Preventing Heart Disease

St. Luke's can help assess your risk for heart problems and give you the tools you need to improve your heart health.

• Sign up for St. Luke's Heart Check. Five easy tests assess your heart, vascular and stroke health.
• A Heart Scan identifies calcified plaque in your coronary arteries and assesses your heart's health. There are no injections, treadmills or pre-test fasting.
• Stop smoking with the help of St. Luke's Tobacco Cessation program.
• Know your numbers - your weight and blood pressure are important indicators of health. 
• If you need to make exercise, nutrition and lifestyle changes, try St. Luke's 12 week Weight Management Program.
• Keep close tabs on your blood fats (LDL and triglycerides) and sugars. Both can be detected with simple blood tests taken by your primary care doctor.

Five lifestyle changes to lower blood pressure:

• Increase exercise. Aerobic exercise, such as walking, biking or swimming, for just 30 minutes a day, four to five days a week significantly improves your heart health.
• Eat a healthier diet. Avoid foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, salt and cholesterol. Eat more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.
• Cut down on alcohol. Drink no more than two drinks a day for men, one for women.
• Lose weight if you are overweight.
• Stay cool - relax! Stress is hard on your heart, so take a deep breath and avoid stressors when possible.