LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, folks, your health is also the focus this morning of our "ASK CNN" question today.</s>MICHAEL MULLEN: Hi, my name's Michael Mullen, I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, and I was just wondering if you have a family history of heart disease, what are some steps you can take to prevent problems later in life?</s>RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You've probably heard it many times before, but you should be sure to exercise, keep your weight down, eat a good diet -- that means limiting your -- the amount of fat in your diet -- make sure you have plenty of fruits and vegetables, make sure if you don't smoke. If you smoke, then work on trying to quit. Keep your blood pressure down, your cholesterol level down. And also, it's real important if you have a family history, to keep your weight down, because being overweight increases your weight of diabetes, and doctors have found that diabetes definitely increases your risk of heart disease. Also, if you are at risk for heart disease, you should be especially vigilant during the winter months, that is December through April, when the temperatures get cold. Doctors are not sure why, but heart attacks are more common during the winter months. So therefore, when it's cold out, and if you are at risk for heart disease, or your doctor said that you should be careful, make sure you bundle up and put on a warm hat, and if you have snow, you might want to ask somebody else to do the shoveling for you.
Ask CNN: What Are Some Steps One Can Take to Prevent Hereditary Heart Problems Later in Life?