One in seven deaths can be tracked back to heart disease. While there are some risk factors you can’t change – family history, age or sex – there are preventative measures you can take to reduce your chances of heart disease. Here are a few tips to get started.
1-Don’t smoke or use tobacco.
Smoking or using any kind of tobacco is one of the most significant risk factors for developing heart disease. While no amount is safe, the more you smoke, the greater your risk. Forget about smokeless tobacco, low-tar and low-nicotine. They all pose their own risk. And keep in mind that secondhand smoke is risky, as well. If you are a smoker, quit now. By quitting, your risk of heart disease quickly begins to drop. Within a year, your risk significantly reduces and after about 15 years, your risk drops to that of a nonsmoker. Regardless of how long you’ve smoked or used tobacco, you’ll see improvement as soon as you quit.
2-Eat a heart-healthy diet.
The mainstay of a heart-healthy food plan should focus on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, low-fat or fat-free dairy products, lean meats and fish. Limit saturated fats, which include red meat, full-fat dairy products and coconut and palm oils. Do everything possible to completely eliminate trans fats. These include processed foods, bakery products, fast foods, crackers, cookies, candy and chips. Your diet should contain some good fat. By eating plant-based sources such as nuts, olives, avocado and olive oil, you can lower the bad type of cholesterol that’s damaging to your heart. In addition, limit your alcohol, salt and sugar intake. If you’d like more specific information on a heart-healthy eating plan, check out the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan and the Mediterranean diet.
3-Watch your weight.
Maintaining a healthy weight goes hand-in-hand with developing heart-healthy eating habits and is crucial in decreasing your chances of heart disease. Be especially aware of extra weight carried around your middle. If you’re unsure what your healthiest weight should be, check with your doctor.
4-Get up and get moving.
Not only does regular physical activity help with maintaining a healthy weight, it also reduces your chances of developing other conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Your exercise program doesn’t have to be fancy or strenuous. A brisk-paced, 30-minute walk around the neighborhood most days of the week is enough to get you started. Increasing your time and adding a couple of days a week of strength training will further enhance the heart healthy benefits. Don’t be discouraged if you’re unable to find large blocks of time. Shorter amounts of exercise quickly add up. Even breaking your workout time into three 10-minute sessions works. Then, there are those exercise moments you can sneak in throughout the day. Activities such as walking the dog, taking the stairs, cleaning house and washing the car all count toward meeting your daily total.
5-Get enough sleep.
Sleep is critical to your health. People who skimp on sleep have a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and depression. For most adults, seven to nine hours of sleep each night is enough. Waking up without your alarm clock and feeling refreshed is evidence that you’re getting enough sleep. However, if you’re always reaching for the snooze button and struggling to get out of bed each morning, your
body probably requires more sleep. To improve your sleep, set a schedule and stick to it. Going to bed and waking up at the same times each day can make a huge difference. Also, keep your bedroom dark and quiet.
If you feel like you’re getting enough sleep, but you’re still feeling tired and draggy during the day, talk to your doctor. You might need to be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes you to stop breathing temporarily and interrupts your sleep.
6-Learn to deal with stress.
Everyone has stress. Too many people try to deal with it in ways that make matters worse – for instance, drinking, overeating and smoking. While you can’t run away from stress, you can learn how to manage it more positively. Physical activity, relaxation exercises and meditation are ideal ways to reduce stress. The next time you’re feeling uptight about something, take a brisk 15-minute walk and see what a difference it makes. For even more pronounced benefits, turn that short walk into an hour-long stroll through the woods. Chances are good you won’t remember what was bothering you in the first place.
