The heart is the center of the body’s vascular system and is vitally responsible for just about everything that keeps the body moving and feeling good. The heart is a pump that circulates oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
Dr. Saurabh Aggarwal, a cardiologist with UnityPoint Clinic, explains six heart health numbers that everyone should know in order to keep the heart health in check.
- Resting Heart Rate
Normal is considered to be between 60 and 100 beats per minute, with the ideal being between 50 to 70 beats per minute. Dr. Aggarwal says you can find out your resting heart rate by feeling your radial artery pulse at the wrist or carotid artery pulse in the neck. Changes to the resting heart rate, as long as they are within the normal range, are likely of no concern. However, persistent heart rates greater than 100 or less than 50 may require further discussion with your healthcare provider.
- LDL or “Bad Cholesterol”
Normal is considered to be less than 130, with less than 100 being optimal and less than 70 being ideal. Heredity plays a role in baseline cholesterol, and there are some genetic traits that increase a person’s risk of developing abnormal cholesterol numbers and heart disease. Knowing your family history of cholesterol problems can help your health care provider assess your risk of developing future conditions.
- Body Mass Index (BMI)
Normal is considered to be 18-25, overweight is considered to be 25-30 and obese is greater than 30.
- Systolic Blood Pressure
The top number of the blood pressure reading. Normal is considered to be less than 130.
- Hemoglobin A1c
A marker of how much sugar is in the blood that helps to diagnose diabetes. Normal is considered less than 6 percent.
- Waist Circumference
Normal is considered to be less than 35 inches for women and less than 40 inches for men. Dr. Aggarwal says waist circumference and BMI are good measures of overall health. They both speak to body composition or the relative measure of lean muscle to unhealthy fat.
Too much fat has been demonstrated to correlate to increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
Dr. Aggarwal recommends that most people get these health numbers checked every six months to one year at a doctor’s office. He said they may need to be check more frequently if the results are out of range or if a person is taking corrective medication.
“Good-quality, restful sleep in an appropriate amount does impact heart health in multiple ways,” Dr. Aggarwal said. “In general, poor sleep leads to a change in metabolism, often leading to weight gain. Furthermore, poor sleep leads to fatigue during the day, which certainly makes a person less apt to have the energy to exercise and be active.”
Schedule an appointment with your provider to learn your numbers. If you have a family history of cardiovascular disease, ask if you should see a cardiologist.
Dr. Aggarwal is seeing patients in our Story County clinic. Our other UnityPoint Clinic cardiologists are holding outreach clinics in Ankeny, Boone, Indianola, Jefferson, Nevada, Osceola and Perry. Visit the UnityPoint website to schedule an appointment.
Amy Varcoe is the media relations supervisor with UnityPoint Health – Des Moines.
