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" When it comes to heart disease, the news is mostly good. More women than ever before recognize that it&amp;#039;s a serious threat to their health, and many now know what they should be doing to lower their risk. In fact, in a joint Woman&amp;#039;s Day/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) survey, 61% of women ranked heart disease as their top health concern. Yet the survey also found that while most women are aware of what puts them at risk for heart disease, they struggle with actually taking the steps to prevent it.   In other words, there&amp;#039;s a disconnect between what they know and what they do. &amp;quot;Changing behaviors is hard,&amp;quot; says Elizabeth G. Nabel, MD, a cardiologist and director of the NHLBI. &amp;quot;And if you don&amp;#039;t see any immediate effects\u2014say, if you feel fine but you&amp;#039;re overweight or have high cholesterol and you don&amp;#039;t like to exercise\u2014it&amp;#039;s easy to say, &amp;#039;I&amp;#039;ll work on it tomorrow.&amp;#039;&amp;quot;   We&amp;#039;re here to help you bridge that gap between knowledge and action. The first step is finding a meaningful reason to make the effort. &amp;quot;Do it for someone you love\u2014your husband or your children\u2014because they want you to be around for a long time,&amp;quot; suggests Dr. Nabel. &amp;quot;Or simply do it so you can be at your best.&amp;quot; So ditch the excuses and make a pledge to get heart-healthy starting now.   Countdown To Heart Health   If you think &amp;quot;overhaul&amp;quot; when you hear &amp;quot;get heart-healthy,&amp;quot; you&amp;#039;re wrong. In our survey with the NHLnhlBI, most women knew which everyday habits are important for heart health, including exercising, staying at a healthy weight and getting good zzz&amp;#039;s. But they also said they found these the most difficult to fit into their everyday lives. Instead of getting overwhelmed, think of it this way: &amp;quot;Sneak in a heart-healthy habit any chance you get,&amp;quot; says Nieca Goldberg, MD, a cardiologist at New York University. &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t focus on what you can&amp;#039;t do.&amp;quot; These easy steps will help you boost your heart health in no time.   1. Pick Up The Phone Time it takes: 10 minutes Call your doctor and make an appointment to get these heart-disease risk factors checked: blood pressure, weight, cholesterol and blood sugar. &amp;quot;This is a crucial first step in figuring out your personal risk for heart disease,&amp;quot; so you can make the appropriate changes, says Dr. Goldberg, author of Nieca Goldberg&amp;#039;s Complete Guide to Women&amp;#039;s Health.   2. Listen To The Tunes You Love Time it takes: 5 minutes Put your favorite music on your computer or iPod and tune in for a few minutes whenever you can. &amp;quot;Stress reduction is an important part of protecting against heart disease, because chronic tension exposes your body to high levels of stress hormones that can damage your cardiovascular system over time,&amp;quot; says Jennifer H. Mieres, MD, a cardiologist at the New York University School of Medicine and coauthor of Heart Smart for Black Women and Latinas. Taking mini\u2013meditation breaks, breathing deeply or having a good laugh also help short-circuit the effects of stress. &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s no one-size-fits-all for this\u2014find the strategy that works for you,&amp;quot; says Dr. Nabel.   3. Give Yourself A Sleep Deadline Time it takes: 1 minute Set a consistent bedtime, stick to it, and you&amp;#039;ll be more likely to get the sleep you need (for most people, 7\u00BD to 8\u00BD hours a night), which is important for heart health. &amp;quot;Sleep deprivation can make you more prone to hypertension, diabetes and other risk factors because it can increase inflammation\u2014a key factor in the development of heart disease, and a risk factor prevalent in people who are sleep-deprived,&amp;quot; says Dr. Mieres. When you don&amp;#039;t get enough sleep, your body also has more trouble keeping blood sugar levels stable, which predisposes you to metabolic syndrome\u2014a collection of heart-disease risk factors including elevated fasting blood sugar, abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and high blood pressure.   4. Eat A Down-To-Earth Diet Time it takes: 20 minutes per meal Include lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains (oatmeal), nuts, seeds (flaxseed, pumpkin seeds), legumes, lowfat dairy products, fish and lean poultry, and you&amp;#039;ll edge out highly processed, packaged foods. &amp;quot;Heart-healthy foods are usually plant-based and &amp;#039;natural,&amp;#039; &amp;quot; says David Katz, MD, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center and coauthor of The Way to Eat. &amp;quot;Look for little ways to work them in. A lot of small tweaks can help you gradually change your diet without it feeling drastic.&amp;quot; Concerned about the cost of fresh produce? Frozen vegetables and fruits are good substitutes; they&amp;#039;re frozen at peak ripeness, so they&amp;#039;re often higher in nutrients and flavor.   5. Be Smart About Eating Out Time it takes: 2 to 3 minutes Chances are you&amp;#039;re eating something you didn&amp;#039;t make yourself at least a few times a week, whether you&amp;#039;re going to a restaurant or grabbing a premade main or side dish at the grocery store. Take a little time to decode the food before ordering or buying. Rule out anything described as crispy (which usually means fried), crusted, breaded or sizzling (which often mean fat has been added). Instead, stick with roasted, steamed, grilled, baked, broiled or poached.   6. Grab Any Chance To Move Time it takes: 10 to 15 minutes Think of it as using your muscle power instead of technology, and do it six times a day if you can. Hoof it on a lunchtime errand instead of driving. Meet a friend for a brisk walk instead of coffee. Shovel your own snow or rake leaves instead of using a blower\u2026you get the idea.   7. If You Smoke, Commit To A Quit Date Time it takes: 5 minutes True, quitting smoking takes a lot longer than 5 minutes, but setting a quit date is a good start. Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease\u2014having just four cigarettes a day will double your risk. The best way for you to quit depends partly on how addicted you are, but research shows that using more than one technique works best, Dr. Goldberg says. That could mean taking a smoking-cessation medication and getting hypnosis or acupuncture; or using nicotine replacement and going for cognitive behavioral therapy. Talk to your doctor about your health history and how much you&amp;#039;re smoking to make a plan. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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