| Posted February 5, 2014 | By John Maloof, M.D. | Categorized under Women's Health |

Even though heart disease and cardiovascular issues are prominent in our country, there is some good news: we are seeing fewer heart attacks. It's a significant decrease over the last decade. I'd say something like 30 percent fewer heart attacks, so that's a good thing.

This is partly due to the fact that fewer people are smoking, and partly due to the increased use of cholesterol lowering drugs. I wish that I could say it is because our society is getting healthier, but that's not something I can say - yet.

The most recent statistics show that something like 40 to 50 percent of Americans are overweight. What that means is the excessive obesity is leading to more high blood pressure, cholesterol abnormalities, diabetes and ultimately more heart disease.  Here are three things you should keep in mind as set your weight-loss goal:

1.  15 minutes of walking can have a big impact over time

It's not news that they key to reducing obesity and all the ancillary diseases that stem from it is exercise. But it's worth repeating. Exercise is just good for all parts of your body, not just your heart. It is good for your waistline, your mind and even things like your blood sugar. And keep in mind, exercise doesn't have to be vigorous. As long as you can walk 15 to 30 minutes a day, you are doing a great job for your heart and the rest of your body. Do you have any idea how many steps you take in a day? I advise people to get a pedometer so they can see. Once you know, then you can try to increase that number.

If you are looking for something a bit more strenuous than walking, I recommend any kind of aerobic exercise such as cycling, swimming or running.

2.   Increase your heart rate during exercise

Getting your heart rate up during exercise is important. One indicator of heart health is called the resting heart rate. The average person's heart beats between 60 and 100 times in a minute. Highly trained athletes will have a normal resting heart rate of 45 to 50. It's highly variable, but in general, the lower your resting heart rate the more efficient your heart is.

What that means is that if your heart is in good condition it is pumping larger amounts of blood with each beat, so it doesn't have to pump as fast.

The best way to figure out what your resting heart rate is to time your heartbeats for 15 seconds and multiply that number by four. You can feel your heart beats really strong in your neck just under your jaw bone. Don't do the measurement when you are stressed, because that will affect it and you won't get an accurate resting number.

3.  Watch your blood pressure

Another very important measurement to watch is your blood pressure, which isn't correlated with your heart rate. They are two completely different indicators. But your blood pressure is also highly variable, and oddly enough, will be highest when you first wake up, which seems counter-intuitive. If you are monitoring your blood pressure, it doesn't matter if it is normal during the day and high in the morning. You have to have your early morning blood pressure controlled to say your blood pressure is controlled.

As opposed to your heart rate, which is simply the number of times your heart beats in a minute, your blood pressure numbers measure force. Your systolic number (the top one) measures the pressure as your heart beats and forces blood into your arteries. Your diastolic pressure (bottom number) measures the pressure as the heart relaxes between beats.

Normal blood pressure is extremely important because high blood pressure can be a silent killer. Everyone needs to know where their blood pressure is running, because if you don't, you could die later from kidney failure caused by your high blood pressure.

If you do have high blood pressure, there are medications you can take. And yes, you will more than likely take them for life. But, you can also try to lose a few pounds. In general, you should have two to three separate readings. If they are elevated, take the medications, but then try to modify your lifestyle and maybe reduce the medication.