A Healthy Heart Starts With You

Dr. Ryan Beard, Interventional Cardiologist

Heart-healthy living involves understanding your risk, making healthy choices, and taking steps to reduce your chances of getting heart disease, including coronary heart disease, the most common type. By taking preventive measures, you can lower your risk of developing heart disease that could lead to a heart attack.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES:

Eat healthy, get active, maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking and stay away from second hand smoke, learn how to control your cholesterol and blood pressure, drink alcohol only in moderation, and find healthy ways to manage stress.

HOW TO CONTROL YOUR CHOLESTEROL AND BLOOD PRESSURE:

• Cut extra pounds by increasing your activity

• Limit your sodium(salt) intake and eat fewer processed foods

• Avoid caffeine

• Increase your daily activity with 20-30 minutes of moderate activity (like walking, swimming, cycling, jogging, or dancing)

• Work on reducing stress and improving your sleep

• Increase your intake of soluble fiber by including whole grain breads, oats, kidney beans, chickpeas, and barley in your daily meals

• Use low fat options for your dairy choices

SIGNS OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE:

High blood pressure is known as the silent killer! Many people have no symptoms but over time if untreated can cause health conditions such as heart disease and stroke. Once blood pressure reaches a certain level you could experience blurry/double vision, headache, heart palpitations, fatigue, lightheadedness or fainting, shortness of breath, nausea, and/or vomiting.

SIGNS OF A HEART ATTACK:

Chest pain (pressure, tightness, pain, squeezing or aching), pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulder, arm, back, neck, jaw, teeth cold sweat, nausea, heartburn or indigestion, and/or lightheadedness/ dizziness. Women can also experience a general feeling of unwellness and describe the chest pain as pressure or tightness and not the severe pain often felt by men.

If you or a loved one are experiencing heart attack symptoms, please visit your nearest ER or call 911.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR HEART HEALTH

Schedule an appointment with William Newton Cardiology:
Call 620.222.6264

Our office is located at 1230 E 6th Ave, Ste 2C in Winfield.