Whether you are 25 or 85, you need to know your body’s numbers. Always know your weight (even if you do not like that number), your blood pressure, and your cholesterol (including your triglycerides). Whether through an annual check-up or even through a local health fair, find a way to keep tabs on your numbers. Keeping these numbers in the normal range can change your health and drastically reduce your chances for a heart attack.
First, weigh yourself! Many of my patients avoid the scales for months and even years while the pounds creep on. Just knowing your weight number can give you a starting point from which to either lose weight or at least maintain your weight. Next, high blood pressure increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. New guidelines are due out later this year, but currently your ideal blood pressure should be less than 120/80, and many physicians will treat blood pressure elevated above 130/80. We should all get a cholesterol panel and understand what each of the numbers means. The total cholesterol is actually the least important number; the more important numbers are your triglycerides, HDL (good cholesterol), and LDL (bad cholesterol). Currently, your triglycerides should be less than 150, your HDL should be above 40 if you are a man and above 50 if you are a woman, and your LDL should be below 100 unless you have coronary disease or diabetes which would require an LDL level of 70 or less. Now that you know your numbers, keep track of them. Above all, if your numbers are outside of normal parameters, see your doctor and start fixing them.
