5 easy ways to keep tabs on heart health
By Michael Merschel, American Heart Association News
跟踪几个简单的数字对保持心脏健康有很大的帮助.
但在你的医生说这是一个紧急问题之前，你需要注意这些数字, said Nicole Spartano, a research assistant professor in the department of endocrinology, diabetes, 波士顿大学医学院的营养和体重管理专家.
她把这比作观看高速公路上的线上娱乐电子游戏网站:现在的注意力会提醒你注意可能出现的问题.
“仅仅因为你还没有达到诊断的任何阈值，并不一定意味着你在追踪的任何生理测量方面都很清楚," she said.
Blood pressure is particularly crucial, said Dr. Raymond R. 他是宾夕法尼亚大学医院的医学教授.
"There is nothing more important to living longer, and living with a functioning heart and brain, than attending to an elevated blood pressure," he said. “你需要确定你的血压值是多少，因为如果你不测量它, you cannot manage it."
A health care provider can tell you specific targets. But in general, here are some important ones to track.
Blood pressure
血压是衡量血液对血管壁的压力. 美国心脏病学会和美国心脏协会将正常血压定义为低于120/80毫米汞柱. Top number, or systolic, readings of 130-139 or bottom, diastolic, readings of 80-89 mmHg are considered Stage 1 hypertension. 持续的140/90 mmHg或更高的读数被认为是2期高血压.
Townsend said even in the pandemic, 与医疗保健提供者合作，确保你得到准确的读数是很重要的.
"If you have access to a home blood pressure kit, we rely on in-home readings to help us manage blood pressure," he said. Use a validated monitor – a list is available at validateBP.org 每年在医生办公室或诊所用医疗级设备检查一次.
"The key is taking it correctly," he said. “如果你没有做好血压测量的准备，即使是最有效的监测仪也会产生糟糕的读数, position yourself correctly, and take the actual readings properly."
Blood sugar
Also known as blood glucose, blood sugar comes from the food you eat. In a fasting blood sugar test, readings of 100 to 125 mg/dL are considered prediabetes, which means a risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, which can lead to heart disease and stroke. 超过一次的126或更高的读数被认为是糖尿病.
Spartano said it's relatively easy to monitor blood glucose at home. “我不会说这对每个人都是必要的，但肯定会有一些人感兴趣. And some of those glucometers do connect to apps."
Cholesterol
A blood test will show levels of different types of this waxy, 血液中与心血管疾病有关的类脂肪物质. A doctor can use these results, along with the other numbers, to give a detailed assessment of heart disease risk.
有一些家庭胆固醇测试，但斯巴达诺不建议这么做.
Body mass index or waist measurement
These are measures of obesity. 如果你知道自己的身高和体重，你可以使用在线计算器，比如网站上的 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. And research shows waist-to-hip ratio measurement may be a better indicator of heart attack risk than body mass index, especially in women.
Sleep
Adults need at least seven hours of sleep 根据美国睡眠医学学会和睡眠研究学会的数据. But sleeping too much may be just as harmful as sleeping too little.
Recent research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 研究发现，每晚睡眠少于6小时或超过9小时与心血管健康状况较差有关.
Overall, Spartano, 他的工作包括为长期的弗雷明汉心脏研究收集健身追踪器的数据, said tracking your numbers doesn't have to be complicated. 应用程序可以提供帮助，但写日记的古老方法也很有效.
她说，仅仅是跟踪行为就能帮助你开始健康的改变.
She also emphasized the importance of one more number: 150. 这是建议成年人每周最少进行中等到剧烈运动的分钟数. But you don't have to start at that level.
"It seems maybe daunting, 但实际上，最显著的好处是从很少运动到稍微多运动, and that can be at any intensity level," she said.
Healthy eating also is crucial, Spartano said.
她说，如果所有这些努力都需要线上电子游戏飞禽走兽，没有人应该感到沮丧. “仅仅因为你没有看到这些数字中的任何一个发生变化，并不意味着你没有以不同的方式改善你的健康."
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