7 Numbers Every Woman with Sjogren’s Should Know for Heart Health

It’s American Heart Month, and while you’ll see plenty of talk about heart disease, what does heart health really mean when you're living with an autoimmune condition like Sjogren's Disease? It's about so much more than your weight or what you eat.

Welcome to our series on Sjogren's and Heart Health. Last week, we discussed the silent cardiovascular risk that comes with Sjogren's – how chronic systemic inflammation affects our heart and blood vessels in ways standard guidelines often miss. (If you missed it, I'll link it in the description – it sets the foundation for today!)

After that first video, I received so many messages asking, "Okay, Dr. Wada, I get it. There's a risk. But what do I actually need to be tracking?" These are perfect questions because knowledge without action is just interesting information. What we need is a practical roadmap.

Today, we're cutting through the noise of generic heart health advice to talk about the seven key numbers that give a comprehensive, holistic picture of your cardiovascular health, framed specifically for those of us living in autoimmune bodies. This isn't about obsessing over every number; it's about using these markers together to connect the dots between your Sjogren's, your lifestyle, and your true cardiovascular risk, allowing us to be proactive rather than reactive.

1. Blood Pressure: Your Silent Messenger

Blood pressure measures the force of blood against your artery walls. Why is it particularly important for Sjogren's? Chronic inflammation can cause blood vessel stiffness, making it harder for blood to flow smoothly and leading to elevated blood pressure (hypertension).

Action Step: Don't just rely on the reading at your doctor's office (hello, white coat hypertension!). Tracking at home gives a more accurate picture.

Optimal Goal: Generally less than 120/80 mmHg, but discuss your personal target with your doctor.

2. Lipids (Cholesterol & Triglycerides): Beyond the "Bad" Cholesterol

Most doctors focus on LDL ("bad") cholesterol, but for us, that's just part of the story. We also need to look at:

• HDL ("good") cholesterol: Helps remove bad cholesterol.

• Triglycerides: A type of fat in your blood.

• Triglyceride to HDL Ratio: A powerful indicator of inflammation and insulin resistance, even if your LDL looks normal.

When inflammation drives your lipid abnormalities (which can happen with Sjogren's), we need to address that root cause, not just the cholesterol number itself.

Optimal Goals: Triglycerides under 150 mg/dL and HDL above 50 mg/dL for women.

3. Blood Sugar Markers (Hemoglobin A1C & Fasting Insulin)

Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) gives a three-month average of your blood sugar levels. This is crucial for us because inflammation and insulin resistance are best friends – they fuel each other in a vicious cycle. Chronic inflammation makes your cells less responsive to insulin, forcing your pancreas to produce more, which creates more inflammation. This is a major driver of cardiovascular disease.

Checking your A1c and fasting insulin can give us clues about metabolic stress long before type 2 diabetes develops.

Optimal Goals: A1c below 5.5% and fasting insulin below 10 µIU/mL.

4. Waist Circumference: More Important Than the Scale

Where you carry your weight matters more than how much you weigh. Excess fat around the midsection (visceral fat) is metabolically active, producing inflammatory cytokines that contribute to your body's overall inflammatory burden.

Action Step: Measure your waist at the level of your belly button.

Optimal Goal: For women, a waist circumference below 35 inches is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk.

5. Hours of Quality Sleep: A Foundational Pillar

I cannot overstate how important sleep is for managing inflammation and cardiovascular health. It's when your body repairs, detoxifies, and your immune system recalibrates. Poor sleep (less than 7 hours or poor quality) is directly linked to increased inflammation, higher blood pressure, weight gain, insulin resistance, and increased heart disease risk. For those of us with Sjogren's, sleep is often already disrupted by pain, dryness, or neurologic issues.

Optimal Goal: Aim for 7-9 hours of consistent, quality sleep per night. It's not a luxury; it's a medical necessity.

6. High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP): Your Inflammatory Gasoline

This is a direct measurement of that systemic inflammation we've been talking about. CRP is a protein your liver produces in response to inflammation. The high-sensitivity version can detect even low levels of chronic inflammation.

Elevated hs-CRP is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events. Even if your cholesterol and blood pressure look great, an elevated hs-CRP means you're still at increased risk.

Optimal Goal: Below 1 mg/L. (With active Sjogren's, your hs-CRP may naturally run higher, which is why tracking the trend over time is so important).

7. Heart Rate Variability (HRV): Your Body's Resilience Score

This newer metric is incredibly valuable. HRV measures the variation in time between each heartbeat, giving us a window into your autonomic nervous system.

• Higher HRV: Suggests your body is more resilient and can shift easily between "fight or flight" and "rest and digest" states.

• Lower HRV: Linked to chronic stress, inflammation, and increased cardiovascular risk. It can suggest your body is "stuck" in a stressed state.

You can track HRV with many smartwatches and fitness trackers. There's no universal "good" number, as it varies by age and your individual baseline. Generally, higher is better, and you want to see a trend upward over time as you implement healthy lifestyle changes.

Putting It All Together: From Data to Dialogue

When we look at these seven markers together, we get a holistic, comprehensive view of your cardiovascular health. This empowers you to have a very different conversation with your healthcare team. Instead of just, "My cholesterol is a little high," you can say, "My cholesterol is slightly elevated, but my CRP is also high, my HRV is low, and I'm only sleeping five hours a night. Can we talk about an integrative plan to address all of this?"

You are the CEO of your health. Knowing your numbers is the first step to taking charge of your heart health journey, especially when living with a complex condition like Sjogren's.

If you want help turning these seven numbers into an actionable plan, here are a few ways I can support you:

• Join our free Facebook community, the Success with Sjogren's.

• Sign up for my newsletter to get this entire Sjogren's heart health series delivered to your inbox with checklists and updates.

• Learn more about The Stronger with Sjogren's program for structured support around movement, nervous system health, and long-term risk reduction.

Next week, we're talking about a surprising connection: allergies and heart health! Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss it.

Which of these seven numbers surprised you the most? Which one do you want to start tracking first? Share your thoughts in the comments!