Your Healthy Heart: A Woman’s Guide

Start your healthy-heart checkups at age 20. "All women should be screened for heart disease starting at 20," saysGoldberg. Ask your doctor to check your cholesterol and blood pressure, and screen you for diabetes. "We have to work on risk factors early, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of exercise, smoking, and diabetes," she says. If your mom had a heart attack before age 60 or your dad had one before 45, your family history ups your risk, as well.

Whittle away your middle. Being overweight is a major risk factor for heart disease -- and where you store your fat plays a role. "Women who carry their weight around the middle, as opposed to the butt, hips, and thighs, are at highrisk for heart disease". "The good news is that this may be the most dangerous fat to have, but it's the easiest fat to lose". How to lose that "menopot" of belly fat that can accumulate later in life and raise heart disease risk? Steer clear of devilish white carbohydrates. "When women approach menopause," says Goldberg, "they become more carb-intolerant and more sensitive to the effects of simple sugar and white carbohydrates. Decrease your intake of sugar and white-floured foods," Goldberg says. Instead of white rice, order brown rice with Chinese take-out. Ditch that Kaiser roll for whole wheat toast.

Say no to trans fats. Women who eat the most trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are 3 times more likely to develop heart disease than women who eat fewer trans fats, according to a study of nearly 33,000 women done by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. To lower heart disease risk, scale back on trans fats by avoiding fried foods and eating fewer packaged foods like cookies, crackers, and pastries. "Women need to look at good nutrients from all food groups, including good fats like canola and olive oils, flaxseed oil, and walnuts".

Get more exercise. High cholesterol is a risk factor for both sexes, but women may be harder hit than men. Women with "good" cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL) levels lower than 50 -- and triglycerides above 150 -- may be at higher risk of heart disease then men with similar numbers. "The magnitude of these risk factors is greater in women than men," says Goldberg. To compensate, she says, "Make your life more aerobic." Aerobic exercise helps boost your "good" cholesterol and lower the blood fats known as triglycerides. Bonus: Exercise also helps reduce blood pressure and keep weight your down.

Shake your salt habit. After 55, women are more likely to develop high blood pressure than men,says the AHA. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure -- which is why all heart-healthy recipes use no salt at all, or low-sodium ingredients. Your goal? Keep your blood pressure at 120/80 mm/Hg or below. Start by tossing out your salt shaker and reading food labels to add up the sodium content, Goldberg says. "Limit your salt intake to less than 2.3 grams of salt per day," she says. The AHA agrees: most doctors advise limiting yourself to 2,300 mg of salt daily. "Restaurant food tends to be heavily salted," Goldberg says, "so ask for the sauce and salad dressings on the side."