Happy Valentine's Day!

 “The name of the game is taking care of yourself, because you're going to live long enough to wish you had.”
-Grace Mirabella

February is known for being the month to celebrate Valentine's day, but did you know it is also is Heart Health month?  How is your hearth health?  Do you know your blood pressure and/or your cholesterol levels?  These are two important numbers, along with others, to help you know your heart health.  Cholesterol plays a major role in a person's heart health. High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. So what are the proper levels for total blood cholesterol?  The American Heart Association suggests the following:

Total Cholesterol Level	Category
Less than 200 mg/dL	Desirable level that puts you at lower risk for coronary heart disease. A cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL or higher raises your risk.
200 to 239 mg/dL	Borderline high
240 mg/dL and above	High blood cholesterol. A person with this level has more than twice the risk of coronary heart disease as someone whose cholesterol is below 200 mg/dL.

HDL Cholesterol Level	Category ("Good" Cholesterol)
Less than 40 mg/dL (for men) Less than 50 mg/dL (for women)	Low HDL cholesterol. A major risk factor for heart disease.
60 mg/dL and above	High HDL cholesterol. An HDL of 60 mg/dL and above is considered protective against heart disease.

LDL Cholesterol Level ("bad")	Category
Less than 100 mg/dL	Optimal
100 to 129 mg/dL	Near or above optimal
130 to 159 mg/dL	Borderline high
160 to 189 mg/dL	High
190 mg/dL and above	Very high

How do you reduce your cholesterol?  You need to reduce the amount of saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and total fat in your diet! If you have high cholesterol, it's very important to monitor and control high blood pressure, avoid tobacco, eat healthy, exercise regularly, & maintain a healthy weight.

Taking these steps will help to lower your cholesterol and blood pressure. This may not be enough, and you may have to visit with your doctor to see if medicine is right for you along with a healthy lifestyle.

Go to http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/  for more information. REMEMBER!  We need to start being PRO-active with our health and we need to be responsible for ourselves.