According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the United States, accounting for 1 in 7 deaths in the U.S. In the U.S., someone has a stroke every 40 seconds¹.

One of the biggest contributors to these statistics is a lack of commitment to healthy living. Your lifestyle is your #1 defense against heart disease and stroke and following the steps below can greatly decrease your risk to Heart Disease and Stroke.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, occurs when your blood pressure increases to unhealthy levels. Your blood pressure measurement considers how quickly blood is passing through your veins and the amount of resistance the blood meets while it’s pumping. Click here for more information on hypertension.

To control your hypertension, you can either take medicine prescribed by your doctor or try lifestyle changes first. If your blood pressure is very high - higher than 160/100, or when either number is higher – it is recommended that you start with medicine to lower it immediately. Either way, you will need to adjust your lifestyle to live more of a heart-healthy lifestyle and lower your risk for heart attack and stroke.

When it comes to dietary fat, what matters most is the type of fat you eat. Healthy fats are necessary and beneficial for your health; however unhealthy fats raise your cholesterol and can harm your heart.

Rather than adopting a low-fat diet, it’s more important to focus on eating beneficial "good" fats and avoiding harmful "bad" fats. Fat is an important part of a healthy diet. Choose foods with "good" unsaturated fats, limit foods high in saturated fat, and avoid "bad" trans-fat.