upcoming opportunities for free biometric screening
Healthier You 2012
Sign Up at the Healthier You Kickoff on January 21, 2012, at the Valdez Civic Center. Screening appointments will be for January 24, 25 and 26 and will take place at the Prince William Sound Community College Training Room.
8 – 12 hours of fasting is recommended prior to screening. Screening includes cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure, height, weight, BMI numbers. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
numbers matter
What’s in a number??
Did you ever think that your waist size might predict your risk for heart attack?
120/80, 35, 40, 30, 100
- Cholesterol
- BMI
- Waist circumference
- Blood pressure
What numbers do you know $3.49/gallon, every 3000 miles- for oil change…….What about your own numbers????
Getting to know your own numbers can help keep your body in check, when is the last time you had a tune up?? If regular maintenance can make you car run past the 100,000 mile mark, wouldn’t it do the same for you?
Knowing your numbers is the beginning to knowing where you start. 1 out of 2.9 deaths in the US is related to some form of cardiovascular disease. This is the number one cause of death in the USA. Why should we care? Can we do something about it??
Blood Pressure
- Normal blood pressure is below 120/80.
- Pre-hypertension is 120 to 139 (systolic) and/or 80 to 89 (diastolic).
- Hypertension – also known as high blood pressure — is 140 or higher (systolic) and 90 or higher (diastolic).
- One in three adults in the U.S. — about 74 million people — has high blood pressure or pre-hypertension. Between 1996 and 2006, the number of deaths from high blood pressure rose by more than 48%.
Cholesterol
- Total cholesterol of 200 mg/dL or lower.
- HDL (“good” cholesterol) of 50 mg/dL or higher, if you’re a woman, or 40 mg/dL or higher, if you’re a man.
- Optimal LDL is 100 If you have other major risk factors, like pre-existing cardiovascular disease or diabetes, your doctor may want your LDL closer to 70.
- Triglycerides of less than 150 mg/dL.
Waist Circumference
This predicts how much extra adipose (fatty tissue) is around your heart and internal organs, increasing your risk for heart disease. If you can only remember one number, your waist size is the one to know! Why? Because better than your weight or your BMI, your waist size predicts your heart disease risk. If your waist size is equal to or more than 35 inches in women and equal to or more than 40 inches in men, it increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic problems, high blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol.
Blood Sugar
A normal fasting blood sugar is less than 100 mg/dL. Prediabetes is a fasting blood sugar of 100 to 125 mg/dL. You may have diabetes if your fasting blood sugar is 126 mg/dL or greater, measured on two separate occasions.
If you have diabetes, then looking for a normal Hemoglobin A1C is a measure of control, with better outcomes for numbers less than 7.0, ideally less than 6.5.
Want to know your numbers?
SWAN is offering free biometrics screening at the Healthy Living EXPO, September 14, 2010. Get your numbers so you can make good decisions about your health.
