Which information would the nurse include when teaching a client about dietary guidelines to reduce heart disease risk?

Get regular physical activity to help you maintain a healthy weight and lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels.

By living a healthy lifestyle, you can help keep your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels normal and lower your risk for heart disease and heart attack.

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Patient Education Handouts

Choose Healthy Habits

You can choose healthy habits to help prevent heart disease.

Choose healthy meals and snacks to help prevent heart disease and its complications. Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and fewer processed foods.

• Eating lots of foods high in saturated fat and trans fat may contribute to heart disease.
• Eating foods high in fiber and low in saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol can help prevent high cholesterol.
  • Limiting salt (sodium) in your diet can also lower your blood pressure.
  • Limiting sugar in your diet can lower your blood sugar level to prevent or help control diabetes.
• Do not drink too much alcohol, which can raise your blood pressure. Men should have no more than 2 drinks per day, and women no more than 1 drink per day. For more information, visit CDC’s Alcohol and Public Health website.

Learn more about healthy diet and nutrition at CDC’s Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity website.

Find healthy, seasonal recipes on the Million Hearts® Recipes for a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle pageexternal icon.

Physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight and lower your blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. For adults, the Surgeon General recommends 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, like brisk walking or bicycling, every week. Children and adolescents should get 1 hour of physical activity every day.

For more information, see CDC’s Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity website.

Cigarette smoking greatly increases your risk for heart disease. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, quitting will lower your risk for heart disease. Your doctor can suggest ways to help you quit.

For more information about tobacco use and quitting, see CDC’s Smoking & Tobacco Use website.

Take Charge of Your Medical Conditions

If you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, you can take steps to lower your risk for heart disease.

Your health care team should test your blood levels of cholesterol at least once every 4 to 6 years. If you have already been diagnosed with high cholesterol or have a family history of the condition, you may need to have your cholesterol checked more often. Talk with your health care team about this simple blood test. If you have high cholesterol, medicines and lifestyle changes can help reduce your risk for heart disease.

High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, so have it checked on a regular basis. Your health care team should measure your blood pressure at least once every 2 years if you have never had high blood pressure or other risk factors for heart disease.

If you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, also called hypertension, your health care team will measure your blood pressure more often to make sure you have the condition under control. Talk with your health care team about how often you should check your blood pressure. You can check it at a doctor’s office, at a pharmacy, or at home.

If you have high blood pressure, your health care team might recommend some changes in your lifestyle, such as lowering the sodium in your diet; your doctor may also prescribe medicine to help lower your blood pressure.

If you take medicine to treat high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, follow your doctor’s instructions carefully. Always ask questions if you don’t understand something. Never stop taking your medicine without first talking to your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.

You and your health care team can work together to prevent or treat the medical conditions that lead to heart disease. Discuss your treatment plan regularly, and bring a list of questions to your appointments. Talk with your health care team about how heart disease and mental health disorders are related.

If you’ve already had a heart attack, your health care team will work with you to prevent another one. Your treatment plan may include medicines or surgery and lifestyle changes to reduce your risk. Be sure to take your medicines as directed and follow your doctor’s instructions.

Ready to start planning your care? Call us at 833-347-1665 to make an appointment.

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The cardiac diet is an eating plan that can help you minimize the impact of your diet on your heart health. The overall goal is to reduce sodium and fat intake. Too much sodium can increase your blood pressure, leading to hypertension. Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart attacks and other heart problems. Fat, on the other hand, can cause plaque to build up on your artery walls, also leading to heart disease.

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Other names for the cardiac diet include the heart-healthy diet, the low-sodium diet, and the DASH diet. (DASH stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension.)

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Cancer treatments can lead to short-term and long-term heart problems. The cardiac diet is helpful for people who are trying to manage high blood pressure, reduce their blood cholesterol level, or lower their risk of heart disease.

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Here are some guidelines that can help you avoid fat and sodium:

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FOOD GROUPS	FOODS TO INCLUDE
Milk and Dairy Products	Fat-free or 1 percent milk, yogurt, or cottage cheese Fat-free and low-fat cheese
Vegetables	All fresh vegetables All frozen vegetables Low-sodium canned vegetables (should be drained and rinsed)
Fruit and Juices	All fresh fruit All frozen fruit
Breads and Grains	Whole-wheat products, including bread, pasta, crackers, and cereals Brown rice Oats Quinoa Barley Low-fat crackers and pretzels Plain air-popped popcorn
Meats and Other Proteins	Lean cuts of beef and pork (loin, leg, round, and extra-lean ground meat) Skinless poultry Fish Venison and other wild game Dried beans and peas Nuts and nut butters Meat alternatives made with soy or textured vegetable protein Egg whites or egg substitute Cold cuts made with lean meat or soy protein
Fats and Oils	Unsaturated oils (olive, peanut, soy, sunflower, and canola) Soft or liquid margarines and vegetable oil spreads Salad dressings Seeds and nuts Avocados
Beverages	Water Sparkling water Tea Coffee

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If you are following the cardiac diet, the major foods to watch are salt and saturated fat. Saturated fats are usually animal-based sources of fat, such as butter and lard.

FOOD GROUPS	FOODS TO AVOID
Milk and Dairy Products	Whole milk 2 percent milk Whole-milk yogurt or ice cream Cream Half-and-half Cream cheese Sour cream Cheese
Vegetables	Fried vegetables Vegetables prepared with butter, cheese, or a cream sauce
Fruit and Juices	Fried fruits Fruits served with butter or cream
Breads and Grains	High-fat bakery products, such as doughnuts, biscuits, croissants, pastries, pies, and cookies Snacks made with partially hydrogenated oils, including chips, cheese puffs, snack mixes, regular crackers, and butter-flavored popcorn
Meats and Other Proteins	Higher-fat cuts of meat (ribs, T-bone steak, and regular ground meat) Bacon Sausage Cold cuts, such as salami or bologna Corned beef Hot dogs Organ meats (liver, brains, and sweetbreads) Poultry with skin Fried meat, poultry, and fish Whole eggs and egg yolks
Fats and Oils	Butter Stick margarine Shortening Partially hydrogenated oils Tropical oils (coconut, palm, and palm kernel)

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If you have been prescribed a blood thinner, such as warfarin (Coumadin®, Jantoven®), be sure to eat foods rich in vitamin K on a daily basis. This will help prevent blood clots and bleeding. Leafy green vegetables, including kale, spinach, and collards, are the best sources of vitamin K. For more information on vitamin K and blood thinners, ask your doctor or dietitian.

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The most common complaint among people on the cardiac diet is the lack of salt. Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can enhance the flavor of your food without the need for sodium.

Here are some suggestions:

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Here’s a blend of seasonings you can use when trying to cut back on salt. This makes about 1/3 cup.

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Choose heart-healthy carbohydrates.

Choose heart healthy fats.

Reduce fat through your protein choices.

Cut back on sodium.

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Check with your doctor before using any salt substitutes. These products contain large amounts of potassium that your doctor may not want you to have. In particular, people with kidney problems or those taking potassium-sparing diuretics need to take care with potassium. Other salt substitutes, such as Mrs. Dash, do not contain potassium and are safe for everyone.

Sodium claims:

Phrases like “low sodium” and “reduced saturated fat” refer to specific measurements. Here’s a key to understanding those terms:

Saturated fat claims:

How do I know what foods are the right amount of salt or saturated fat? Here are a few tips for reading saturated fat labels.

Try and choose foods with less than 5 grams of total fat per serving, less than 2 grams of saturated fat per serving, and 0 grams of trans fat per serving.

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When at a restaurant, don’t hesitate to make special requests. Here are some suggestions:

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