Five Ways to Protect Your Heart Health

Your heart is precious — it works every second of each day to pump vital oxygen and nutrients throughout your body, but sadly, in the United States, heart disease is the leading killer of men and women.

Since February is American Heart Month, we want to help you take the best care of your heart, so it can keep on ticking robustly for years to come.

Dr. Gurprit Sekhon and the team at Nu Wave Medical Center are deeply invested in caring for patients by providing a wide range of services, from annual wellness exams to diagnosing, monitoring, and treating chronic conditions.

As your partners in care, we listen, earn your trust, and are honored to have the privilege of delivering your care.

Improve your heart health by adopting these practices

When it comes to keeping your heart its healthiest, the good news is that these important steps are all within your reach. It just requires awareness, commitment to self-care, and communicating with Dr. Sekhon.

1. Keep tabs on your cholesterol

Cholesterol is a waxy, fatty substance that your liver produces. It helps your body produce essential things, like vitamin D and hormones, which are critical to your body’s functioning. They impact everything from fertility and growth to appetite, sleep patterns, and mood.

Unfortunately, foods high in saturated and trans fats increase your cholesterol level, putting you at risk for heart disease.

You’ve probably heard about “good” and “bad” cholesterol – we monitor each type. LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol causes plaque to accumulate in and harden your arteries. HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol  helps transport surplus cholesterol from your body so your liver can get rid of it, while VLDL (very low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol also carries triglycerides as well as cholesterol and clogs your arteries.

Dietary changes and upping exercise can help your cholesterol improve, but we also offer cholesterol-lowering medications.

2. Manage your diabetes responsibly

People living with diabetes are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease, and they often live with other conditions that hurt the heart, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

High glucose levels harm the heart's blood vessels and nerves, which in turn causes narrowing of the arteries, inflammation, and hampers proper blood flow. This sets you up for heart arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeat), heart attack, and heart failure.

For this and many other reasons, it’s crucial to team up with Dr. Sekhon so you can manage your diabetes well with healthy eating, exercise, and treatments, including insulin injections for those with type 1 diabetes (usually diagnosed in childhood) or oral medication for patients living with type 2 diabetes. 

3. If you’re overweight, make this be the time you succeed at weight loss (we can help)

Not only do excess pounds or obesity increase your risk for conditions that cause heart disease, like high blood pressure and diabetes, simply carrying the extra weight is actually injurious to your heart because it becomes unable to keep up with performing its important job of pumping blood.

When your heart cells are damaged, they release the enzyme troponin T. Higher levels of the enzyme are associated with greater rates of heart failure. 

Fortunately, Dr. Sekhon offers medically assisted weight loss programs so you can get to your goal weight. She gives you the emotional support needed to succeed, in addition to nutrition counseling based on sound principles, advice on exercise, and medication if needed.

4. Keep your blood pressure in check

Blood pressure is the force at which your blood pushes against the walls of your arteries as it travels through your body. 

Your blood pressure reading consists of two numbers — the top one is your systolic pressure, or the pressure when your heart beats, while the bottom number is your diastolic pressure, the pressure between heartbeats.

Blood pressure ranges are as follows:

• Normal blood pressure is 120 mm Hg/80 mm Hg or less 
• Elevated pressure is 120 to 129 mm Hg/80 mm Hg
• High blood pressure is 130 mm Hg or greater/80 mm Hg or greater 

If you’re coping with high blood pressure, eating well (focusing on whole foods, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy proteins like fish, and legumes) and exercise can help lower it, as can medications that Dr. Sekhon prescribes. 

5. Always be mindful about scheduling — and keeping — your annual physical

Your yearly wellness exam is when Dr. Sekhon has the opportunity to talk to you about heart health, assess your current heart health, and advise you on changes and improvements you can make to give your heart the TLC it needs. Don’t skip it!

Take your heart health to heart this year and schedule an appointment with Dr. Sekhon by calling our Panama City Beach office at 850-493-6948 or using our convenient online booking tool.