How to help prevent Heart Disease

February is Heart Health Month. We want all our patients to have a clean healthy smile and heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and we want to change that.

Heart Disease is preventable so be sure to know if you are at risk. There are many risk factors you can control and some that you cannot control. Learning about them can lower your risk of heart disease.

Heart Disease and Oral Care

See your Dentist at least twice a year or more if required. Lowering the bacteria in your mouth will help lower your risk of developing heart disease. A study found:

Having a moderate or advanced stage of gum disease can interfere with your blood pressure control and can put you at a higher risk for heart disease than someone with healthy gums.

Your oral health can provide doctors with warning signs for a range of diseases and conditions, including those in the heart.

By continuing to be proactive about your oral health care, you can protect yourself from developing a connection between oral health and heart disease. We want you to have a healthy, clean, beautiful smile throughout your life.



Here are other lifestyle choices you can make to reduce your chances of getting heart disease besides seeing your dentist regularly:

Choose a healthy eating plan. The food you eat can decrease your risk of both heart disease and stroke.

Choose foods low in saturated fat, trans fat and sodium. Do eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, fish, nuts, legumes and seeds and try eating some meatless meals. Select lower fat dairy products and skinless poultry. Limit your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and red meat. If you choose to eat meat, select cuts that are lean.

Stay physically active. You can build up to at least 2½ hours (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (e.g., brisk walking) every week or 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity (e.g., jogging, running) or a combination of both every week.

Additionally, for 2 or more days a week your body needs muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest shoulders, and arms). Children should get at least 60 minutes of activity every day.

Keep your cholesterol and triglyceride levels under control. High levels of cholesterol can clog your arteries then raise your risk of coronary artery disease and heart attack. Lifestyle changes and medicines (if needed) can lower your cholesterol. Triglycerides are another type of fat in the blood. High levels of triglycerides may also raise the risk of coronary artery disease, especially in women.

Control your blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease. It is extremely important to have your blood pressure checked regularly – once a year for most adults, and more often if you have high blood pressure. Take more steps, including lifestyle changes, to prevent or keep high blood pressure under control.

Stay at a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for heart disease. This is mostly because they are linked to other heart disease risk factors, including high blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Controlling your weight can lower these risks.

Limit alcohol. Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. It also adds extra calories, which can cause weight gain. Both raise your risk of heart disease. Men should have no more than two alcoholic drinks per day, and women should not have more than one.

Don’t smoke. Cigarette smoking raises your blood pressure and puts you at higher risk for heart attack and stroke. If you do not smoke, do not start. If you do smoke, quitting will lower your risk for heart disease. You can talk with your health care provider for help in finding the best way for you to quit.

Manage stress. Stress is linked to heart disease in many ways. It can raise your blood pressure. Extreme stress can be a “trigger” for a heart attack. Also, some common ways of coping with stress, such as overeating, heavy drinking, and smoking, are bad for your heart. Some ways to help manage your stress include exercise, listening to music, focusing on something calm or peaceful, and meditating.

Manage diabetes. Having diabetes doubles your risk of diabetic heart disease. That is because over time, high blood sugar from diabetes can damage your blood vessels and the nerves that control your heart and blood vessels. So, it is important to get tested for diabetes, and if you have it, to keep it under control.

Make sure that you get enough sleep. If you don’t get enough sleep, you raise your risk of high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. Those three things can raise your risk for heart disease. Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Make sure that you have good sleep habits. If you have frequent sleep problems, contact your health care provider. One problem, sleep apnea, causes people to briefly stop breathing many times during sleep. This interferes with your ability to get a good rest and can raise your risk of heart disease. If you think you might have it, ask your doctor about having a sleep study. And if you do have sleep apnea, make sure that you get treatment for it.

This is the perfect time to learn the warning signs of a heart attack or stroke. Not everyone experiences the same symptoms and heart attack symptoms in women can be different than what’s seen in men.

Did you know that African-Americans have a higher risk of stroke than any other racial group? Act FAST, know the warning signs for strokes: F (Face Drooping) A (Arm Weakness S (Speech Difficulty) T (Time to call 911).

What are the heart disease risk factors that I cannot change?

Age. As you age your risk of heart disease increases. Men age 45 and older and women age 55 and older are at a greater risk of developing heart disease.

Sex. Some risk factors may affect women and men differently. For women, estrogen provides some protection against heart disease, while diabetes raises the risk of heart disease more in women than in men.

Race or ethnicity. The risks of certain groups of people can be higher than others. For example, African Americans are more likely than whites to have heart disease and Hispanic Americans are less likely to have it. East Asians tend to have lower rates of risk, but South Asians have higher rates.

Family history. Your risk is greater if you have a close family member who had heart disease at an early age.

Now we must concentrate on what we can change rather than what we cannot change.