Your heart may be full, but is it healthy?

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OK, Valentine’s Day is over. Now it’s time to measure the real function of your heart: How well is it ticking?

The American Heart Assn. has defined ‘ideal cardiovascular health’ to help us understand what heart disease is and isn’t. According to a recent survey, four in 10 Americans think they have ideal heart health but 54% had been told they have a risk factor for heart disease.

Here’s the ‘Life’s Simple 7’ list from the American Heart Assn.:

1) Never smoked or quit more than one year ago
2) Body mass index less than 25
3) Physical activity of at least 150 minutes (moderate) or 75 minutes (vigorous) each week
4) Four to five key components of a healthy diet consistent with current AHA guideline recommendations
5) Total cholesterol of less than 200 mg/dL
6) Blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg
7) Fasting blood glucose less than 100 mg/dL

You can find details about the seven factors at the www.heart.org/MyLifeCheck.

-- Shari Roan