Seven Steps to a Healthier Heart

EAGAN, Minn. - Sometimes there's a big gap between perception and reality when judging your own health. According to a recent American Heart Association (AHA) survey, nearly 40 percent of Americans thought they were in ideal heart health, when in reality, less than one percent has an ideal profile. To help people get back on track to heart health, the AHA has developed an online assessment tool called "My Life Check." It provides an overall health score and an action plan for improvement.

Pat Geraghty, president and CEO of Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Minnesota, and spokesman for "My Life Check," says a few steps can make a big difference in living a healthier life. He calls them "Life's Simple Seven."

"The four behaviors are: Don't smoke; maintain a healthy weight; engage in regular physical activity; and eat a healthy diet. The three clinical measures to be on top of: Managing your blood pressure; taking charge of your own personal cholesterol level; and being aware of your blood sugar level and managing that."

Geraghty says the steps are not expensive to take, and any healthy change can help you live a longer, better life. He suggests getting started online at "heart.org" and clicking on "My Life Check."

Geraghty says while tackling changes toward heart health may seem daunting at first, the website breaks it down into simple steps.

"When you go on, it walks you through - it's very intuitive, it's a very easy survey to take - and you get your scores, but you also then get direct feedback about things you can do, in each of the measures, to improve your scores."

That address link is www.heart.org

Click here to view this story on the Public News Service RSS site and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/18852-1