Lynchburg Business

Know Your Numbers

Issue: April 2010 by Lynchburg Business in Healthcare, Inside The Magazine

Healthy employees are the foundation to a healthy business, boosting productivity, decreasing absenteeism and reducing health care costs. Celebrate spring by helping your business and employees make a fresh start toward a healthy lifestyle. Encourage them to eat a balanced diet, get regular exercise and avoid smoking. You also can help employees learn and understand some important health numbers—numbers that can catch potentially dangerous health conditions in their earliest stages. Knowing the following numbers, and why they matter, can be life-saving for you, your employees and your business.

• Blood pressure. Ideal: 120/80 MMHG or lower. Blood pressure is a measure of the force of blood against artery walls when the heart is pumping (systolic) over the pressure between heartbeats, when the heart fills with blood (diastolic). The higher the number, the more pressure, making it harder for your heart to send blood through your body and making you more susceptible to hypertension and heart attack.

• Cholesterol. Ideal: Total cholesterol: 200 mg/dL or lower; HDL (“good” cholesterol) 50 mg/dL or higher if you are a woman or 40 mg/dL or higher if you are a man; LDL (“bad” cholesterol) 100 mg/dL or lower. LDL cholesterol promotes plaque buildup in the arteries. Too much LDL puts you at high risk for stroke and heart attack.

• Waist size. Ideal: 35 inches or less for women and 40 inches or less for men. Your waistline is considered the greatest predictor of a wide variety of health issues, including heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Measure yourself by placing a non-elastic tape around your waist at your belly button. Lose an inch from your waistline and improve your heart health!

• Resting heart rate. Ideal: 60 beats a minute. A high resting heart rate means the body is working hard to complete simple everyday tasks. Anyone with a high resting heart rate above 90 should be checked for thyroid disease, anemia, fatigue and strain on the cardiovascular system.

• Body mass index (BMI). Ideal: Within 10 percent of the ideal, which is based on your height and weight. The higher your weight in relationship to your height, the greater your risk for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, gallstones, liver disease and pulmonary disorders. You can calculate your BMI by going to www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.

• Fasting blood sugar. Ideal: 100 mg/dl or lower.  Blood sugar higher than 100 mg/dl can lead to diabetes and damage to your internal organs. Avoid simple sugars; eat more vegetables and exercise to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

There’s no better time than now to begin creating a healthy workplace. Post or distribute these must-know numbers throughout your workplace and improve the wellness of your business.

For more information about how to achieve a healthy lifestyle, visit CentraHealth.com.