Take care of the basics and your ticker will thank you. Managing your blood pressure and cholesterol can slash your risk of heart disease in half, says a study at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Researchers found that patients with high blood pressure (consistent readings of 140/90 mm Hg or higher) who treated only hypertension or high cholesterol reduced their risk of heart disease by 20 percent and 35 percent, respectively. But people who controlled both conditions reduced their heart risk by more than 50 percent.
“It’s a double whammy,” explains Eric Topol, M.D., director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute. High blood pressure damages the lining of your arteries, allowing cholesterol to seep in. But when you treat both, you limit the amount of cholesterol that can enter and the places in which it can get lodged, Dr. Topol says.
While many doctors over-treat high cholesterol (240 mg/dL total or higher), it’s important to get your blood pressure checked regularly—and not just at your doc’s office. According to a recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, it can take up to six tries to get an accurate BP reading, so get checked at places like supermarkets and drugstores, Dr. Topol advises. Ask for a reading on both arms, too, says Aaron Michelfelder, M.D., of Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine: Differences in blood pressure between your arms may be a sign of peripheral vascular disease, which raises your risk for heart attack and stroke.
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