Cardio quiz: use your head to protect your heart.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By the age of 40, your odds of having coronary heart disease coronary heart disease: see coronary artery disease. coronary heart disease or ischemic heart disease Progressive reduction of blood supply to the heart muscle due to narrowing or blocking of a coronary artery (see atherosclerosis). are one out of three if you're a woman and one out of two if you're a man. Each minute, another American will die of a heart attack. And dying isn't the only risk. Heart disease (like high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke) can increase your risk of dementia. What damages the blood vessels Blood vessels Tubular channels for blood transport, of which there are three principal types: arteries, capillaries, and veins. Only the larger arteries and veins in the body bear distinct names. that feed your heart may also harm the blood vessels that nourish your brain. The good news is that we understand more about how to prevent heart disease than almost any other major cause of death. Take our quiz to find out what you know ... and don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. . Don't worry if you draw a blank on some questions. They're tough. There is only one correct answer for each question. Signs of a Heart Attack 1. True or false? If you're under age 65, your risk of a heart attack is low. 2. All of these symptoms could be a sign of a heart attack EXCEPT: a. chest pain b. nausea c. neck pain d. double vision e. shortness of breath Shortness of Breath Definition Shortness of breath, or dyspnea, is a feeling of difficult or labored breathing that is out of proportion to the patient's level of physical activity. 3. True or false? Some signs of a heart attack are more common in women than in men. 4. If you have symptoms of a heart attack, but they're not severe, what should you do? a. call 911 immediately b. have someone drive you to the hospital immediately c. call 911 if the symptoms don't go away in 10 minutes d. take an aspirin and wait 10 minutes to see if the symptoms go away e. try to reach your doctor 5. True or false? Women are more likely to survive a heart attack than men. Risk Factors 6. All of the following are major risk factors for heart disease EXCEPT: a. high LDL LDL - ["LDL: A Logic-Based Data-Language", S. Tsur et al, Proc VLDB 1986, Kyoto Japan, Aug 1986, pp.33-41]. ("bad") cholesterol b. high blood pressure c. HDL (Hardware Description Language) A language used to describe the functions of an electronic circuit for documentation, simulation or logic synthesis (or all three). Although many proprietary HDLs have been developed, Verilog and VHDL are the major standards. ("good") cholesterol under 40 d. moderate alcohol consumption e. cigarette smoking 7. True or false? You need a fasting blood test to find out if your LDL ("bad") cholesterol is high. 8. Roughly what percent of women over age 75 have high blood pressure? a. 25 b. 45 c. 55 d. 75 e. 85 9. What percent of people over age 60 with high blood pressure get their pressure under control? a. 95 b. 75 c. 55 d. 35 e. 15 10. All of the following can lower blood pressure EXCEPT: a. eating a low-salt diet Noun 1. low-salt diet - a diet that limits the intake of salt (sodium chloride); often used in treating hypertension or edema or certain other disorders low-sodium diet, salt-free diet diet - a prescribed selection of foods b. losing excess weight c. taking a multivitamin mul·ti·vi·ta·min adj. Containing many vitamins. n. A preparation containing many vitamins. multivitamin d. limiting alcohol to one drink a day (women) or two drinks a day (men) e. exercise 11. True or false? High blood sugar can raise your risk of heart disease. 12. All of the following can lower your blood sugar EXCEPT: a. losing excess weight b. exercise c. taking a chromium supplement d. eating fewer refined carbs e. eating more beans 13. All of the following can raise HDL ("good") cholesterol EXCEPT: a. exercise b. consuming alcohol in moderation c. cutting saturated fat saturated fat, any solid fat that is an ester of glycerol and a saturated fatty acid. The molecules of a saturated fat have only single bonds between carbon atoms; if double bonds are present in the fatty acid portion of the molecule, the fat is said to be d. losing excess weight e. giving up cigarettes 14. The Metabolic Syndrome metabolic syndrome n. See syndrome X. Metabolic syndrome A group of risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. raises the risk of heart disease (and diabetes), Each of the following is part of the syndrome EXCEPT: a. a body mass index (BMI BMI body mass index. BMI abbr. body mass index Body mass index (BMI) A measurement that has replaced weight as the preferred determinant of obesity. ) in the overweight category b. blood triglycerides Triglycerides Fatty compounds synthesized from carbohydrates during the process of digestion and stored in the body's adipose (fat) tissues. High levels of triglycerides in the blood are associated with insulin resistance. of 150 or higher c. HDL ("good") cholesterol less than 40 in men and less than 50 in women d. blood pressure of 130/85 or higher e. fasting blood sugar of 110 or higher 15. True or false? Roughly one out of four Americans has the Metabolic Syndrome. 16. All of the following can lower triglycerides EXCEPT: a. eating more fiber b. eating less fat c. losing excess weight d. increasing exercise e. taking fish oil pills Foods 17. What's the most critical feature of a diet that lowers your LDL ("bad") cholesterol? a. low in fat b. high in protein c. low in carbohydrate d. high in fiber e. low in saturated and trans fat trans fat n. 1. A trans fatty acid. 2. Trans fatty acids considered as a group. trans fat A fat containing trans fatty acids. 18. True or false? Replacing carbs with protein or unsaturated fat unsaturated fat: see saturated fat. may protect your heart, 19. Eating all of the following can help lower your blood pressure EXCEPT: a. more vegetables b. more fruit c. less fatty meat d. more low-fat dairy foods e. more fat-free sweets 20. Which cereal is most likely to lower your risk of heart disease? a. Cheerios b. All-Bran c. Total d. Grape-Nuts Flakes e. Kellogg's Smart Start Antioxidants Antioxidants Substances that reduce the damage of the highly reactive free radicals that are the byproducts of the cells. Mentioned in: Aging, Nutritional Supplements antioxidants, n. 21. A 6 oz. serving of which food has the least saturated fat? a. skinless chicken breast b. trimmed pork chop Pork Chop An arrangement on the floor of the NYSE whereby clerks cover the booth of a floor broker and accept orders, phone calls, and associated tasks. Notes: The clerks in charge of maintaining the booths are directly compensated by the floor brokers who own them. c. trimmed filet mignon fi·let mi·gnon n. pl. fi·lets mi·gnons A small, round, very choice cut of beef from the loin. [French : filet, fillet + mignon, dainty.] Noun 1. d. skinless chicken thigh e. trimmed sirloin steak [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 22. A 3 oz. serving of which food has the least saturated fat? a. 90% lean ground beef b. ground round c. ground sirloin d. ground turkey e. ground turkey breast 23. Which of these foods is least likely to have trans fat? a. cookies b. potato chips c. pie crust d. French fries e. microwave popcorn 24. A serving of which of these foods tends to be lowest in sodium? a. frozen entrees b. lunch meats c. canned soups d. salted nuts e. pasta sauce 25. Which of these spreads should lower your cholesterol the most? a. butter b. light butter c. stick margarine d. tub margarine e. fat-free margarine 26. Which of these nutrients is most likely to lower your risk of a heart attack? a. potassium b. vitamin C vitamin C or ascorbic acid Water-soluble organic compound important in animal metabolism. Most animals produce it in their bodies, but humans, other primates, and guinea pigs need it in the diet to prevent scurvy. c. folic acid folic acid: see coenzyme; vitamin. folic acid or folate Organic compound essential to animal growth and health and needed by bacteria as a growth factor. d. vitamin E vitamin E or tocopherol Fat-soluble organic compound found principally in certain plant oils and leaves of green vegetables. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant in body tissues and may prolong life by slowing oxidative destruction of membranes. e. calcium 27. Which of these foods is most likely to protect your heart? a. green tea b. nuts c. chocolate d. coffee e. soy milk Soy milk (also called soya milk or soybean milk) and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage and even soy latte) is a beverage made from soybeans originating from China. 28. Which sandwich typically has the most saturated fat? a. egg salad Egg salad is part of an Anglo-American tradition of salads involving a high-protein or high-carbohydrate food mixed with seasonings in the form of spices, herbs, and other foods, and bound with an oil-based dressing. b. roast beef c. grilled cheese d. tuna salad e. turkey 29. Which of the following is the best source of omega-3 fats? a. tuna b. salmon c. flaxseed oil Noun 1. flaxseed oil - a drying oil extracted from flax seed and used in making such things as oil paints linseed oil linoleic acid, linolic acid - a liquid polyunsaturated fatty acid abundant in plant fats and oils; a fatty acid essential for nutrition; d. soybean oil Soy´bean oil n. 1. an oil obtained from the soybean (Glycine max), rich in protein, fats, sterols, and phospholipids, used as a food and in paints and varnishes and in various industrial applications; - e. soy milk with added omega-3s 30. All of the following should help lower your cholesterol EXCEPT: a. oatmeal b. beans c. orange juice with plant sterols sterols (ster´ôlz), n.pl steroids having one or more hydroxyl groups and no carbonyl or carboxyl groups (e.g., cholesterol). d. eggs with omega-3s e. broccoli ANSWERS Signs of a Heart Attack 1. False. Don't assume you're too young to worry about your heart. Forty-five percent of heart attacks strike people younger than 65. Five percent occur in people under age 40. 2. d (double vision). Only 11 percent of people know the most common symptoms of a heart attack, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a 2001 survey. Chest pain and shortness of breath are the most common ones, but you can also experience nausea or pain in the neck, jaw, back, stomach, or arms. And you may feel discomfort rather than a severe or stabbing pain. Other symptoms: breaking out in a cold sweat cold sweat n. A reaction to nervousness, fear, pain, or shock, characterized by simultaneous perspiration and chill and cold moist skin. or light-headedness. (Double vision can be a sign of a stroke. That's another reason to call 911.) 3. True. Both men and women are most likely to feel chest pain or discomfort, but women are more likely than men to experience shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and back or jaw pain. 4. a (call 911 immediately). Wait no more than 5 minutes--less is better--if you have signs of a heart attack. It doesn't matter if some symptoms go away, because they may return. If you call 911, emergency medical staff can start treating you when they arrive, and they're trained to revive someone whose heart has stopped. Clot-busting drugs only work if they're given soon after a heart attack (or stroke) begins. 5. False. Women are less likely to survive a heart attack than men. Researchers aren't sure why. Some theories: women are often older when they have a heart attack, they may wait longer to call 911, or doctors may treat women less aggressively than men. Risk Factors 6. d (moderate alcohol consumption). Other major risk factors include diabetes and age (over 45 for men and over 55 for women). You're also at risk if heart disease was diagnosed in your brother or father before age 55 or your sister or mother before age 65. One serving of alcohol a day (women) or two servings (men) may lower heart disease risk (though it may slightly raise breast cancer risk). 7. True. To accurately measure your LDL ("bad") cholesterol, your doctor has to take a blood sample after a 12-hour fast--usually before you eat breakfast. Some doctors do a non-fasting blood test first and then a fasting test if total cholesterol is at least 200 or HDL is under 40, but a fasting blood test is best. 8. e (85%). High blood pressure raises the risk of heart attack. The proportion of people with hypertension climbs steadily with age. 9. d (35%). Only one out of three people aged 60 or older with hypertension get their blood pressure under control (below 140 over 90). One out of four people aged 40 or older (and one out of two under 40) with high blood pressure don't even know they have it. 10. c (taking a multivitamin). There is no good evidence that a multi can lower blood pressure. Researchers estimate that you can expect systolic blood pressure Systolic blood pressure Blood pressure when the heart contracts (beats). Mentioned in: Hypertension to drop 4 to 9 points from 30 minutes of exercise each day, 5 to 20 points by losing 20 pounds, 2 to 4 points by limiting alcohol, and 2 to 8 points by cutting salt to 2,400 mg a day. 11. True. If you have diabetes (a fasting blood sugar over 125), you are two to four times more likely to have a heart attack than someone without diabetes. People with diabetes are also more likely to die after a heart attack. Even mildly elevated blood sugar (110 to 125) may increase your risk of heart disease if you also have at least two other signs of the Metabolic Syndrome (see question #14). 12. c (taking chromium). Chromium is widely advertised to lower blood glucose levels blood glucose level, n level of glu-cose in the bloodstream, normally about 70 to 115 mg/dL after fasting overnight. Higher levels may indicate diseases such as diabetes mellitus. , but well-designed studies find that it has no effect in non-diabetics. (The results in people with diabetes are inconclusive.) Your best bet is to lose weight (especially if you carry it around your waist) and to exercise for (ideally) an hour a day. Exercise helps even if you don't lose weight. Cutting back on sweets (soft drinks, cookies, pastries, ice cream, etc.) and replacing refined carbs (like white bread) with whole grains may also help. Ditto for choosing carbohydrates (like vegetables, beans, peas, and pasta) that help keep a lid on blood sugar. 13. c (cutting saturated fat). Eating less saturated fat won't raise your HDL ("good") cholesterol, even though it can lower your LDL ("bad") cholesterol. In fact, eating more sat fat can raise HDL (but it also raises LDL). Boosting monounsaturated fat monounsaturated fat A saturated fatty acid–ie, an alkyl chain fatty acid with one ethylenic–double bond between the carbons in the fatty acid chain. See Fatty acid, Saturated fatty acid; Cf Polyunsaturated fatty acid, Unsaturated fatty acid. , on the other hand, raises HDL but not LDL. Some good sources of monos: olive oil olive oil, pale yellow to greenish oil obtained from the pulp of olives by separating the liquids from solids. Olive oil was used in the ancient world for lighting, in the preparation of food, and as an anointing oil for both ritual and cosmetic purposes. , canola oil Noun 1. canola oil - vegetable oil made from rapeseed; it is high in monounsaturated fatty acids canola vegetable oil, oil - any of a group of liquid edible fats that are obtained from plants , avocado, and almonds. 14. a (a BMI in the overweight category). Extra pounds are part of the Metabolic Syndrome only if they're around your waist. A waist larger than 40 inches in men or 35 inches in women is another feature of the Metabolic Syndrome. If you have at least three of the five features, you've got it. 15. True. The best way to reverse the Metabolic Syndrome is to exercise and to lose weight, which will lower triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure and raise HDL. 16. b (eating less fat). A diet that's low in all fats can boost triglycerides in some people because it will also be high in carbohydrates. If your triglycerides are high, replace some of your carbs (in breads, cereals, pasta, rice, and sweets) with lean protein and unsaturated fats (in nuts, avocado, oils, mayonnaise, and salad dressing). Foods 17. e (low in saturated and trans fat). Cutting saturated (and trans) fat is key to lowering LDL ("bad") cholesterol. That means cutting back on fatty meats, cheese, cream, butter, and most sweets. Replace them with lean protein (seafood, skinless poultry, low-fat dairy foods), fruits, vegetables, and some unsaturated fats (like tub margarine or oil). 18. True. In the OmniHeart trial, a diet that was higher in (lean) protein or unsaturated fats lowered the estimated 10-year risk of heart disease more than a diet that was higher in carbs. (All three diets were low in saturated fat and sodium and rich in fruits and vegetables.) 19. 8 (more fat-free sweets). In well-designed studies, blood pressure fell when people ate more fruits and vegetables (about 10 servings a day), ate more low-fat dairy (2 servings a day), replaced saturated fat (fatty meat, cheese, butter, etc.) with monounsaturated fat (olive or canola oil, etc.), cut salt (to 2,300 mg a day), and had no more than a couple of Peppermint Patties, gingersnaps, or other sweets a few times a week. 20. b (All-Bran). Researchers who pooled ten studies that tracked more than 300,000 people for 6 to 10 years found a lower risk of heart disease among those who ate more total fiber. All-Bran has more (10 grams per serving) than the other cereals (3 grams). The soluble fiber in Cheerios (1 gram per cup) does lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol, but not as much as ads suggest. When people ate 3 cups a day, their cholesterol dropped an average of 7 points. But that's 420 calories' worth of food (3 cups of Cheerios plus 1 1/2 cups of fat-free milk). All-Bran isn't the only high-fiber cereal. Look for any whole-grain cereal with at least 5 grams of total fiber per serving. Examples: raisin bran Noun 1. raisin bran - bran flakes with raisins cold cereal, dry cereal - a cereal that is not heated before serving , shredded wheat Shredded Wheat is a breakfast cereal made from whole wheat. It comes in two sizes, bite sized (3/4 in x 1 in), and normal size, which are sometimes broken into small pieces before adding milk. , bran flakes, Grape-Nuts (not Flakes), and General Mills  This article or section may contain a proseline.Please help [ convert this timeline] into prose or, if necessary, a . Fiber One. (See Apr. 2006, p. 12.) 21. a (skinless chicken breast). A 6 oz. serving of roasted, skinless chicken breast has less saturated fat (2 grams) than an equal serving of skinless chicken thigh or trimmed pork chops (5 grams), trimmed sirloin (7 grams), or trimmed filet mignon (8 grams). And keep in mind that a typical restaurant serving of sirloin or pork chops is closer to 9 oz. 22. e (ground turkey breast). You get 5 grams of saturated fat in 3 oz. of cooked ground round, more than the 4 grams in ground sirloin or in 90% lean ground beef (which is 10% fat). Cooked ground turkey could have up to 3 grams of sat fat if it includes ground up skin, but ground turkey breast has virtually no sat fat. 23. b (potato chips). While the other foods are more likely than chips to have trans fat, always check the Nutrition Facts label The nutrition facts label (also known as the nutrition information panel, and various other slight variations) is a label required on most pre-packaged foods in North America, United Kingdom and other countries. . Assume that French fries from restaurants have trans fat unless the menu says otherwise. 24. d (salted nuts). You can't tell sodium by taste. Like potato or tortilla chips, salted nuts taste salty because their salt is on the surface. A 1/4-cup serving of salted, dry-roasted peanuts has only about 200 mg of sodium, while a serving of lunch meat or pasta sauce typically has at least 500 mg, and soups and frozen entrees often have 500 to 1,000 mg. 25. d (tub margarine). Butter has saturated fat, light butter has half as much sat fat, and most stick margarines have trans and sat fat, so all should raise your cholesterol. Ordinary tub margarines, which have little or no trans or sat fat, should help lower cholesterol. Fat-free spreads are lower in calories (10 to 20 per tablespoon) than regular spreads (60 to 100), but they won't lower your cholesterol because they're mostly water, rather than unsaturated fats. Light tubs (with 40 to 50 calories per tablespoon) may be the best compromise. 26. a (potassium). In large trials, folic acid and vitamins E and C didn't lower the risk of heart disease. And the evidence that calcium can lower blood pressure is iffy if·fy adj. if·fi·er, if·fi·est Informal Doubtful; uncertain: an iffy proposition. [From if. . Potassium should cut the risk of heart disease because it lowers blood pressure. (Trials with potassium have looked only at blood pressure, not heart attacks or strokes.) It's best to get potassium from foods rather than supplements. Shoot for 4,700 mg a day from foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, seafood, and low-fat dairy. 27. b (nuts). Nuts are rich in polyunsaturated fat Noun 1. polyunsaturated fat - a class of fats having long carbon chains with many double bonds unsaturated with hydrogen atoms; used in some margarines; supposedly associated with low blood cholesterol , they lower cholesterol, and nut eaters have a lower risk of heart disease. In contrast, there's no good human evidence that tea (green or black) or coffee protects the heart. So far, only one study has found that a modest serving of chocolate lowered blood pressure. Soy protein Soy protein is generally regarded as the storage protein held in discrete particles called protein bodies which are estimated to contain at least 60–70% of the total soybean protein. appeared to lower cholesterol in early studies, but not in recent, better designed ones. 28. c (grilled cheese). Any time you add cheese to a sandwich, the saturated fat climbs. At a typical dell or restaurant, you can expect a grilled cheese sandwich A grilled cheese sandwich, (also known as cheese toasty or toasted cheese sandwich) is a form of toasted sandwich that consists of two slices of bread and at least one slice of cheese melted in between. to have 17 grams of sat fat, egg salad to have 10 grams, tuna salad to have 8 grams, roast beef to have 4 grams, and turkey to have 2 grams (not counting any extra mayo on the bread). But thanks to the unsaturated fat in the tuna salad's mayo, it's unlikely to raise your cholesterol. (Unfortunately, all that mayo jacks up the calories to the 700s--almost twice as much as the turkey sandwich.) 29. b (salmon). The long-chain omega-3 fats in fish oil, DHA DHA docosahexaenoic acid. DHA, n.pr See acid, docosahexaenoic. and EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. , may lower your risk of heart disease (and possibly memory loss, macular degeneration macular degeneration, eye disorder causing loss of central vision. The affected area, the macula, lies at the back of the retina and is the part that produces the sharpest vision. , and cancer). Salmon has more DHA and EPA than tuna. Soy and flaxseed oil contain ALA (alpha-linolenic acid Noun 1. alpha-linolenic acid - a polyunsaturated fatty acid with 18 carbon atoms; the only omega-3 fatty acid found in vegetable products; it is most abundant in canola oil; a fatty acid essential for nutrition ), a shorter-chain omega-3 fat. So far, the evidence that ALA prevents heart disease is uncertain, and the body converts only small amounts of ALA into DHA. Some companies add both ALA and DHA to soy milk (and other foods), but they don't add much DHA. 30. d (eggs with omega-3s). The cholesterol in eggs still raises LDL ("bad") cholesterol, even if the eggs have added DHA (one of the omega-3 fats in fish oil). Stick to no more than four egg yolks a week. Oatmeal, beans, and broccoli are good sources of soluble fiber. (Check our chart--and cereal labels--for more.) Expect a 6% drop in LDL if you eat 5 to 10 grams a day of soluble fiber. Minute Maid HeartWise Orange Juice, Benecol or Promise Activ spread, and other foods with added plant sterols should also lower LDL cholesterol LDL cholesterol n. See low-density lipoprotein. LDL Cholesterol Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is the primary cholesterol molecule. High levels of LDL increase the risk of coronary heart disease. (assuming they're low in saturated fat). Expect a drop of about 10% if you eat 0.8 grams of plant sterols a day. (Companies typically add 1 gram to each serving.)
How'd You Do?
Score
22-30 Wow! How'd you find time between
your heart patients to take a quiz?
15-21 Good Job! Can we give low scorers
your number?
8-14 E-h-h-h-h. Using those old Nutrition
Actions to line your kitty box?
0-7 Oops! Thought about moving ... a
little closer to the hospital, perhaps?
Where to Find Soluble Fiber
Grains (grams)
Oatmeal (1 cup cooked) 2
Instant oatmeal (1 packet) 1
Beans & Lentils (1/2 cup cooked)
Kidney beans 3
Black, navy, pinto beans 2
Lentils, chickpeas, black-eyed peas 1
Fruit (1)
Orange, grapefruit, pear 2
Prunes (1/4 cup) 1.5
Apple, banana, peach, plum 1
Vegetables (1/2 cup cooked)
Brussels sprouts 3
Broccoli, carrots 1
Source: NHLBI.
Prevalence of High Blood Pressure in Americans Age
20 and Older by Age and Sex
NHANES: 1999-2004
Percent of Population
Ages Men Women
20-34 11.2 6.4
35-44 23.2 18.3
45-54 37.5 37.4
55-64 49.1 55.4
65-74 63.6 73.9
75+ 69.5 83.8
Source: NCHS and NHLBI.
Note: Table made from bar graph.
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