Having a healthy heart is crucial for a long life these days. In fact, cardiovascular diseases including heart attach and stroke account for almost 18 million deaths each year. Heart disease is also the leading cause of death in the US, and one person dies from cardiovascular disease in the US every 36 seconds.
So, what can you do to keep your heart healthy? The good news is that it’s not really all that complicated. Here are some simple rules to help your heart keep going:
Check In with Your Doctor Regularly
This is most important as you get older, but even younger folks can get heart disease. Your doctor can monitor your cardiovascular health, identify issues and current problems, and prescribe medication. Your responsibility is to listen to your doctor, do as they say, and take your medications as directed.
Don’t just ignore any of the risk factors that increase the risk of heart disease for you. Your doctor can also take note of problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. And don’t just ignore your doctor when they tell you to stop smoking and avoid certain foods.
Eat Right
If you want to keep your heart ticking, it’s essential that you fill up your diet with plenty of fruits, veggies, and whole grains. You’ll want to cut out processed food from your daily consumption, and you’ll want to really limit your intake of trans fat and sodium.
Your real goal here is to develop new eating habits that keep your heart healthy. You can start by avoiding red meat from your diet, and replacing that with fish and skinless poultry. Go with low-fat options instead of full-fat dairy.
Avoid refined carbs when you snack, and stick to fruits and veggies. Your best bets are crunchy fruits and veggies, like dried bananas and cucumber, which you can munch on and dip into hummus. These are great replacement for your usual chips.
And while you’re at it, watch your calorie and sugar intake as well. You really need to watch your weight, since overweight and obese people are more likely to develop heart disease.
Regular Exercise
To keep healthy, you need the right diet and the right workout regimen. You have to regard your heart as a pumping machine. As you exercise more, your heart becomes stronger and more efficient. And again, you have to develop good exercise habits. You can’t just join your nearby Workout Anytime gym and then quit after a few months. You need exercise for your lifetime.
Most experts recommend that you exercise at least 5 days a week, with a workout of 30 minutes per day. This should help you maintain your weight, and also help you to manage your stress levels. If you’re a newbie to exercise, you can start light with 10-minute power walks, but you need to improve this over time.
Stop Smoking
Do we even need to mention this? Smoking is one of the greatest evils for your health. It doesn’t really do anything good for you, but this vile habit sure does a lot of bad things. It’s not just bad for your heart, but also for your lungs, your teeth, and your gums.
We’re not just talking about avoiding tobacco products, either. You should avoid all products that contain nicotine as well, which means vaping may not be a wise habit to develop, either. Nicotine consumption can lead to arterial inflammation, and high blood pressure, which aren’t all that good for your cardiovascular health.
Be Aware
About half of all adults in the US have at least one problem: they have high cholesterol, they have high blood pressure, or they (somehow) smoke tobacco regularly. These are key risk factors for heart attack. You’re also more at risk if you’re a man over 45 years old, or a woman over 55 years old.
Be aware if you have these key risk factors, and call for help if you experience any unusual chest pain and other symptoms of a heart attack. With medical assistance, you may still survive your heart attack.