Following a heart-healthy lifestyle can help you prevent
heart disease thus keeping cardiac emergencies, such as a cardiac arrest at
bay. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death, but you aren’t
required to accept it as your fate. Although you cannot change some
non-modifiable risk factors, such as family history, sex or age but there are a
few key steps that can be taken that can reduce your risk.
Adopt a healthy lifestyle today and avoid future heart
problems. You can get started with these tips:
Quit
Smoking- Smoking or using tobacco of any kind is a major risk factor
which can be attributed to the presence of chemicals in tobacco that can damage
your ticker and blood vessels leading to narrowing of arteries due to buildup
of plaque (atherosclerosis) which can lead to a heart attack that can be
deadly.
When it comes to smoking cigarettes, presence of carbon
monoxide replaces some of the oxygen in the blood which increases the blood
pressure and heart rate by forcing your ticker to work harder to supply
sufficient oxygen.
No amount of smoking is safe when it comes to cardiovascular
disease prevention. The greater your risk, the more you smoke. Secondhand
smoke, smokeless tobacco and low-nicotine cigarettes also can be risky.
Fortunately, the risk of cardiovascular disease starts lowering soon after
quitting. You’ll start reaping benefits as soon as you quit regardless of how
long or how much you smoked.
Regular
Physical Activity- Regular exercise is key to good ticker-health and
when combined with other lifestyle measures like maintaining a healthy weight,
the payoff is even greater. Regular exercise can help you control your weight
and lower your chances of developing other conditions that may put a strain on
your ticker like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
Perform moderate exercise, such as brisk walking for about 30
minutes on most days of the week. Aim for 300 minutes of moderate aerobic
activity or 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity every week for greater
health benefits. Consult with a doctor regarding appropriate exercise for you.
Eat a
Healthy Diet- Two heart-healthy eating plans include the Mediterranean
diet and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. Don’t
consume salt and sugars in excess. Limit certain fats you eat such as saturated
fat and trans fat. Major sources of saturated fat include red meat, coconut and
palm oils, full-fat dairy products and major sources of trans fat include
bakery products, packaged snack foods, deep-fried fast foods, margarines, etc.
Look for terms like “partially hydrogenated” or “hydrogenated” on nutrition
labels which means the product contains trans fat, so avoid those. Not all fats
are bad as healthy fats from plant-based sources like avocado, nuts, olive oil,
etc. can help to lower the bad type of cholesterol thus benefiting the heart.
The other healthy lifestyle measures include maintaining a
healthy weight, getting enough quality sleep, reducing and managing stress and
getting regular health screenings to know your numbers (blood pressure,
cholesterol and diabetes).
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