Our world is full of diseases and disorders that cannot be avoided. Many of them are linked to factors, such as genetics, race, age and sex, over which you have no control. Some are simply the result of bad luck.
Heart disease, for the most part, is not one of them. Cardiovascular disease is the nation’s No. 1 cause of death, despite being one of the most preventable health challenges we face. Many of the strongest risk factors – including obesity, smoking and high cholesterol – are controllable through lifestyle and medications.
Let’s look at seven ways you can protect your heart and live a healthier life.
Stay Active: Aim for 150 Minutes Weekly
You are doing no favors for your heart and your body when you fall into a sedentary lifestyle. When you exercise, you are working out the most important muscle in your body – your heart. Any activity – including house chores, yard work and moving around at work – is better than sitting on your couch. But you should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week. This could include activities such as brisk walks, water aerobics, dancing, tennis or biking on a trail (less than 10 mph). For even better gains, include resistance or weight training at least two days a week to retain or improve valuable muscle mass.
Adopt a Heart-Healthy Diet
Along with exercise, eating better is key to reducing your risk for heart disease. What you put in your body has a significant effect on many of the risk factors that can make you more or less vulnerable. To get a better idea of the foods that are best for your heart, consider the Mediterranean diet. The emphasis is on chicken and fish, with little or no red meat. Fruits, vegetables, healthy oils (olive oil, for example), nuts, reduced carbs, legumes and whole-grain breads are favored over sugary foods, fast food, fried food, dairy and unhealthy oils.
Quit Smoking To Lower Your Risk Immediately
If you were to assemble a list of risk factors for avoidable diseases, you might be surprised to see how often smoking shows up. It is certainly the case with heart disease, where smoking is linked to one in four deaths. Smoking hurts your body in many ways, including making your blood stickier and more likely to clot; causing inflammation; lowering your levels of “good” cholesterol; and damaging the lining of your blood vessels.
These can cause arteries to twist and bulge, which can lead to aneurysms or narrowing in the vessels of the legs. These conditions can cause pain with walking and later lead to further cardiac interventions. The good news is that smokers who stop are likely to see fairly quick improvements in these risk factors.
Maintain a Healthy Weight and BMI
It is possible to become too obsessed with achieving the ideal body mass index or BMI, a measure of body fat that takes both your height and weight into account. A healthy BMI is considered to be in the range of 18.5 to 24.9. The ratio, however, doesn’t consider factors such as muscle mass, bone density or body composition. You can exceed this ideal BMI range and still be healthy, when exercise and healthy eating are part of the equation. Still, a BMI index well above 30 isn’t healthy, as fat can increase your risk for heart disease. Another bonus of losing weight is that it can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol – without medication.
Manage ‘Bad’ LDL Cholesterol
Cholesterol can be a complicated element of your cardiovascular risk. There are some genetic factors – including lipoprotein(a) – which increase your risk for heart disease. It’s recommended that everyone have this and a few other genetic risks factors checked at least once in their lifetime.
Aside from such unalterable risk factors, there are other cholesterol levels that affect your risk. Cholesterol is a waxy substance that is transported through your body by low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The first is considered “bad,” while the second is considered as more beneficial or “good.” Keeping your LDL levels low will help keep fatty substances from accumulating in the walls of your arteries, where it increases your risk for heart attack and stroke. Diet and exercise can have a significant impact on your cholesterol levels. But you may also need assistance from medications if there is a genetic component or numbers are high despite a healthy lifestyle.
Watch Your Blood Pressure (The ‘Silent Killer’)
High blood pressure levels (anything higher than 120/80) endanger your cardiac health by forcing your heart to work harder than it should. This can damage blood vessels and increase your risk for a wide range of health problems, including heart attack, stroke, enlarged heart and dementia. One frightening element of high blood pressure is that there are no obvious symptoms or warning signs. That’s why it is so important to keep an eye on your blood pressure – through regular visits to your doctor and, if recommended, with an at-home blood pressure cuff. Blood pressure can be lowered through exercise, diet (stay away from salty foods) and medication, if needed.
Prioritize Quality Sleep
Getting a good night’s sleep (at least seven hours for adults) is critical to giving your body a chance to take care of itself. Poor sleep habits are linked to several cardiovascular risk factors, including diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. Paying attention to your sleep can also help catch sleep apnea, a serious disorder that causes you to stop and restart breathing repeatedly during the night. Being told you snore, feeling brain fog/sleepy through the day, or frequent night awakenings due to breathing can all be signs of sleep apnea. Always discuss with your primary care provider if you are experiencing these symptoms.
This content is not AI generated.
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