Heart disease is a big killer in the United States. Every year, approximately 600,000 people are killed by it making it the leading cause of death for both men and women. That represents one in four American deaths. In fact, if you take deaths from AIDS and all kinds of cancer and combine them, that number would still be smaller than the number of people who die from heart disease. If you are concerned about the health of your heart, there are questions to ask a physician to keep your heart healthy.

There is good news when it comes to heart disease. There are things you can do to lower your risks and improving your heart health. If after you have gone to your check up with heart questions to ask a physician, you can follow these tips to help your heart health.

• Lose weight. One in three Americans can be considered overweight or obese. That means that the odds are that you can lose at least a little weight. The best way to do this is not to start a fad diet or starve yourself. Fasting makes your body hold on to the calories it takes in. If you are not sure what to add and subtract from your diet, talk to a nutritionist. Your doctor can direct you towards an expert who can help you with your diet. Finding a medical professional who can help you with your diet should be as easy as talking to your doctor or your health insurance carrier.
• Get more exercise. Most of us can use more movement in our lives. Introduce some exercise into your lifestyle Make sure one of the questions to ask a physician is “How much exercise can my heart handle?” You do not want to jump into a new exercise routine without medical permission. It is easier than you may think to work some exercise into your routine. Take a walk at lunch. Take the stairs and not the elevator. Park your car farther away from the store entrance. If you cannot get a 30 minute walk into your day, try three ten minute walks.
• Avoid smoking. If you do not smoke, great! If you do, quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your heart. This is not one of the questions to ask a physician, you know they would prefer it if you did not smoke. If you have high blood pressure, smoking just makes that worse. When you quit smoking, your body starts to heal itself right away. Some experts say you start to experience some benefits to quitting within 20 minutes of your last cigarette. This is when your heart rate will start to go down and back to a normal level. The bottom line is that it really is never too late to quit smoking. You can find a doctor who can help you quit.
• Get your cholesterol under control. As you probably know, there are two kinds of cholesterol. You want to lower your levels of LDL, which is low density cholesterol and is considered to be the kind that is bad for you. According to the American Heart Association, your level should be under 100 mg/dl. One of the best ways to do that is to up the amount of fiber you get in your diet by eating more vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Another thing you can do is add avocados. Research shows that people who eat a diet that is rich in avocados have lower LDL levels. You can use this in the place of higher fat foods such as mayonnaise. Adding omega-3 fish oils can also help. You can do this by eating more fish or by taking supplements. One of the questions to ask a physician is what the best way to get these omega-3 oils might be for you.
• Watch your blood pressure. There are natural ways to keep your blood pressure under control. Keeping this under control is of of the things that underscores in the importance of routine check ups.
• Ask about aspirin. One of the questions to ask a physician is if aspirin can be part of your preventative medicine plan to keep your heart healthy.