T-L Photo/JOSIE BURKHART WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital Director of Cardiac Rehab Dr. Sushant Sharma attends the St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce’s lunch Wednesday to talk about heart health and share tips on how to stay healthy during American Heart Month in February.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Visitors to the St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce’s lunch Wednesday learned about heart health, including how to eat better, stay active and get healthy sleep.

The chamber hosted its monthly lunch, this time at Undo’s West in St. Clairsville, with WVU Medicine as the sponsor. Dr. Sushant Sharma, MD, a preventive cardiologist, attended the lunch to talk about heart health, as February is American Heart Month.

Sharma is a graduate of the College of William & Mary Temple University School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency as well as cardiovascular research at Drexel University MCP Hanuman University Hospital. Sharma is also the director of the cardiac rehabilitation at Wheeling Hospital.

Sharma gave his expert advice on how to keep a heart healthy by eating better, being more active, quitting tobacco, getting healthy sleep, managing weight, controlling cholesterol, managing blood sugar and managing blood pressure. During the discussion, visitors asked questions pertaining to these topics to get professional advice from Sharma.

Before Sharma began, Jessica Moore, AVP Foundation Community, WVU Medicine, talked about how important it is to still bring specialists and expert doctors to a rural place, such as the Ohio Valley. Wheeling Hospital has a heart and vascular institute, where Sharma works, where people can receive heart health care.

Sharma talked about the goal of eating better, aiming for an overall healthy eating pattern that includes whole foods, a lot of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, nuts, seeds and cooking in non-tropical oils such as olive and canola.

He talked about studies showcasing the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, which is a diet focused on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, moderate amounts of fish, poultry, dairy and eggs and limiting red meat and processed foods. He added that salmon is a good example.

He also suggested limiting sweets and alcoholic drinks and watching sodium intake.

Sharma then talked about being more active, noting that adults should participate in 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity weekly. He added that walking is a great activity for a moderate level and noted that this could be walking a dog. Children should also have 60 minutes of play and structured activities every day.

The next topic Sharma shared his expertise on was quitting tobacco, which now includes e-cigarettes and vapes, not only cigarettes. The use of inhaled nicotine delivery products is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., including about a third of all deaths from heart disease, he said. Roughly 40% of U.S. children ages 3 to 11 are exposed to secondhand smoke.

Not getting enough sleep was also a concern of Sharma’s discussion.

“Getting a good night’s sleep every night is vital to cardiovascular health,” he said.

Adults should aim for an average of seven to nine hours a night, with babies and children needing more sleep. Studies show too little or too much sleep is associated with heart disease.

The next big topic of discussion was managing weight. Sharma said achieving and maintaining a healthy weight has many benefits. Body mass index, a numerical value of someone’s weight in relation to their height, is a useful gauge, he added. Optimal BMI for most adults ranges from 18.5 to less than 25.

Sharma taught the audience how to control cholesterol, saying that high levels of non-HDL, or “bad,” cholesterol can lead to heart disease.

Not only did he discuss controlling cholesterol, but he brought up managing blood sugar as a topic.

“Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose (or blood sugar) that our bodies use as energy,” he said.

Over time, high levels of blood sugar can damage someone’s heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves.

The last health discussion was how to manage blood pressure, which can help someone be healthier longer if they keep their blood pressure within an acceptable range. Levels less than 120/80 mm Hg are optimal. High blood pressure is defined as 130-139 as the top number and 80-89 as the bottom number.

“Some of the tips for success, eating smart, moving more, managing your weight,” Sharma said. “And again, no nicotine and sleeping well.”