Peggy Fleming on High Cholesterol
N E W Y O R K, March 5 -- Ice-skating star Peggy Fleming is a gorgeous, healthy-looking Olympic gold medalist — but she was recently diagnosed with high cholesterol, a leading risk factor for heart disease.
Fleming, 53, comes from a family plagued by heart disease. When she won the gold medal in the 1968 Olympics, Fleming's father wasn't there to see it. He died of a heart attack while he was returning from one of her earlier competitions. He was only 41. Fleming's younger sister died at 50, also of heart disease.
When her own cholesterol level hit 230, Fleming grew concerned, knowing that it put her at risk for heart disease. If your total cholesterol level is 240 or more, it is considered high, and experts say that your risk of heart attack — and, indirectly, of stroke — is greater.
Fleming is now working on an educational campaign called "Go for the Goal." It was created to focus public attention on the dangers of high cholesterol as a risk factor for heart disease.
"People need to go to their doctor — they should find out what their risk factors are," said Fleming on Good Morning America. "My risk factors was my genetics."
Watch Your Diet
A good diet and regular exercise are essential in battling cholesterol. Experts recommend reducing cholesterol in your blood by eating foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol; losing weight if you need to; and exercising 30 to 40 minutes on most days of the week.
Fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes tend to be low in fat, and they do not contain cholesterol. The American Heart Association suggests that you eat foods high in complex carbohydrates and fiber (some kinds of soluble fiber, such as pectin and oat bran, when eaten in large amounts in a diet low in saturated fat may reduce total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol). AHA also suggests eating 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber per day.
Tips from Dr. Tim
ABCNEWS' Dr. Tim Johnson offered the following tips for lowering your risk of heart disease, after new guidelines on cholesterol-lowering statin drug were released by the National Institutes of Health last year.
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