Cardiovascular Disease

The Mayo Clinic has a cardiovascular disease "Risk and Prevention" quiz designed to test your knowledge and determine whether your family is living a healthy, preventative lifestyle.

The American Heart Association is a good place to start when concerned about heart health. In addition to offering suggestions for cardiovascular health improvement, it supplies warning signs and symptoms for several conditions that result from poor heart health. This general Web site can help you identify whether you should be concerned about your own cardiovascular fitness and if so, offers tips on which lifestyle choices to avoid. Register for free and get a heart profile online, find out how your family history might play a role in heart disease, or get involved with one of several organized local activities from the American Heart Association.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide statistics on heart disease and general heart conditions within the United States. Click the "Resources" link for additional information, or browse the FAQ site to answer some of your more basic questions and concerns about heart disease. The heart disease prevention section explains how to lower your risk of complications before they happen.

The American Heart Association encourages different types of cardio exercises and includes an online tracking system. This site is tailored to the individual user and provides online methods for cardiovascular health evaluations and a program for tracking progress in cardiovascular fitness goals.

InteliHealth explains how to define and then assess personal fitness levels. Learn how to use metabolic equivalents (METs) to gauge the intensity of your workout, use tables to see the intensity of different types of exercise, and use the site’s tips for increasing METs.

HealthAtoZ , use their Personal Health Center and take the online fitness assessment to get a comprehensive look at how physically fit you really are. Scroll down to the “Interactive Tools” section to find more assessment tools, like a BMI Calculator and a Healthy Weight Calculator.

HealthAtoZ , also included above, has a list of common fitness programs that provide a cardiovascular workout. Choose an exercise program that looks interesting to you and then find out more about what it is, its advantages and disadvantages, how to pursue it, exercise guidelines, and more.

InteliHealth has a fitness portal with a variety of resources to help you learn about fitness and create an exercise program of your own. Here you can determine your fitness level, submit a question to the site’s resident “expert,” and even find exercises you can do at your desk.

iVillage has a wealth of articles on achieving cardiovascular fitness. They range greatly in content, covering pool aerobics, treadmills, inline skating, jumping rope, and dance. This site is geared towards female readers, but has lots of great information for readers of all genders.

The American Council on Exercise is a nonprofit site dedicated to encouraging physical fitness in the United States. This club locater searches for gyms based on location and provides results with addresses and contact information.

Health Club Directory is a directory of gyms and health clubs in the U.S. and Canada. You can search for a gym near you by entering your location and specific amenities or programs that you desire (for example, childcare, pilates, or a sauna).

FamilyDoctor.org , the Web site of the American Academy of Family Physicans, you’ll find "Nutrition and Exercise: Healthy Balance for a Healthy Heart," an article that discusses how your diet can affect your heart. The article highlights quick tips on how to eat healthier.

The Mayo Clinic has five strategies for lowering your risk of heart disease. These include limiting unhealthy fats and cholesterol, choosing low-fat protein sources, and eating more veggies and fruits. Each strategy is explained and elaborated upon.