Heart Health Month: 7 New Things That We Learned Have An Effect ...

February is more than just a month to celebrate love that comes from our hearts -- it's also the month to recognize the health of our hearts.

To kick off the start of American Heart Month, we're taking a look back at what we've learned over the last year about keeping a healthy ticker. And for good reason, too: Recent research has shown that as many as one in three baby boomers will develop heart problems or have a stroke in their lives.

Check out our research roundup of factors we learned can influence your risk of heart problems:

• The Noise Level In Your Neighborhood

  The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/21/traffic-noise-heart-attack-residential_n_1615894.html">amount of traffic noise you can hear</a> from your home is linked with your heart attack risk, according to a study published in the journal PLOS One. The research, based on data collected from people who live in Denmark, shows that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/21/traffic-noise-heart-attack-residential_n_1615894.html">heart attack risk</a> goes up by 12 percent for every 10 decibels of traffic noise. The researchers speculated that the heart attack risk might be due to the fact that traffic noise can disturb sleep and increase stress levels in people constantly exposed to it.

• How Well You Sleep

  How well your <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/05/teens-sleep-heart-disease-cholesterol-blood-pressure_n_1929913.html">teen sleeps through the night</a> could make a big difference on his or her risk of developing heart problems later on in life. Findings published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal show an association between <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/05/teens-sleep-heart-disease-cholesterol-blood-pressure_n_1929913.html">sleep disturbances and blood pressure levels</a>, cholesterol levels and BMI in teens. "These findings are important, given that sleep disturbance is highly prevalent in adolescence and that <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121001124753.htm">cardiovascular disease risk factors</a> track from childhood into adulthood," study researcher Dr. Indra Narang, director of sleep medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children, said in a statement.

• What You Put On Your Plate

  We've long known that the food we consume can make a huge difference when it comes to heart health -- but several new studies from the past year have shed further light on what we SHOULD be eating: - More fruits and vegetables, according to a study in the journal Circulation, which shows that a diet heavy in produce, grains and fish could protect people with heart disease <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/03/fruits-vegetables-heart-attack-stroke_n_2232806.html">from having a heart attack</a>. - Foods high in antioxidants, according to a Swedish study in the American Journal of Medicine. That study showed that eating fruits and vegetables <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/27/antioxidants-heart-attack-women-risk_n_1910362.html">high in antioxidants </a>is linked with a lower heart attack risk in women. - <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/19/strawberries-blueberries-heart-attack-risk-women_n_2480050.html">Strawberries and blueberries</a>, according to a study in Circulation. Keeping these fruits in your daily diet rotation could help to lower heart attack risk in women. - Probiotics, those live microorganisms in foods like yogurt, according to a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association. Taking two doses a day of a kind of probiotic seemed to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/11/probiotics-cholesterol-levels-_n_2094121.html">decrease levels of total and "bad" cholesterol</a> in people with high cholesterol, according to the study.

• Your Good Habits Early On

  Starting and maintaining good, healthy habits in your 20s pays off big time for your heart later on in life, according to a Circulation study by Northwestern researchers. The study showed that people who were healthy as young adults -- meaning they had low BMIs, didn't drink a lot of alcohol, didn't smoke, ate healthfully and exercised regularly -- were also the ones who were more likely to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/03/heart-habits-young-adult_n_1317010.html">maintain their low risk for heart disease</a> into middle age. And the findings held true even for people with a family history of the disease!

• Smoke-Free Laws

  <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/heart-attack-smoke-free-workplace-law-secondhand-smoke_n_2040694.html">Smoke-free laws </a>aren't just doing our lungs a favor -- research in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows they're also linked with a decrease in heart attack and sudden cardiac death rates. Mayo Clinic researchers found that the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/29/heart-attack-smoke-free-workplace-law-secondhand-smoke_n_2040694.html">heart attack rate</a> in Minnesota's Olmsted County went down by 33 percent 18 months after smoke-free workplace laws were implemented, compared with 18 months before the laws were implemented. And sudden cardiac deaths decreased by 17 percent from the 18 months before the laws went into effect and 18 months after.

• Your Work Life

  Factors that might only seem relevant to your finances could also play a role in heart health, we learned this year. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/19/heart-attack-unemployment-risk_n_2161499.html">unemployment is associated with an increased heart attack risk</a>, and having multiple job losses is linked with higher blood pressure and higher likelihood of smoking, the Associated Press reported. Plus, a separate study in the European Journal of Public Health showed that the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/06/hourly-wage-hypertension-risk-high-blood-pressure_n_2405098.html">amount you make per hour</a> could affect your risk of high blood pressure, particularly in women and people between ages 25 and 44.

• What Season It Is

  Here's another reason to hate on winter -- a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association showed that deaths due to heart problems (such as heart attack, stroke and heart disease) are <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/heart-deaths-winter_n_2079589.html">more common in the winter</a> than in any other season, no matter what kind of climate you lived in. Even though the researchers didn't find what caused this association, they speculated that it could have something to do with higher blood pressure or blood vessels being constricted in colder temperatures. Another possible explanation is that people may lead more sedentary lifestyles during the winter months.

• You've Got Star Jones on Heart Health

  In this edition of You've Got, Star Jones talks about her heart health and how fitness helps her keep it.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/01/heart-health-month-2013-_n_2576513.html

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