Heart disease prevention

As experts who treat complex cardiovascular conditions every day, we understand the importance of preventing heart disease.

Prevention starts with a healthy lifestyle. It also includes managing health conditions that put you at risk for heart disease. By taking steps now, you can reduce your risk and live a longer, healthier life.

Preventing heart disease through a healthy lifestyle

When you make positive lifestyle choices, your healthy practices turn into habits. The lifestyle choices that most impact heart health are:

• Eating a healthy diet. Select foods that are rich in fruits and vegetables, high in fiber, and low in saturated fat, trans fat, salt and sugar.
• Maintaining a healthy weight. If you’re overweight, a modest 5 to 10 percent weight loss can reduce your risk for heart disease.
• Exercising regularly. For an adult, that means two-and-a-half hours of moderate-intensity exercise each week. 
• Avoiding smoking, vaping and other tobacco products. Quitting smoking is one of the main things you can do to lower your risk for heart disease.
• Reducing alcohol use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
• Minimizing stress. Stress affects behaviors and other factors that are linked to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, smoking, overeating and alcohol use.

Controlling your heart disease risk factors

Some diseases increase your risk for heart disease, including:

• High cholesterol: There are several types of cholesterol. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, can accumulate in your blood vessels and block blood flow. High-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good” cholesterol, helps clear the bad cholesterol out of your body. Triglycerides, which are a type of fat, can cause your arteries to harden. Your doctor will look at all three to determine your heart disease risk.
• High blood pressure: Also called hypertension, this is when the pressure inside your blood vessels is too high. This extra pressure can damage the blood vessels and cause them to become clogged more easily with “bad” cholesterol.
• Diabetes: The most common form is Type 2 diabetes (T2D). With T2D, the body has decreased sensitivity to the use of insulin, a hormone that helps cells absorb sugar in blood. The reduced sensitivity causes an increase in insulin production. Higher insulin levels lead to low HDL and high triglycerides, elevated fasting blood sugar and high blood pressure.
• Metabolic syndrome: This is a cluster of factors that, together, greatly increase your heart disease risk. These factors include high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low HDL, high triglycerides and a large waist circumference.

If you’ve been prescribed medications for any of the above conditions, make sure to take them as directed. Along with medication, your doctor will probably also recommend lifestyle changes. It’s important to work with your health care team so your condition does not lead to heart disease. 

And if you haven’t had a checkup in the past year, schedule an appointment today with one of Advocate’s primary care providers. Annual physical exams are critical for early detection of the conditions that can lead to heart disease. Learn more about choosing a primary care provider.

Understanding your family history of heart disease

A family history of heart disease increases your risk for developing heart problems. If you have a first-degree relative (parent or sibling) who had heart disease at a young age, let your doctor know.

A common heart condition that runs in families is familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). People with FH have very high levels of cholesterol and require close monitoring and treatment. Our specialized Lipid Clinic provides comprehensive care for families with FH.

Trusting Advocate to help you reduce your heart disease risk

We know that making lifestyle changes and managing your health conditions is easier said than done. With the help of Advocate Health Care’s wide network of services, you can take control of your heart health.

Advocate’s heart disease prevention programs

At Advocate Heart Institute, we offer several specialized prevention services, including:

• Lipid Clinic: The clinic offers same-day assessments and coordinated care for people with high cholesterol.
• Heart testing: These quick and inexpensive tests let you know your risk for developing heart disease.
• Young Hearts for Life: You can get your teen screened for their risk of sudden cardiac death, which impacts more than 60 young adults each week, at a Young Hearts for Life event.
• South Asian Cardiovascular Center: We help improve cardiovascular outcomes for South Asians, who are at high risk for heart attack and stroke.
• South Asian nutrition and heart health: Our series of videos offer heart-healthy tips, provide health education and offer twists on traditional recipes.

Partnering within Advocate Health Care

Our cardiologists also coordinate with many Advocate Health Care programs to help our patients achieve the best outcomes, such as:

• Behavioral health care
• Diabetes management
• Nutritional counseling
• Tobacco cessation
• Weight loss and bariatric surgery