Stroke Center
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Goals for a Healthy Life
Stroke is not inevitable. You may reduce your risk for stroke by being physically active, making heart-healthy eating a habit, not smoking, limiting alcohol intake and working with your doctor to reach or maintain these goals for a healthy life:
| Total Cholesterol | Less than 200 mg/dL |
| LDL (bad) Cholesterol | LDL cholesterol goals vary.
-For people who don't have heart disease and one or no risk factors, the goal is less than 160 mg/dL.
-For most people with two or more risk factors, the goal is less than 130 mg/dL.
-For people who have heart disease, or diabetes, the goal is to keep the LDL below 100 mg/dL. |
| HDL (good) Cholesterol | 50 mg/dL or higher for women and 40 mg/dL or higher for men |
| Triglycerides | Less than 150 mg/dL |
| Blood Pressure | Less than 120/80 mmHg |
| Fasting Glucose | Less than 100 mg/dL |
| Body Mass Index (BMI) | Less than 25 Kg/m² and greater than 18.5 Kg/m² |
| Waist circumference | Less than 35 inches |
| Exercise | A minimum of 30 minutes most days, if not all days of the week. |
| Eat a balanced diet | emphasizing a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, low-fat or non-fat dairy products, fish, legumes and sources of protein low in saturated fat (e.g., poultry, lean meats and plant sources). |
| Schedule regular visits with your doctor. | |
If a healthy diet and regular exercise is not enough to reduce your risk of stroke, ask your doctor about medication and take it as prescribed. Even if you take medication, a healthy diet and exercise are important.