A new survey found that more than two-thirds of Americans worry about heart disease, but few people know specific information that can help them improve their heart health.
According to Dr. Steve Nissen, Chairman of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, “Research has shown that most coronary artery disease can be prevented by addressing treatable risk factors. This means that a little knowledge of your heart indicators can be great To a certain extent, it helps you keep your heart healthy and avoid problems.”
Treatable risk factors for heart disease include blood pressure, cholesterol, height and body mass index (BMI, which is a body fat indicator based on height and weight), waist circumference, blood sugar, and weight.
In a telephone survey of more than 1,000 adults aged 18 and over, the researchers found:
Medicine health care. Female hand checking pulse on wrist closeup.Mid-adult man clutching his chest in pain with a possible heart attack. He wears a blue, button down dress shirt. Heart disease.
Indicators of heart health: BMI
68% of people worry that they may suffer from heart disease. But only 18% of people know their BMI, and only 23% know that they are overweight when their BMI is 25 or above.
Indicators of heart health: Blood pressure
Only 38% of respondents knew their blood pressure, and only 4% knew that healthy blood pressure readings were less than 120/80 mm/Hg.
Indicators of heart health: Cholesterol
Only a quarter of respondents knew that high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is “good” cholesterol. Slightly more than half of people know that knowing their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels is important for assessing the risk of heart disease.
Only 12% knew that they should start testing their cholesterol levels when they were 18 to 24 years old.
Indicators of heart health: Stomach
Only about one-third of respondents knew that stomach fat is the most dangerous to heart health.
Indicators of heart health: Waist circumference
Only 36% of people know that waist circumference is an important measure of heart disease risk.
Indicators of heart health: Relationship with diabetes
The survey also found that 73% of the respondents did not know that heart disease is the main cause of death for diabetic patients.
The role of supplements
Even if there is no evidence that supplements can improve heart health, 67% of respondents said they take supplements such as multivitamins, fish oil, B vitamins, omega 3 and magnesium, and believe they will benefit heart health.
According to Nissen, a quarter of deaths in the United States are related to heart disease, so it is a big problem for so many people not to know the basics of heart health. People can better control their health by simply understanding what factors are most important to their health.
