Reverse Heart Disease In 8 Easy Steps

4. Learn Your Risk Factors

Now that you are changing your habits, you want to know the reason for some of these fixes. But a simple list of risk factors means nothing – the only way to figure out your risk factors is to learn which ones pertain to you. So here are the steps you should be taking:

• Make an ultrasound of the Carotid Arteries.
• Check your blood pressure regularly. A good blood pressure reading is around 120/80.
• Do a C-Reactive Protein Test. This test reports inflammatory changes in the body. General inflammation can be treated with aspirin and statin drugs.
• Make sure your doctor includes a lipid panel – a set of tests indicating the various types of fat in the blood – in your next screening.
• You should take a fasting blood sugar test, along with a hemoglobin A1C test. Your fasting blood sugar level should be less than 100.
• It is also important to check your thyroid function.
• Finally, step on the scale! Vacation and holiday eating will add pound after pound if you blind yourself to their effects. Weighing yourself will help you reduce your caloric intake. Everyone should have a body mass index (BMI) of less than 25.