Know and understand your health numbers

What’s in a number? When it comes to your health, the answer is plenty. That’s because knowing and understanding certain numbers can keep you from being caught off-guard by many serious illnesses, and help you maintain or even improve your health. Here are the numbers that matter the most.

Blood pressure

Every time your heart beats, it pumps blood into your arteries so that it can be distributed to the rest of your body. Your blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. If your blood pressure rises and stays high over time, it can damage your heart, blood vessels, kidneys, and other parts of your body. This can increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, and other health complications.

High blood pressure (hypertension) typically develops over many years, occurring most often in older age. Yet the condition rarely causes signs or symptoms, even if your blood pressure readings reach dangerously high levels.

• The numbers. When your blood pressure is taken, you’ll see it listed as one number over another. The first, or top, number measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats while pumping blood (systolic pressure). The second, or bottom, number measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart is at rest between beats (diastolic pressure). Here’s what the numbers represent:

• Normal blood pressure: Less than 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg)

• Prehypertension: Between 120/80 and 139/89 mm Hg

• Hypertension: 140/90 mm Hg or more

Blood sugar

Most of the food you eat is broken down into glucose, a type of sugar that passes into your bloodstream and is used by your cells for growth and energy. For this blood sugar to get into your cells, however, it needs insulin — a hormone produced by your pancreas. Under normal circumstances, your pancreas automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move glucose from your blood into your cells. Yet when you have diabetes, this system goes awry, causing glucose to build up in your blood and eventually pass out of your body in your urine. In the long term, diabetes can lead to serious complications — including heart disease, kidney failure, stroke, nerve damage, and blindness. This is particularly true if the disease is undiagnosed or poorly controlled.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease. However, signs and symptoms — which include increased thirst and frequent urination, weight loss, and fatigue — may not occur in the initial stages of the disease. Prediabetes — a condition in which your blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes — can also be present for years without being detected. However, it’s possible to prevent prediabetes from becoming type 2 diabetes by making dietary changes and becoming more physically active.

• The numbers. Experts recommend routine screening for type 2 diabetes beginning at age 45. This may be done sooner if you’re considered at high risk of the disease. If the results are normal, it’s recommended that screening be repeated every three years. Screening may be performed with one of these tests:

• Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) test. This test indicates your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months by measuring the percentage of blood sugar attached to hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. An HbA1C level of 6.5 percent or higher on two separate tests indicates you have diabetes. A result between 5.7 and 6.4 percent is considered prediabetes.

• Fasting blood sugar (FBS) or fasting plasma glucose (FPG). With this test, a blood sample is taken after you fast overnight. A fasting blood sugar level less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) is normal. A level from 100 to 125 mg/dL is considered prediabetes. If your fasting blood sugar is 126 mg/dL or higher on two separate tests, you’ll be diagnosed with diabetes.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance found in all cells of your body. Although your body needs some cholesterol to work properly, having too much in your blood can increase your risk of heart disease. That’s because cholesterol can build up in the walls of your arteries and impede the flow of blood to your heart. A blood test, known as lipoprotein profile, can check for levels of cholesterol including your total cholesterol; low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol, the main source of cholesterol buildup (plaques) in arteries; high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol, which helps keep plaques from building up in arteries; and triglycerides, another form of fat In your blood.

• The numbers. It’s recommended that you have your cholesterol levels checked once every five years, starting at age 20. Here are the levels that are considered the best for cardiovascular health:

• Total cholesterol: Less than 200 mg/dL

• LDL cholesterol: Less than 100 mg/dL

• HDL cholesterol: 60 mg/dL or above

• Triglycerides: Less than 150 mg/dL

Your doctor may recommend different target numbers, depending on your risk of heart disease and your current medical conditions and treatments.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Being overweight or obese makes you more likely to develop everything from heart disease and high blood pressure to type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. One way to determine if you have extra body weight or an excess amount of body fat is to look at your body mass index (BMI), which measures your weight in relation to your height.

• The numbers. Here’s how BMI numbers are split into different weight categories:

• Normal weight: 18.5 to 24.9

• Overweight: 25.0 to 29.9

• Obese: 30.0 to 39.9

• Extreme obesity : 40.0 and above

Your doctor can help you calculate your BMI and discuss ways so you can control or lose weight with diet and exercise. Also included in this article is a BMI chart for your easy reference. I suggest that you cut it out and keep it as a guide.

Waist circumference

Research has shown that if you carry fat mainly around your waist, you’re more likely to develop heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems than if you carry fat mainly around your hips and thighs. This is true even if your BMI falls within normal range.

• The numbers. Your risk of disease is increased with a waist measurement of 35 inches or more if you’re a woman and 40 inches or more if you are a man. To take an accurate waist measurement, wrap a flexible, cloth-like tape measure around the circumference of your waist at its smallest point, usually at the level of your navel.

If you’re diagnosed with health conditions such as high blood pressure, or have been categorized as prediabetic, your weight may be an issue. Also, if you have a family history of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or high blood pressure, you’re more likely to be at increased risk of developing weight-related health problems.

The good news is that you don’t have to panic if your BMI indicates you’re overweight or obese, or your waist measurement exceeds healthy guidelines. Even modest weight loss — of only five to 10 pounds — can benefit most people and help prevent the development of serious disorders. Your doctor can help you better understand your measurements and help you set healthy weight goals. –Tyrone M. Reyes, M.D. (The Philippine Star)