Miss Lori, week 2 Go Red BetterU Program; know your numbers

I am at the end of the second week of my journey to become a Better Me with the American Heart Association Go Red BetterU program, and though I don’t see any changes externally I definitely feel a change internally. And truly isn’t that the point? To become better I have to change my mindset, my habits, my instincts. But before I can begin to do any of that I need to understand what I am working with. That’s why I went to the hospital and had my heart screened. It’s one of the tasks for week two of the Go Red BetterU program. The idea is for me to fully understand my numbers. HDl, LDL, Triglycerides, blood pressure, weight, body mass index and the like. Now I gotta tell you. I did well in science in school, but I’m no doctor. (I don’t even play one on TV!) I’m as in the dark as most people when it comes to knowing and understanding what is good and what is bad when it comes to my biology. Which is why it was incredibly important for me to go to the hospital and have professionals not only test me, but provide me with an evaluation that I can review, along with suggestions for improvements, so I can be BETTER. And that’s just what I received in the mail this week.

My heart report started by saying that every year 1.5 million Americans suffer a heart attack. It went on to say, “this report is intended as a tool to help you learn where to focus your efforts to reduce your risk. You can then work with your healthcare providers to reduce, control or prevent as many risk factors as you can.” AWESOME! Let’s go!

First off was my Cholesterol Profile.

My numbers are:

Total Cholesterol   144 WNL (within Normal Limits)

HDL                         44 WNL

LDL                          85 WNL

Triglycerides            74 WNL

So that looked good to me …at first, because everything had a WNL, (within normal limits), after it. But as I read further I found out that HDL is supposed to be above 50, and below 40 is really bad. Hey, wait a minute. 44 doesn’t sound like a good number. But I needed to move on into the report, so I sucked in my breath and proceeded.

The second page detailed my…

Blood Pressure 90/60 WNL

BMI 35 HIGH

EKG (electrocardiogram) Abnormal

Fasting Glucose (blood Sugar) 85 mg/dl WNL

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) Assessment WNL

Now I was prepared for my BMI. I knew that number was not going to make me want to celebrate, but what really caught my attention was the word ABNORMAL after my EKG reading. Am I having a heart attack right now?! Did I already have one? No need to run to the emergency room just yet. But I should get to my primary physician (Ha-need to get one of those) and investigate a little further. Now I’m sweating, but I must push forward.

Moving on…

Page three made some recommendations. Yeah, actionable ideas! Unfortunately these were standard recommendations, and not personal to me and the findings of my report, But they are still solid reminders.

Engage in a dialog with your healthcare physician about this report

Continue to not smoke

Maintain your blood pressure

Maintain your cholesterol by reading labels and staying physically active

Lose weight and reduce your BMI

Going further into the report my actual EKG is included which looks like Hieroglyphics to me, but scary Hieroglyphics, because I know that somewhere in there is the word abnormal. But medicine isn’t supposed to be easy, (or taste good, as I always tell my children).

I have to tell you the truth. It really did take my breath away. But this journey isn’t supposed to be easy. This is about the raw truth. No more subterfuge. Brass tacks! Nitty gritty! (You get the idea.) Women need to wake up in general because we aren’t taking care of ourselves and our health. I am very guilty of that, and that’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m exposing myself in this way. That’s why I’m taking this bull by the horns and digging deeper. And doing so I hope I will find a BetterMe. Are you ready to be a BetterU?

SMILE On!

ML

This is a Level 2 post, Miss Lori is a Go Red BetterU Program Ambassador for the Summer of 2010

Miss Lori can be found Musing from her Minivan at MissLori.TV , Wearetherealdeal.com , YoungChicagonista , and ChicagoMomsBlog. She is also the new Chicago Family Entertainment Blogger for Examiner.com and a Discussion Leader for MomsLikeMeChicago. You can also see her Activating to Be Great at Miss Lori’s CAMPUS on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.