Make just a few minor tweaks to your daily routine, and you can seriously lower your risk of getting heart disease. Experts Arthur Agaston, M.D., author of The South Beach Heart Health Revolution, and Nieca Goldberg, M.D., author of The Women's Healthy Heart Program, contributed their input. In the chart below, the more hearts, the more a change benefits you.

1. Move it!
Why: Simply walking for 10 to 30 minutes
a day is enough to strengthen blood vessels and lower blood pressure.

2. Inhale s-l-o-w-l-y
Why: A few deep breaths daily can lower heart rate and blood pressure.

3. Floss up
Why: Daily flossing can ward off gum disease, an infection that can lead to artery-damaging inflammation throughout your body.

4. Cut caffeine
Why: Jittery after java? If your heart is racing, it's being overworked — so decrease coffee intake to three cups a day, max.

5. Eat garlic
Why: A heart-healthy compound in this vegetable relaxes blood vessel walls, which lowers blood pressure.

Three Tests That Could Save Your Life

Sure, you already know you need regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks to monitor your cardio system. But new evidence suggests that the additional tests below might give a better reading on the state of your heart. Warning: Insurance companies may be reluctant to shell out for some of these tests, unless you already have such risk factors as high cholesterol.

1. C-reactive Protein: The Harvard Women’s Health Study found that C-reactive protein (CRP) tests, which measure an inflammatory substance in your blood, are more accurate than cholesterol levels in predicting problems like heart attacks or strokes in women. A high CRP count means your body is protecting itself against assaults like infections and cigarette smoke; and these defenses, in turn, are thought to worsen atherosclerosis — a dangerous buildup of plaque in the arteries.
CRP tests can also help doctors decide how to treat women who have some heart disease risk factors but don’t clearly fall in the take-action column. “A high level might sway me to prescribe a cholesterol-lowering statin, for instance,” says Sharonne Hayes, M.D., director of the Women’s Heart Clinic at the Mayo Clinic.

2. Homocysteine: Women with high levels of this amino acid appear to have an increased risk of heart disease. Scientists believe that homocysteine damages the arteries, making vessel walls less flexible and blood clots more likely. Homocysteine tests are used to guide treatment in women at intermediate risk for heart disease.

3. Lipoprotein (a): Lipoprotein (a) can hinder the body’s ability to dissolve blood clots, and high levels may indicate high risk. When women have factors like high cholesterol, these levels can determine the next step. “If lipoprotein (a) is elevated, it should make doctors more aggressive in treating these risk factors," says Dr. Hayes.

Hard Pills to Swallow

In 2004, Vioxx, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) prescribed for relieving arthritis pain, was taken off the market after studies linked its usage to heart attacks and stroke. Unfortunately, recent studies have put other drugs in the iffy category:

Other NSAIDs: Heart attack risk is almost double among patients taking the NSAID Celebrex, say experts at Harvard University. But even over-the-counter NSAIDS, like ibuprofen (Advil), may pose a threat. “They can up risk because they raise blood pressure,” says Nieca Goldberg, a cardiologist and author of The Women’s Healthy Heart Program. Instead, ask your doctor about other ways to quell pain.

Avandia: Last year, the FDA reported that people who received this drug, which is used to treat Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes, showed a 30 to 40 percent greater risk of heart attack. While other studies have yet to confirm the danger, the safest route is to query your doctor about alternative medications.

Effexor:This antidepressant, which is chemically different from other mood smoothers, increases the risk of hypertension in some users, Dr. Goldberg says. Her advice: If you’re already at risk for heart disease, check into other options.

Do You Really Need to Lose Weight?

It depends on how much extra poundage you’re lugging around. According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control, overweight people (those with a BMI — body mass index — between 25 and 29.9; for a 5-foot-5 woman, that’s about 155 pounds to 182 pounds) aren’t more likely to die from cardiovascular diseases than others. But the danger becomes significant for people who are obese (BMI 30 and over). (Don't know your BMI? Find it out with GoodHousekeeping.com's online calculator.)

The CDC researchers caution that the study does not give overweight people a clean bill of health. If you are overweight and have contributing factors for heart disease — such as high blood pressure or diabetes — then your doctor may still recommend you try reducing your girth, says study author Katherine Flegal, Ph.D.

Sleep on It!

Want a healthy heart? Get enough zzz’s. Harvard researchers found that women who sleep five hours or less a night have a 30 percent higher risk for heart disease. That’s because women who log less time in bed have a greater chance of having high blood pressure, a huge contributor to heart disease, say experts from Warwick Medical School in Great Britain.

Heartbreak Hotel

A woman past menopause hears devastating news, clutches her chest and collapses. It looks like a heart attack, but it may be “broken heart syndrome.” This condition occurs when the body produces a monster surge of stress hormones in response to an upsetting event.

Fortunately, the condition is short-lived. “The heart muscle gets better in a few days to a few weeks, and most women make a complete recovery,” says Johns Hopkins University professor Ilan Wittstein, M.D. “Women who have lower levels of heart-protecting estrogen are more likely to experience the problem,” he adds. Of course, you can’t tell whether you’re having a heart attack or are suffering from the syndrome, so if you have chest pain, get help immediately.