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<p>It will be Valentine&#8217;s Day soon, and already the traditional images of hearts (nothing like a real heart!) are everywhere. Valentine-shaped cards and candy (dark chocolate in moderation, of course) as well as images of Cupid shooting heart-adorned arrows surround us.</p><p>Regarding the Valentine traditions, ignore them at your peril &#8212; depending of course on the forgiving nature of your sweetheart. But with heart disease still the major cause of death for both men and women throughout the United States, perhaps the best thing you can do for your loved ones is to take good care of your own heart health. That way you can celebrate Valentine&#8217;s Day with them well into the future.</p><p>The first step is to assess your risk factors for cardiac disease. While there are some risk factors you can&#8217;t do anything about &#8211; your age and family history of heart disease &#8211; there are other risk factors you can change for the better, such as your smoking, eating and exercise habits. And characteristics that aren&#8217;t as fully subject to your own efforts can be managed with the help of your medical team. Do you know your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels? It&#8217;s important to know these key numbers and take steps with your doctor to get them under control.</p><p>If you are a smoker and want to improve your heart health, my advice is short and to the point: quit smoking. According to the National Institutes of Health, smokers are six times more likely to have a heart attack than people who do not smoke, and your risk increases every time you light up. I do have some good news for you, however: kicking the smoking habit will pay immediate dividends by decreasing your heart attack risk. In fact, you can reduce your risk by more than 50 percent just one year after you say goodbye to smoking. There are many products on the market designed to help you stop smoking, as well as helpful counseling options. Your best bet, though, is to talk this over with your doctor and develop a plan together so you will not only quit the smoking habit but remain smoke-free moving forward.</p><p>Another major risk factor you can control is your diet. To be heart healthy, you need to limit your intake of foods high in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Your diet should primarily consist of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and lean meats, poultry and fish. I&#8217;m reminded of the old &#8220;strive for five&#8221; campaign that promoted eating at least five servings of vegetables and fruit per day. That&#8217;s a good target to get you started. You should also become a food label reader and switch to fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Many people today are opting for either soy or almond milk to limit dairy fat intake from dairy. Like quitting smoking, your best approach is to talk about diet with your healthcare provider. A registered dietitian can teach you how to include fresh foods in your balanced and healthy diet, understand the information contained on food labels, and know how to make healthy and tasty food substitutions. Losing even a small amount of weight &#8211; just five percent of your current body weight &#8211; can make a difference in lowering your risk of heart disease.</p><p>Finally, regular physical activity will also improve your heart health. The key is to make exercise a fun habit that you will stick to rather than a boring chore. Go for a brisk walk (your dog will love you for it), do some work with light weights, play a little tennis, or go for a bike ride. Here&#8217;s a good thought for Valentine&#8217;s Day &#8230; take your loved one dancing. Pass by the elevator and take the stairs instead. Park further away from your workplace or at the mall, so you&#8217;ll get your steps in walking back and forth. And of course, talk with your doctor before starting any exercise program.</p><p>If you take these healthy actions, one thing is certain. Your heart will love you for it &#8230; no flowers required.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Alfred Casale</p><p>To Your Health</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Dr. Alfred Casale, a cardiothoracic surgeon, is associate chief medical officer for Geisinger and chair of the Geisinger Heart Institute. Readers may write to him via ae@www.timesleader.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Be your own valentine by loving your heart