New AHA guidelines--easy to follow and good for your health: talk about great timing. In February 2004, the American Heart Association (AHA) released new guidelines that take a personal approach to preventing cardiovascular disease in women.

While some of the guidelines deal with medication--when to prescribe, how much, the best choices--many deal with lifestyle changes that study after study have shown are effective at lowering blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels, minimizing atherosclerosis and, overall, reducing a woman's risk of developing heart disease, based on her individual cardiovascular health. To read about these guidelines, visit: http://www.americanheart.org. All of the recommendations are relatively easy to follow and will provide health benefits far beyond your heart. They include:

* Quit smoking cigarettes. Nearly one in five women smokes, despite this habit's grave health consequences. Quitting as soon as possible can begin to restore your health. Today, there's no reason to go it alone when quitting. You can use patches, gums, nasal sprays, even candies to reduce your nicotine cravings. Numerous online and real-life support groups will hold your hand, and the financial savings alone should be enough of an incentive (if you've been spending $3 a pack, you'll save $1,000 by the end of the year).

* Get active. You know the drill: Move! Walk, run, garden, bike, swim, climb stairs. Do whatever you have to do to increase your heart rate for at least 30 minutes a day. One major study found that women who walked briskly for three or more hours per week (about 30 minutes a day) slashed their risk of heart disease 35 percent compared to women who walked less frequently.

* Follow a heart-healthy diet. No surprises here. The studies showing the beneficial effects of a diet loaded with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fiber and lean protein could fill a wall in most libraries. Ideally, you would limit saturated fat (found in animal products) to less than seven percent of your daily calories, dietary cholesterol (also high in animal products) to less than 200 mg/day, and limit your intake of trans-fatty acids, a fat produced when oil is turned into solid fat through a chemical process called hydrogenation. Eating a large amount of trans-fatty acids, found in some margarines, for example, also raises blood cholesterol and heart disease risk.

Also try to eat fish several times a week. Most forms of fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, shown in numerous studies to reduce high blood pressure, improve the heart's electrical activity and reduce atherosclerosis. Although some fish are not advised for pregnant and women of childbearing age because of high mercury levels, you can still eat catfish, flounder and wild salmon, which contain omega-3 fatty acids but have far less mercury.

* Watch your weight. Sure, it's a rare woman who hasn't put on a few pounds by the time she hits 40 (or 30). But those extra pounds contribute to a variety of heart disease risks, including high blood pressure and diabetes. If you follow the diet and physical activity recommendations outlined above, you should be able to maintain a healthy body mass index, or BMI, (a measurement of height in comparison to weight) between 18.5 and 24.9.

RELATED ARTICLE: Questions to Ask About High Cholesterol 

Ask your health care professional these questions to learn more about heart disease and high cholesterol:

1. What is my overall risk for heart disease? Can we review my risk factors?

2. What type of test best measures my cholesterol levels?

3. Will you explain the results of my cholesterol test?

4. If I have high LDL cholesterol, what lifestyle and dietary changes can I make to lower it?

5. When and how often should I have my cholesterol level checked from now on?

6. Based on my cholesterol and other risk factors, am I a good candidate for statin use? What are the risks and benefits of using a statin medication?

7. Are there alternative medications I can take if I cannot or do not wish to use a statin?

By Pamela Peeke, MD, MPH NWHRC Medical Advisor

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Dr. Peeke is a Pew Foundation Scholar in Nutrition and Metabolism, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. She writes about health and lifestyle issues important to all women.