That's Fit

Long gone are the days when pregnant women were expected to rest and eat for two. Research shows that, among other benefits, a fit and active pregnancy leads to a healthier heart -- for both mom and baby. A recent study had 10 pregnant women engage in varying levels of physical activity. Both the mother's and baby's responses were monitored. Fetuses whose mothers exercised had significantly lowered heart rates. The heart health benefits were evident at all tested stages of gestation.

If you're pregnant, check with your OB/GYN before beginning an exercise routine. But for most pregnant women low-impact activity is recommended. Walking, yoga, and swimming are great choices for physical activity -- they're low impact, get your heart rate up, and are relatively safe activities. BabyCenter has more ideas for activity during pregnancy.

University of Michigan researchers have found that tiny little tart cherries can have a big impact on heart health and on diabetes. During the study researchers fed some rats a diet that included tart cherries; a control group of rats ate a diet that was equivalent in carbohydrates and calories but contained no cherries. At the end of the study, the rats who ate cherries had improvements in weight, fat percentage, cholesterol, and inflammation. A reduction in these risk factors is good news for heart health and diabetes.

Cherries are a nutritious addition to your diet. They're delicious, easy to snack on, and make a great addition to a lot of recipes. In fact, we've written about the perks of cherries before -- Chris wrote about the anti-inflammatory properties of cherries and they even offer some protection against UV rays. So grab a handful of tart cherries and snack away!

A medication frequently prescribed for high cholesterol came under fire a few months ago when a trial showed the medication -- a combination of simvastin and ezetimibe -- worked no better than simvastin alone. Simvastin is a statin designed to lower LDL cholesterol; ezetimibe is another medication that should lower LDL in another way.

The results of the trials regarding the efficacy of Vytorin are being discussed at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting this week. At this point, researchers aren't entirely sure if the results of the trial are indicative of how Vytorin would affect those with mildly high cholesterol or those who are newly diagnosed; all the participants in the study had very high cholesterol and had been under treatment for years.

Roughly a year ago my cousin had a stroke. It shocked and scared everyone in the family because nobody saw it coming. Prior to her stroke she worked at a school, but has yet to return to work. She's made great progress physically, though she still has weakness in one arm. But her bubbly, effusive, and gregarious personality has never quite been the same since the stroke.

According to an Australian study, depression can disable stroke patients almost as much as physical issues. The study followed 210 stroke patients. Of those who eventually went back to work, 33% were diagnosed with post-stroke depression. 45% of those who didn't return to work were diagnosed with depression.

Is your job putting your health at risk? You might not think so. But if you're mostly sedentary during the week and fueling up on take-out for lunch every day, you might not be doing enough to protect your heart. Don't worry -- even the busiest schedules can be tweaked to leave you with more energy and less stress. Check out Forbes recommendations for better health on the job. They include:

• fixing up your diet, not by eliminating foods but by adding in as many servings of fruits and vegetables as you can.
• drinking plenty of water throughout the day.
• finding time for short bursts of exercise -- a quick walk at lunch, taking the stairs, etc.
• planning a lighter, more nutritious lunch.
• teaming up with a co-worker or two who shares your health and fitness goals.
• substituting deep breathing for an stress-eating binge at the vending machine.
• creating a stretching routine you can do in-office to lengthen muscles that shorten when you sit all day and improve circulation.
• finding a better balance between work and home.

It may not be possible to eliminate all stress from your job, but taking care of yourself will actually improve your job performance and help you feel better at the same time.

When Americans got a pop quiz testing their heart attack knowledge (via a telephone poll), only 16% passed with flying colors. Not only did most Americans not know the five major signs of a heart attack, they also weren't exactly sure what to do if someone close to them suffered some of those signs. So just to review, the five most common signs of a heart attack are:

• Pain and/or discomfort in the jaw, neck, or back
• Feeling weak, light-headed, faint
• Chest pain, discomfort
• Pain or discomfort in the arms or shoulders
• Shortness of breath

There are other symptoms as well, including breaking out into a cold sweat and nausea, among others. If you or someone close to you starts experiencing the above symptoms, health experts say that you should call 911 immediately so that necessary drugs and medical care can be given in a timely manner.

They say that indoor air can be significantly more polluted than outdoor air, especially in newer homes where windows and doors are tightly sealed. Using a HEPA filter can reduce indoor air pollution by removing small particles from the air, like dust, mold, and pet dander.

But recent research also suggests that using a HEPA filter may also improve heart health. Non-smoking elderly participants ran HEPA filters in their homes for 48 hours, and doing so improved the function of small blood vessels. There are small blood vessels that also feed the heart.

When I bought filters for two of the bedrooms in our home, I didn't realize until months later when I went to change the filters that I'd bought "HEPA-like" filters. These do not remove the very fine particles in the air like cat dander so, if you're going to buy a HEPA filter, make sure you read the packaging carefully!

Though heart disease began to steadily decline in the 1960s, a recent study suggests that that decline is about to take a sudden turn...upward. Researchers studied autopsy records of young people who had died of unnatural causes. About 8% of them had significant heart disease at the time of their death, and 83% had the beginnings of coronary artery disease. Health experts say that this finding is significant, and call it the result of the "perfect storm" of a blossoming fast food industry and a decline in physical activity.

As a young person myself, these findings make me more than a little nervous. Heart disease is already the number one killer in America. It's definitely time that we address the issues surrounding diet and exercise so that we can reverse those numbers back downward again.

If you've forgotten that it's Valentine's Day (don't worry, I won't tell) and still need to run out to get that fitness-minded someone a special gift, you might be inspired by these Valentine sneakers from Reebok. They're the perfect way to say, "I love you," or "I'd like to go for a run with you." Because sharing your heart with someone means watching over their heart health as well.

And if you're not currently in a relationship, it's ok to show yourself some love with a little Valentine's fitness fun. A new pair of shoes, some workout wear, or even a heart monitor might bring a little motivation to your workout routine!

As part of National Heart Month, Newsweek offered a multi-page advertisement for Vytron, a pharmaceutical drug that was supposedly shown to reduce bad cholesterol more effectively than either Crestor or Lipitor. However, unlike most ads, included in these four or five pages were articles on how to keep your heart healthy -- with or without resorting to the product that was paying for them.

Always a sucker for a good quiz, I was immediately drawn to the "Test Your Cholesterol IQ," a somewhat eye-opening look at how misunderstood this silent killer can sometimes be. Here's a quick, paraphrased version of some of the questions that appear in this True or False quiz.

1. There's Nothing Good About Cholesterol. - False. Cholesterol is required for life. The problem is when there is too much of it in the blood, increasing the risk of heart disease and heart attack.

2. When It Comes to Cholesterol, Less is More. - False. Depending on the type of cholesterol you're talking about, low cholesterol levels aren't always best. For bad (LDL) cholesterol, yes, this is the case, as an elevated level can cause plaque build-up on the walls of arteries and other blood vessels. But, insofar as good (HDL) cholesterol is concerned, no, this is not the case. That's because good cholesterol removes cholesterol from the blood and artery walls and to the liver, from where it can later be eliminated from the body.

They say that the Grinch had a heart that was two-sizes too small. He must have been over 50.

Several studies have noted that the chambers of the heart shrink as we age, but a recent study found that it actually happens rather dramatically around age 50. Researchers looked at 218 health participants who had no underlying health problems and were surprised to find that they could actually pinpoint when the change occurs.

Hypertension is considered an age-related condition by the American Heart Association. When the heart shrinks, researchers believe that blood pressure increases, which may explain why people over 50 may have a harder time controlling their blood pressure.

Imagine visiting your doctor for chest pain and being rushed off to an ambulance because you're suffering a heart attack, only to be stopped by a receptionist looking for your $5 insurance co-pay. Ridiculous, right? That's what happened to Barbara Antonelli of Staten Island last month. Mrs. Antonelli, 76, was astounded when the receptionist approached her while she was lying on the gurney and reminded her that she hadn't paid her co-pay upon check-in.

The doctors in question have apologized and admitted that the receptionist acted inappropriately (and will be reprimanded). But one still has to wonder. After all, she was only doing her job and something in her training made her rush out to collect that money. A simple mistake? Or a sign of a bigger issue within their office? What do you think?

We've heard it before -- if you want to know the state of your health, turn your attention to your waistline. Waist circumference is getting a lot of attention as the new risk factor for future health problems, even becoming more popular than the old stand-by BMI. Why? That's because belly fat is thought to be more dangerous than fat that pads other parts of your body.

What's so bad about belly fat, or visceral fat as it is known? Researchers at the University of Michigan think they've figured it out. Belly fat, when transplanted into mice, caused more inflammation in the body and was linked to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Mice who received a subcutaneous fat transplant (or fat that sat below the skin) had less significant changes.

Now, you may ask yourself what fat mice have to do with your future health (And you may also ask, how exactly does one transplant belly fat into a mouse? But I don't want to hear the answer to that question, so...moving on...). Health experts think that similar changes occur in humans, and other studies seem to support that claim.

Belly fat responds well to exercise, so even if you're eating a healthy diet, add some activity to your day to whittle that waistline.

Last year, there were reports that iPods and pacemakers were a bad combination, and that the music player might cause the pacemaker to malfunction. The concern was that the strong magnet inside the iPod could interfere with the electromagnetic technology of the pacemaker.

New research from a scientist at the FDA, however, disputes that theory. Howard Bassen tested four different iPods against a pacemaker set in salt water and found that the iPods could not disrupt the pacemaker's operation.

So if you have a pacemaker, it may be safe for you to rock on and rock out with your personal music device. But as always, don't take it from the Internet...talk to your doctor first.

Trying to decide what to wear this week? Here's a tip: This Friday, February 1st is National Wear Red Day 2008. The day was created to inspire women to consider their own heart health and to take action to reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease. National Wear Red Day is part of The Heart Truth, a program that hopes to open women's eyes to the major health issue of heart disease in women.

So wear red on Friday and spread the word to the women in your life. And if you're interested in doing more, there are several events being held by The Heart Truth campaign in February, including an appearance at New York's Fashion Week on Friday, and the First Ladies Red Dress Collection at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in California.