you are a good candidate for a CT scan that detects atherosclerosis. It takes a few minutes, uses low doses of radiation, is relatively affordable, and has been found to accurately identify people at high risk of suffering from the disease.
Should I start eating less red meat?
Probably. Studies show that high consumption of red meat is associated with increased levels of TMAO, a chemical marker produced by gut bacteria that has long been linked to heart disease. Good news: Limiting red meat can lower high TMAO levels within a month. Mieres recommends not eating meat one day a week and getting more protein from beans and fish.
Will watching cable news give me a heart attack?
It depends. Do hyperventilating anchors make you laugh or growl? Stress, which comes from sources as varied as post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic noise pollution or infection, is associated with the risk of heart disease, perhaps because it touches the amygdala, the reptilian hindquarter of the brain. In one study, brain scans showed that people with high amygdala activity were more likely to develop heart disease than those whose emotional centers were quieter, possibly because it stimulates an inflammatory response in the arteries.
Is whole milk OK?
Yes. A recent study has shown that consuming whole dairy products is associated with a longer life. In a 2018 study of more than 130,000 adults in 21 countries, those who ate two or more daily servings of full-fat dairy had a 22 percent lower risk of heart disease and 34 percent lower risk of stroke than those who ate the least dairy.
I get out of breath when I walk up the stairs. Do I have heart disease?
If this happens only during exercise and not while doing your normal routine, you're probably out of shape, says cardiologist Karen Alexander, professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.: Can you sit on the floor and get back up without using your hands? The inability to do this is related to mortality in adults over the age of 50.
Am I more at risk of heart disease now that I'm in menopause?
Yes. Estrogen protects the heart by keeping arteries flexible and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, and that's one of the reasons why heart disease increases in women about 10 years after menopause, Mieres says. One thing to focus on now: sleep. Sleeping less than six hours a night increases the chances of suffering heart diseases.
Should I take aspirin every day?
The American College of Cardiology recommends that healthy people ages 40 to 70 with a high risk of heart attack (and low risk of bleeding) take low-dose aspirin every day. Moderate and high-risk diabetics should also take a pill. For those at lower risk, it's not as clear. New research in The Lancet looked at more than 12,000 people and found little difference between those who took daily aspirin and those who took a placebo.
Do I have too much salt?
If you eat a lot of packaged foods, then yes. The average person consumes 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day, more than double the amount (1,500 mg) that the American Heart Association says is ideal. Seventy percent of that comes from processed foods; bread, sausages and cheese are among the top sources of sodium. A safeguard: Eat more fruits and vegetables to increase your potassium intake. This mineral can help lower blood pressure and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.
I have erectile dysfunction (ED). Is this a sign of heart disease?
Definitely check your heart before ordering Cialis. Multiple factors are at play with erectile dysfunction, but a 2018 study in the journal Circulation found that men with the condition were more likely to have type 2 diabetes or heart disease and were twice as likely as normal to have a heart attack or stroke.
Source: AARP.org
