Jump to content

  • Set Your Location
  • Sign in or Enroll
Set Your LocationSet Your Location
  • Sign in or Enroll
    • Open I want to choose my medical group or hospital
    • Clear my location
Change Location
Sutter Health
  • Video Visits
  • Find Doctors
  • Find Locations
  • Treatments & Services
    • Video Visits
    • Find Doctors
    • Find Locations
    • Treatments & Services
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Symptom Checker
    • Get Care Today
    • Health & Wellness
    • Classes & Events
    • Research & Clinical Trials
    • For Patients
    • About Sutter Health
    • Giving
    • Volunteering
    • Careers
    • News
    • For Medical Professionals
    • Other Business Services
Close Search
  • Home
  • Health and Wellness
  • Heart
  • Five Ways to Lower Your Risk for Heart Disease
Content

Five Ways to Lower Your Risk for Heart Disease

Maintaining a balanced lifestyle is the key to keeping a healthy heart.

Terence Lin, M.D., FACC, FSCAI

Contributor

Terence Lin, M.D., FACC, FSCAI

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Heart disease, the No. 1 cause of death in the United States, claims more lives than all forms of cancer combined. There are many simple things you can do to lower your risk, no matter your age, your gender or your family history.

Terence Lin, M.D., a cardiologist with Palo Alto Medical Foundation, offers these steps to lower your risk of heart disease – starting at any age.

Get Active

Exercise is a proven way to reduce your risk of heart disease. “Regular physical activity will not only lower disease risk, it will make you feel better on a daily basis and increase your ability to actively take part in life,” Dr. Lin says.

Couple walking in park

The American Heart Association recommends getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise. That is about 30 minutes of active movement, five days out of the week.  

But you don’t have to run marathons to get the heart benefits of exercise. Using a pedometer or fitness tracker can help motivate you to increase your daily exercise amount. While a goal of 10,000 steps a day is ideal, Dr. Lin says, there are consistent health gains shown at 5,000 steps per day.

Dr. Lin emphasizes that this movement goal should extend through life. “At age 90, even 5,000 steps per day may be a stretch, but keep moving,” he says.

Don't Smoke

Smoking is a contributor to heart disease, as well as lung cancer, emphysema and a host of other dangerous conditions. Quit as soon as you can, recommends Dr. Lin.

Sutter care centers offer several smoking cessation programs, including multiple-week courses at our affiliate hospitals and support through Sutter Express Care, a service found in select Rite Aid stores. Counseling and medication are both effective for treating tobacco dependence, and using them together is more effective than using either one alone, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

What about vaping, the newest trend of inhaling steam vapor mixed with flavored nicotine?

“The jury is out on the impact of the various compounds in the vapor itself. Unfortunately, there is no consistency or regulation about what compounds are in the vaping liquid, and the longer term impacts are unknown,” Dr. Lin says.

Treat Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea can contribute to increased heart disease risk, particularly for people with high blood pressure. If you snore, you may have sleep apnea – a condition in which you actually stop breathing for a short spell, then awaken with a start. Other symptoms that may be related to the disrupted sleep of sleep apnea, according to Dr. Lin:

  • Being tired in the morning, even after a full night’s sleep.
  • Falling asleep or in front of the TV, even if the program is lively.
  • Noticing your eyelids feeling heavy in a meeting, while reading, or other sedentary activities.
  • Feeling like you can’t stay asleep.

If you think you may have sleep apnea, discuss your symptoms with your doctor.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is the simplest way to gauge if you are at a healthy weight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is optimal. Between 25 and 29 is considered “overweight.” A  BMI over 30 is classified as obese – the most dangerous weight category in relation to your health.  

Also, notice where excess weight is stored in your body, Dr. Lin says: “The bigger you are in the middle, the higher the risk of heart disease.”

Losing just 3 to 5 percent of your weight has been shown to lower your heart disease risk. “I tell my patients not to think about dieting, but to focus on eating smaller food portions. Eat the food of a smaller person,” Dr. Lin says.

Overall, portion control (eating less) is important. But for heart disease prevention, the content of the diet matters, too, of course. So avoiding too much saturated fat in the diet, a proven heart attack risk, is also a good idea.

Know Your Cholesterol Levels

High levels of cholesterol in the body are associated with heart disease.  Dr. Lin suggests that you have a cholesterol blood test (called a lipid panel) around age 35 for men, 45 for women. If you have a strong family history of heart attack or stroke you should have a lipid panel earlier.  

After seeing your results, work with your doctor on a plan for lowering your cholesterol level, if needed, by making changes in your habits or perhaps with medication.

Related Articles

  • Exercise: Fact versus Fiction
  • Four Health Numbers to Know
  • Heart Rate and Your Health
  • A Delicious Heart-Healthy Diet
  • Personality and Heart Disease
  • Early symptoms of a heart attack
The Sutter Health Network of Care
Expertise to fit your needs
Primary Care

Check-ups, screenings and sick visits for adults and children.

Specialty Care

Expertise and advanced technologies in all areas of medicine.

Emergency Care

For serious accidents, injuries and conditions that require immediate medical care.

Urgent Care

After-hours, weekend and holiday services.

Walk-In Care

Convenient walk-in care clinics for your non-urgent health needs.

  • Contact Us
  • Find Doctors
  • Find Locations
  • Request Medical Records
  • Make a Gift
Sign in to My Health Online

Billing and Insurance

  • Pay a Bill
  • Accepted Health Plans
  • Estimate Costs
  • Medicare Advantage

About Sutter

  • About Our Network
  • Community Benefit
  • Annual Report
  • News

Our Team

  • For Employees
  • For Medical Professionals
  • For Vendors
  • For Volunteers

Careers

  • Jobs at Sutter
  • Physician Jobs
  • Graduate Medical Education

Copyright © 2023 Sutter Health. All rights reserved. Sutter Health is a registered trademark of Sutter Health ®, Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark office.

  • ADA Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • LinkedIn Opens new window
  • YouTube Opens new window
  • Facebook Opens new window
  • Twitter Opens new window
  • Instagram Opens new window
  • Glassdoor Opens new window

Cookie Policy

We use cookies to give you the best possible user experience. By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences

Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences