Tips for a Healthier Heart
You live because of your heart. It pumps blood in your entire body providing nutrients and oxygen while carrying away the waste and carbon dioxide. Your circulatory system exists because your heart lives. That is exactly why it’s important to work towards a healthier heart… Daily!
Why do you need to keep your heart healthy?
The reason why it is important to have a ‘Healthy’ heart is that it will make sure all your body parts ‘connected to your heart, work well too’. Your heart is responsible for keeping you alive and well.
Your lifestyle habits affect it and your overall health.
Get it straight, every activity you do, will have an effect.
You need to address your heart’s worries by making sure you don’t indulge yourself in activities that will hinder its work and, god forbid, gradually shutting it down. Heart diseases are serious, and not to be taken lightly.
You need to start your day early, accompany exercise with a healthy diet and don’t stress yourself. People with depression are at a greater risk of heart diseases than anyone else.
That is why it is good for you to practice de-stressing techniques and be social, not isolated. Keep your heart healthy and it will keep you healthy and happy. Here are things you can do to keep you working towards a healthier heart.
1. Quit smoking
The first thing for a healthier heart is quit smoking if you are a smoker. It is one of the leading causes of heart diseases in the world.
According to the American Heart Association, tobacco exposure makes at least 34,000 premature heart diseases annually. Tobacco narrows your arteries and that leads to blood supply shutdown. It also creates clots which lead to diabetes and heart attacks.
You need to understand that smoking is terrible for your health and you need to see how you can quit making your heart feel better.
2. Eat healthy fats
Cut down the saturated fats and go for olive oils, avocados, and nuts to provide you with healthy fats.
The increase in the level of saturated fats raises the cholesterol levels in your body and that increases the risk of heart disease while affecting your blood circulatory system as well.
Controlling it will decrease the likelihood of heart attacks, obesity, and strokes.
Cholesterol builds up in your body, lining up the arteries which keep the blood from flowing smoothly, because blood circulation is imperative, for nutrients and oxygen to reach your body parts.
When these arteries start getting blocked, the tissues begin to malfunction, just like a machine and gradually they stop working altogether. So the next time you are taking a fat filled animal protein diet, reconsider.
3. Take care of your pearly whites
Doctors recommend brushing your teeth regularly because it not only keeps you feeling fresh all day, it lowers your stress levels and decreases the risk of getting gum infections.
Gum infections are connected to heart diseases as well. Bacteria involved in the development of gum diseases can travel to your heart through the blood circulatory system which causes an increase in C-reactive protein that is a marker for increasing inflammation in the blood arteries.
To stop that, floss and brush daily to stay happy and fresh. Plus, visit the Sharon Albright dental clinic regularly and your teeth will be good to go!
4. Sleep well
Sleep is essential in all cases and in almost all diseases. It keeps you less stressed and helps you work towards a healthier heart.
If you don’t sleep well, apart from being cranky all the time, you’ll be exposed to a greater risk of heart diseases. Sleep for at least 6-9 hours every day. Sleep deprivation also causes issues with blood pressure and inflammation.
When you sleep, you are actually charging your body to function the next day.
5. Move around
Getting active is the one thing that will literally help you with tons of things that are going wrong in your life.
Don’t sit for more than 40 minutes in one place, move around, and finish your home chores.
Staying active decreases the risk of heart diseases by at least 147 percent.
If you have a job where you need to sit the entire day, then move by parking your car farther from so you can take a short walk and always get your own coffee rather than ask someone to bring it for you.
These small changes will affect your overall activity schedule and would have a positive impact on your heart.
6. Manage blood pressure
Blood pressure over 120/80mmHg is considered normal.
If your blood pressure stays high or low for extended periods of time, then that means you have blood pressure issues which will affect your heart as well. You can measure the variations in your heart rate by wearing a heart rate monitor that will detect the changes daily whether you sit all day or walk all day.
Having high blood pressure makes your heart work more than normal, for longer periods of time. It raises the risks to your heart. It needs to be checked regularly and you need to control your weight and your stress levels to maintain a healthy blood pressure.
Check the following tips to help effectively manage your blood pressure:
- Obtain your blood pressure using your very own sphygmomanometer or blood pressure monitoring device.
- Set a schedule to monitor your blood pressure in specific times of the day.
- Always get in touch with your cardiologist if you’ve been diagnosed with hypertension or heart disease. Take the prescribed medications following the designated dosage and time. Consult your doctor if you’re planning to take any other medication or food supplement with your prescribed meds to check any possible drug interaction.
7. Maintain healthy weight
Lowering your weight 5-10 percent can help decrease your blood pressure because if you are overweight, your heart needs to pump more blood and it works harder. That causes pressure in your arteries further causing blood vessel damage.
Obesity also affects diabetes. By sticking to a healthy diet, you will be decreasing your chances of stroke. To maintain a healthy weight, include at least 30-minute exercise every day while balancing it with a healthy diet.
Try to reduce your weight by at least 10 percent and trust us, you’ll get the ball rolling and it will go a long way.
Here are some ways to maintain a healthy weight:
- Reduce your intake of high sugar and carbohydrates.
- Avoid eating junk food and foods high in preservatives, trans fat, and chemicals.
- Eat more whole, organic, and nutritious food.
- Create a food diary to monitor what you’re eating, raising awareness on your part so you can consciously avoid or reduce food that cause weight gain.
8. Add nutrients
Instead of getting a pack of chips, buy nuts. They will keep you munching and wouldn’t bother your heart. A healthy diet would help your heart, blood pressure and weight.
Reduce the salt intake of your body and replace alcohol with water. It will help your body a great deal.
Make it your priority to introduce healthy foods into your body. Eat a healthy breakfast, it will help your daily life and cut the sugar intake in half. Eat salads instead of munching on junk food. Your heart will be the happiest.
9. Be stress-free
Develop a healthy routine in which you are stress-free wherever you are. Work or home.
Eliminate the activities that make you stressed. In case you can’t avoid the situation, relax, take a few deep breaths and think about a solution oriented approach rather than a problem-oriented one.
Try an at home dance workout, start gardening and see what causes depression and work against it. Maintain a good social relation with your friends as that will help your heart at staying happy because of low-stress levels. If you feel stressed, read a book or listen to your favorite music.
Check the following tips on how to live a stress-free life for a healthier heart:
- Practice Visual Imagery: If you’re under a stressful situation, you can divert your anxiety and stress by viewing something visually relaxing, such as nature (e.g., birds flying in the sky, flowers in your garden) or a beautiful artwork or portrait.
- Creative Writing: Write a journal, poem, article, blog, or anything you want to write to express your thoughts and emotions. Creative writing is a great way to reduce or eliminate stress without causing hurt or damage.
Engage in Sports: If you’re too stressed at work or can’t resolve personal conflicts alone or without engaging in negative coping mechanisms, it would be a good idea to try engaging in sports. For instance, contact sports, like basketball, enables you to divert your extra energy into something healthy and positive.
Making exercise a pleasure rather than a task will help you de-stress and workout more.
Exercising at least 30 minutes daily will protect your heart. Cardio basically means ‘For the heart’ and that is exactly what you need to do. It doesn’t have to be formal. Get a sturdy skipping rope and start anywhere. It is the most basic kind of cardio. Aerobic activity is crucial when it comes to your heart.
You can take up swimming, jogging, cycling and hiking as well. If you love combat sports, you’ll love to practice boxing or practice martial arts. Point being, start cardio! It will make your heart stronger every day.
If your business or job involves health and fitness, you can help promote better health for everyone. Investing in modern devices can help you attain this goal.
For a healthier heart for everyone, it’s a good idea to find the best AED for your gym because it can save lives. There are different AED models you can choose from with the best features and capabilities applicable for the budget of your health club, sports team, or gym.
11. Visit a doctor
As we mentioned earlier, you need to calculate certain things to make sure you have a healthier heart. Visit your doctor to get a heart checkup and monitor your blood pressure.
Measure your cholesterol level so you know what changes you need to make in your diet.
If heart diseases run in your family, then you need to be extra careful with what you do and eat.
Heart disease does not discriminate, and it is the leading cause of death in the United States. The US suffers a coronary event every 25 seconds. That is bad. Imagine what is happening around the globe. It is important for you to understand that your age and your family history alters your risk for heart disease.
Likewise if you have had related medical procedures such as an IVF filter implant, you are at even great risk, according to a recent class action lawsuit.
Your risks for getting a heart disease increase if you are a woman over the age of 55, or in men, over 45.
Likewise, if your father or brother suffered heart disease before he turned 55 and if your mother or sister had a heart disease before the age of 65.
Whatever the case, if you follow a healthy lifestyle, you’ll be able to adapt to healthy days and less stressful nights where you’ll sleep knowing that your heart loves you as you love it.
It’s time to work towards a healthier heart!