Is your heart healthy? The 7 measurements.

World Heart Day is celebrated every year on September 29 to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The theme of World Heart Day 2024 is “Use the heart for action”focusing on encouraging preventive steps to improve heart health worldwide. This year’s campaign aims to:

• Empower people to take better care of their heart health.
• Urge leaders to prioritize cardiovascular health and take it seriously.
• Inspire nations to create or support national plans for cardiovascular health.
• Engage healthcare professionals, patients and the wider public to drive meaningful change.

The 7 measurements for heart health

The seven measures of health and behavior

used to determine whether a child’s cardiovascular health is poor, intermediate, or ideal include:

1. Smoking Status: According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 25% of high school students use some type of tobacco product, and nearly 4,000 children under the age of 18 try their first cigarette every day. 9 out of 10 smokers had started smoking before finishing high school. This means that if children can remain smoke-free at school, they will likely never smoke. More than 90,000 people die each year from heart disease caused by smoking. Among young people who would otherwise have a very low risk of heart disease, smoking can cause up to 75 percent of heart disease cases. And, the more someone smokes, the greater the risk of heart disease.
2. Body Mass Index (BMI): For children and adolescents, BMI is not a diagnostic tool and is used to screen for potential weight and health problems. For example, a child may have a high BMI for their age and gender, but to determine if excess fat is a problem, a health care provider will need to perform further evaluations. These assessments may include skinfold thickness measurements, assessments of diet, physical activity, family history, and other appropriate health screenings.
3. Physical activity level: The American Heart Association recommends that all children age 5 and older get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. This should include a mix of moderate and high intensity activities. Limit the time you spend watching TV, playing video games, or surfing the Internet. Look into organized sports, classes or clubs that match your child’s interests. Most importantly, spend time with your child and create family outings that include some type of physical activity (eg, biking, walking, hiking).
4. Healthy Eating Score: You eat more calories than you burn during exercise and daily life. Other causes of obesity may include genetics, aging, gender, lifestyle and disease. Obesity in children is dangerous because researchers believe that the fat cells we acquire as children stabilizey with us as adults. Obese children may have 5 times more fat cells than children of normal weight. Dieting in adulthood will reduce the size of fat cells but not the actual number of fat cells.
5. Total Cholesterol: Studies have shown that the accumulation of fatty plaque begins in childhood and progresses into adulthood. This disease process is called atherosclerosis. Over time, atherosclerosis leads to heart disease, which is the single biggest cause of death. In some cases, high cholesterol runs in families. This is called familial hypercholesterolemia. About 1% to 2% of children have this condition and should have their cholesterol levels checked before they are 5 years old. Other risk factors for high cholesterol include obesity, high blood pressure, and smoking.
6. Blood pressure: High blood pressure is a serious condition in childhood and often goes undiagnosed because it causes no symptoms. Make sure your child’s blood pressure is checked during their annual check-up. High blood pressure (hypertension) in children is not congenital heart disease, but may be hereditary. For this reason, children born into families with a history of high blood pressure should monitor their blood pressure very carefully.
7. Fasting glucose: (< 100 mg/dL).

The 3 main beneficiaries:

• Humanity
  • Access to treatment and support for CVD varies widely around the world. More than 75% of deaths from cardiovascular disease occur in low- to middle-income countries, but access can be a problem anywhere. By participating in global events like World Heart Day as well as local activities, we have the power to spread awareness and help make a difference in the lives of all humanity.
• Nature
  • Air pollution is responsible for 25% of all deaths from cardiovascular disease, killing 7 million people each year. Whether it’s more immediate actions like walking or biking instead of traveling by car, or long-term efforts like supporting clean air legislation, each of us can contribute to a healthier planet in our own way.
• Thyself
  • Psychological stress can double the risk of heart attack. Exercise, meditation and adequate quality sleep help reduce stress levels. By resisting the harmful coping mechanisms and bad habits caused by stress, we can maximize our heart health.

Recommended Dietary Patterns for Optimal Health

The American Heart Association recommends this eating pattern for families:

• Energy (calories) should be sufficient to support growth and development and to reach or maintain a desired body weight.
• Eat foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, salt (sodium) and sugars.
• Keep total fat intake to between 30 and 35 percent of calories for children ages 2 to 3 and between 25 to 35 percent of calories for children and teens ages 4 to 18, with most fat coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats acids, such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils.
• Choose a variety of foods to get enough carbohydrates, protein and other nutrients.
• Consume only enough calories to maintain a healthy weight based on your height and build. Children should be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.

• Serve wholemeal/high-fiber breads and cereals instead of refined grain products. Look for “whole grain” as the first ingredient on the food label and make at least half of your servings whole grains.
• Serve a variety of fruits and vegetables daily while limiting your juice intake. Each meal should contain at least 1 fruit or vegetable. Children’s recommended fruit intake ranges from 1 cup/day, between 1 and 3 years of age, to 2 cups for a 14-18 year old boy. The recommended intake of vegetables ranges from ¾ cup a day at age one to 3 cups for a 14-18 year old boy.
• Introduce and serve regular fish as an introduction. Avoid commercial fried foods fish.
• Serve fat-free and low-fat dairy foods. From ages 1-8, children need 2 cups of milk or its equivalent each day. Children ages 9-18 need 3 cups.
• Do not overfeed. Estimated calorie needs for children range from 900/day for a 1-year-old child to 1,800 for a 14-18-year-old girl and 2,200 for a 14-18-year-old boy.

This pattern of nutrition supports the normal growth and development of the child. It provides enough total energy and meets or exceeds the recommended daily allowances for all nutrients for children and adolescents, including iron and calcium.

Note that cardiovascular risk factors present in childhood are better predictors of future subclinical factors CVD growth (ie, carotid intimal thickness or coronary calcification) from the cross-sectional comparisons made during young adulthood.

This is undoubtedly a wake-up call.

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The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have about a medical condition.