Enjoy a heart-healthy lifestyle with advice from a cardiologist
Christopher Vaccari, MD, an experienced cardiologist, says he regularly encounters three main problems related to his patients’ heart health: coronary artery disease, irregular heart rhythms, and congestive heart failure.
And everything can be improved through lifestyle choices. The cardiologist has some tips to help you.
“The keys are threefold,” he said. “Diet, exercise and avoidable behaviors are bad for the heart. »
Eating healthily involves limiting sugar, salt and high-calorie foods. To understand them, Dr. Vaccari suggests checking food labels. There are also apps that track numbers.
Drinks are one of the biggest culprits when it comes to sugar. With salt, it’s not so much what you add at the table, but the sodium you get from eating processed foods – cold cuts, breads, fast food, among others.
Sugary drinks and processed foods also tend to be high in calories and don’t offer much in return.
Added to this is the actual amount of food you consume.
“You do all this work to lose weight, but then you overestimate portion sizes,” he said. “That’s why we sometimes feel like we’re not losing weight.”
When it comes to exercise, Dr. Vaccari said he has seen dramatic improvements when people transition from a sedentary to an active lifestyle.
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“You have to take things slowly,” he said, noting that you can start by walking 30 minutes a day and gradually work your way up to increased aerobic activity.
People above a certain age should consult their doctor before starting an exercise program because they are more concerned about bone and joint health, he said.
Unhealthy behaviors to eliminate include smoking and drinking alcohol.
Dr. Vaccari said he knows it can be difficult to control certain behaviors.
“Sometimes it helps to have an idea of your numbers,” he said, referring to things like blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. “It can give you the motivation to break certain habits.”
Dr. Vaccari suggests talking to your doctor if your morning blood pressure is consistently above 140/90; if, in general, your LDL cholesterol level is above 130; and if your fasting blood sugar is above 126.
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Sometimes seeing a family member or friend experience the effects of heart disease is motivating. Sometimes just celebrating a birthday can achieve this.
“Unfortunately, for a lot of people, it’s after they have their first cardiac event that it’s a wake-up call,” he said.
For help keeping your heart healthy, visit Meritus Hagerstown Heart online at meritushealth.com/locations/meritus-hagerstown-heart or call 301-797-2525. And if you live near Hancock, Dr. Vaccari will begin seeing patients weekly starting in March at the newly opened Meritus Primary Care office, 351 N. Pennsylvania Ave.
