Heart Health;

Cholesterol Control Cuts Heart Death in U.S.
For years, doctors have urged Americans with poor cholesterol readings to skip the butter, get themselves to a gym and kick their smoking habit in the butt.
That effort may be paying off.
Improved cholesterol levels were among the chief influences on plummeting rates of heart disease deaths in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, according to a newly released study cosponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and two British schools - the University of Liverpool and Newcastle University.
In the two decades between 1980 and 2000, about 342,000 potential early deaths related to heart disease were averted, according to the researchers. The use of surgical treatments and other medical interventions was the chief source of reduced heart disease death and was responsible for 47 percent of the drop in mortality rates, according to the study.
However, improvements in containing certain risk factors associated with heart disease also had a major impact on death rates. Improved control of cholesterol levels led the way among all risk factors studied. It was responsible for 24 percent of the reduction in death rates.
Control of other risk factors also contributed to the reduction in heart disease mortality, including more effective treatment of high blood pressure (20 percent), reduced rates of smoking (12 percent) and increased levels of physical activity (5 percent).
Heart disease includes any illness that affects the heart. For example, coronary artery disease is a chronic illness in which blood flow is obstructed through the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen-rich blood. This obstruction is caused by a disease known as atherosclerosis, which is sometimes called "hardening of the arteries."
Although the rates of many types of heart disease are in decline, the numbers for one heart condition that results from many heart diseases has increased. Heart Failure is a serious condition in which the heart fails to pump efficiently. The incidence of heart failure has increased significantly over the last three decades. Heart failure affects about 5 million Americans, with a half million new cases diagnosed each year, according to the American Heart Association.
There are several steps you can take to improve your cholesterol levels and lower your risk of coronary artery disease, heart failure and other forms of heart disease. To lower levels of so-called “bad” LDL cholesterol, you can:
Make healthier diet choices. This includes reducing your intake of fatty and processed foods and increasing consumption of foods such as skim milk products, fish and vegetables.
Engage in regular exercise. Most experts recommend moderate intensity exercise of between 30 to 60 minutes a day, four to six times a week. However, even smaller intervals of exercise, as little as 20 minutes a day, can help.
If diet and exercise strategies are unsuccessful in reducing levels of LDL cholesterol, your physician may recommend that you take a cholesterol-reducing drug.
Diet changes and exercise can also help boost levels of so-called “good” HDL cholesterol, which protects cardiovascular health. HDL levels can be increased by eating moderate amounts of foods rich in monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, canola oil, nuts and avocados.