There are eight ways you can improve your heart health and decrease your risk of heart-related illnesses and complications, no matter your age or lifestyle. Charles Kim, M.D., FACC, cardiologist at Lovelace Medical Group/New Mexico Heart Institute, shares these tips.
1. Stop or decrease smoking
Risk factors from smoking include heart disease, chest pains, heart attack, arrhythmias, high blood pressure, damaged heart tissue and heart failure. Your risk for cardiovascular disease and disorders decreases substantially when you stop smoking.
"The good news is that your risk of sudden heart attack drops very quickly after you first quit smoking," said Dr. Kim. "Within a year of quitting, your risk of sudden heart attack approaches that of a non-smoker. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of lung cancer: it takes on average 17 years of not smoking for your risk of developing lung cancer to approach that of someone who never smoked."
2. Maintain healthy body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a measure of body fat based on your height and weight. Higher BMIs correlate with a higher risk of heart disease and other weight-related illnesses.
"Lowering your BMI helps lower your blood pressure, risk of diabetes and your lipid levels. Plus, you will notice how much better you feel," said Dr. Kim.
3. Be physically active
The recommended amount of moderate exercise to keep your heart healthy is 75 minutes of intense exercise per week or 150 minutes of moderate exercise (30 minutes five days per week). Exercise is measured by rate of perceived exertion (RPE) on a scale of one to 10, where 10 is exercise that leaves you completely breathless, and five, or moderate, being when you can exercise and breathe evenly enough to speak.
"Apart from quitting smoking, regular exercise is probably the most important thing you can do to improve your cardiovascular wellness," said Dr. Kim. "And it doesn't take much. Even a 20-minute walk around the block does wonders for your heart's health."
4. Keep blood pressure under control
Maintaining a blood pressure of less than 120 over 80 helps keep up a healthy heart. High blood pressure, or hypertension, can damage your arteries, leading to heart disease. It can also put you at higher risk for heart attacks, strokes and other brain and heart issues.
If you're diabetic, you should also try to keep your blood sugar under control. Eating healthy foods, exercising, avoiding nicotine and maintaining a healthy weight can help you control blood sugar levels.
5. Keep cholesterol under control
High cholesterol levels, or hyperlipidemia, can cause your arteries to clog with fatty deposits, which increases your risk of cardiovascular disease.
6. Keep a healthy diet
"The Mediterranean diet is the one I most encourage my patients to adopt because it is endorsed by the American Heart Association," said Dr. Kim. "It is a plant-based diet with a healthy balance of protein and fats. This means you get to eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, olive oil, fish and moderate amounts of dairy and meat."
7. Avoid processed foods, excess sugar and salt
You should carefully watch sodium, processed meats and sugar-sweetened drink consumption and try to replace the saturated fats in your diet.
"Eating a diet high in sodium raises your blood pressure. Processed foods can be sneaky and are often high in sugars, fats and artificial compounds." Dr. Kim recommends eating whole, unprocessed foods to reduce your sodium consumption.
8. Get adequate sleep
Getting plenty of good sleep plays a crucial role in maintaining heart health. Sleep helps regulate blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormone levels, promoting a balanced and resilient cardiovascular system.
"The medical and scientific communities continue to learn more about the critical role that sleep plays in your cardiovascular health. We have learned that sleep disorders can negatively affect the long-term health of your heart so be sure to prioritize sleep," said Dr. Kim. "Your heart will thank you."
Dr. Kim recommends aiming for between seven and nine hours of sleep a night. People with sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea should seek treatment to decrease their risk of adverse events including mortality.
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