While there are certain risk factors that you cannot control, such as family history, there are many things you can do to improve the health of your heart and stave off heart disease. The risk factors that you can control are:

Type 2 diabetes
Physical inactivity
High blood cholesterol
High blood pressure
Smoking cigarettes
Overweight

Reducing your risks for heart disease requires lifestyle changes. A heart healthy lifestyle includes eating healthy, being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight, and limiting alcohol and tobacco use. That is a pretty long list of lifestyle changes for some people. So how do you get started?

Every journey begins in our minds, in our hearts, and in our spirit. In our minds, we must have a clear image of where we want to go. In our hearts, we must know that we are committing ourselves to a goal that will help our families and our community. By making these lifestyle changes to reduce our risk of heart disease, we are doing what we can to be here for the people whom we love. Some people often call for spiritual guidance to help them be strong, be positive, and have a good outlook on life.

Before making lifestyle changes, it is helpful to know your starting point for these important risk factors:

1. Blood pressure
2. Blood cholesterol
3. Blood sugar (diabetes)
4. Weight. Write down your weight and the numbers of your test results for blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugar.

Learn the healthy numbers for your weight and these tests, and use them as your goals. As you make lifestyle changes, weigh yourself and repeat the tests to measure your progress toward your goals. Keep track of your numbers over time, so that you can learn what works for you and make adjustments.

Start by making just a few lifestyle changes. Remember that you are making changes for the rest of your life, not just for a week or a month. Set some goals that are easy to achieve. Try making one goal for exercise and another goal for eating. Keep a record of your activities. Feel the positive rewards of achieving your goals. Then set more goals.

You don’t have to do this alone. Ask your family and friends for support. When your family makes changes with you, everyone will be strengthening their hearts. Also, you can visit www.healthierchicago.org/heart for more information on support.