Loving your heart after 55: February is American Heart Month -- show your heart some love with these diet and fitness tips

A model of a heart rests on a desk at Saint Francis Medical Center. (Glenn Landberg)

In what sounded like good news, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced at the end of 2014 that stroke, or cerebral hemorrhage, had dropped from the nation's fourth-leading cause of death to No. 5. Stroke swapped positions with unintentional injuries, which killed 1,579 more people than stroke in 2013.

Yet heart disease, in general, remains the No. 1 killer in the United States, followed by cancer, and, third, chronic lower respiratory diseases.

While one in three adults has some sort of cardiovascular disease, 80 percent of it is preventable, according to the American Heart Association.

Experts agree physical activity is the top tip for improving heart health, and they suggest a daily brisk 20-minute walk is all it takes to help your heart, in addition to helping to lower blood pressure, keep weight under control and increase HDL, the so-called "good" cholesterol. Some studies indicate that for some adults, each hour of brisk walking may add two hours to life expectancy.

An article recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine rounded up the results of 47 studies to conclude that sitting for long periods of time -- even if one regularly exercises -- increases the likelihood of ill health, including cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Jeremy Barnes, professor of health promotion at Southeast Missouri State University, says the authors of the study "stress that much greater public awareness about the hazards associated with sedentary behaviors is needed. I have ... heard professionals discuss whether 'sitting is the new smoking.' I don't know if I would go quite that far, but I would urge people to incorporate as much physical activity into their daily routines as possible, and try to sit as little as possible."

Dr. David Alter, senior author of the paper and a senior scientist at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, recommends desk jockeys and couch potatoes get up and move around one to three minutes every half hour, with a goal, over time, of judiciously reducing sedentary time in a 12-hour day.

Dr. Duc Nguyen at Saint Francis Medical Center. (Glenn Landberg)

"The No. 1 thing is to exercise. I tell my patients this all the time," says Dr. Duc Nguyen, cardiologist at Cape Cardiology Group at the Saint Francis Medical Center. "We're not moving in our culture. ... It increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and hypertension. It's a vicious cycle, especially with the Western diet."

Nguyen, who has been in practice about eight years, says the current recommendation is consistent, moderate exercise, with a goal of about 150 minutes per week.

"The key is to do something regularly," Nguyen says, referencing recent studies indicating that a high-intensity short-duration workout may be the ticket for someone who has difficulty with motivation.

When Dr. David Law, cardiologist at Cardiovascular Consultants of SoutheastHEALTH, talks about heart health, he talks about risk factors.

"Age is one of the risk factors for vascular disease, so, the older you are, the more important it is to know what your blood pressure is, what your cholesterol is -- and treated with medicine if necessary -- and know your glucose level," he says. "There are no real symptoms related to those factors, so it's important to keep track of those numbers."

Young adults, Law says, should have an idea of "what their numbers are, and what the trend is. The earlier you find trouble and address it, you can eliminate greater, more serious trouble down the road. It's harder to reverse damage than prevent it."

Dr. David Law is a cardiologist at Cardiovascular Consultants of SoutheastHEALTH. (Photo courtesy of SoutheastHEALTH)

Law, in practice since 1993, agrees with Nguyen that exercise is vital.

"Everyone should exercise. Period. That alone helps control weight, blood pressure ... it helps your joints and your overall fitness. And, for the most part, it's free," he says, adding, "If you smoke, throw it away. Of all the risk factors, it's worse than any other."

Beyond physical activity, the American Heart Association echoes the recommendations of controlling cholesterol, managing blood pressure and reducing blood sugar as keys to heart health. High levels of LDL, a.k.a. "bad" cholesterol, may lead to clogged arteries, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure is known as "the silent killer," because while one in three Americans has high blood pressure, one in five of those don't know they have it. Diabetes is said to quadruple one's risk of heart disease or stroke. Some individuals may be in need of doctor-prescribed medication to control cholesterol or blood pressure or to treat diabetes.

Vital to heart health -- and keeping cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar problems in check -- is diet. American Heart Association guidelines call for at least four cups of vegetables daily, consuming fish twice weekly -- and avoiding cholesterol-rich red meat -- the daily intake of fiber-rich whole grains and less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium daily.

What may be surprising in the Heart Association's guidelines is the recommended weekly limit of 450 calories of sugar-sweetened beverages. A one-pint bottle of Lipton sweet iced tea, for instance, has 190 calories, according to calorieking.com, a website that provides the nutritional value of a range of beverages and foods, including those served at popular restaurants. It also informs how many minutes of what particular exercise would be required to burn the calorie intake of a certain drink or food item. In this case, the Lipton tea would call for 53 minutes of walking or 22 minutes of jogging to burn the 190 calories.