Know your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, and work with your health-care team to achieve your goals:
Normal blood pressure is 120/80 to 130/85.
Your total cholesterol count should be 5.2 or less.
Women should have a fasting blood test, to measure their LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, HDL (“good”) cholesterol, the ratio of these to their total blood cholesterol, and their triglyceride levels.
LDL should be 45 mmol/L (or 2.0 mmol/L if you are at high risk of a heart attack or have heart disease)
HDL should be 1.29 or higher
total blood cholesterol should be less than 5.2 mmol/L
blood triglycerides should be less than 1.7 mmol/L
Newer blood tests that cue markers for heart disease include homocysteine and C-reactive protein tests. High levels of homocysteine and C-reactive protein may increase your risk of stroke and certain types of heart disease.
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