How to take care of your Heart Health
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the major health concerns worldwide. Nowadays young people in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s are suffering from heart attacks.
Causes of heart diseases :
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- High level of cholesterol
- Tobacco use
- Consumption of alcohol
- Smoking
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Obesity
- Unhealthy eating habits
- Hereditary factors
We can make our hearts healthy by changing our lifestyle and eating habits. Below mentioned are a few heart health tips that we can follow to maintain a healthy heart –
- Eat a healthy diet:
Our diet plays an important role to stay healthy.
- Heart-healthy foods consist of fruits, vegetables, fish whole grains, legumes, and nuts.
- Eating oily fish such as pilchards, sardines, mackerel, salmon, and fresh tuna are rich in omega-3 fatty acids to improve cholesterol levels.
- Limit salt intake as it leads to high blood pressure and in turn increases the risk of heart disease.
- Consume less sugar, there’s no direct evidence that sugar damages the heart directly but eating more sugar can result in obesity and diabetes which in turn leads to heart problems.
- Quit smoking:
- Smokers suffer from heart diseases and stroke more often than non-smokers.
- Inhaling second-hand smoke (other people’s smoke) is harmful to both smokers and non-smokers.
- Smoking damages the heart, blood vessels, reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood and increases blood pressure.
- Smoking increases plaque accumulation in blood vessels known as atherosclerosis.
- Obesity:
- Obesity is connected with many co-morbidities such as heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, musculoskeletal diseases, kidney problems, certain cancers, and sleep apnea.
- Being obese or overweight escalates the possibility of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and circulatory diseases such as heart attack, stroke, and vascular dementia. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have been observed in obese children.
- To prevent obesity consume more dietary fiber, eat less sugary foods, incorporate more physical activities in your daily life, drink plenty of water, eat more fruits and vegetables and avoid junk foods.
- Avoid alcohol consumption:
- Excessive alcohol consumption leads to an increased risk of stroke, High BP, abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), and peripheral artery disease.
- There is no safe level for alcohol consumption, so it is recommended to avoid drinking alcohol altogether to protect your heart.
- Regular exercise:
- It is a well-known fact that regular physical exercise is good for cardiovascular health.
- Regular physical activity can increase heart health by controlling weight, blood sugar, cholesterol, BP, improving sleep quality, and reducing depression.
- Avoid doing extreme physical exercises as they can cause heart damage. Moderate exercises are the best option for good mental and physical health.
- Control stress:
- Mental stress can affect an individual’s overall health; it can increase blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood cholesterol thus causing heart problems.
- Below given are some of the stress management techniques that we can follow in our everyday life –
- Keep positive attitude
- Mediate
- Exercise
- Eat healthy food
- Breathing exercises (yoga)
- Treatment for anxiety and depression
- Listening to music
- Playing with pets
- Take a walk
- Reading books
- Watch a movie
- Maintain good oral health:
- Poor oral hygiene can lead to heart diseases. Bacteria and other germs in the mouth travel to other parts of the body through blood circulation.
- When these bacteria reach the heart they get attached to the damaged areas and cause inflammation causing endocarditis (inflammation of the inner lining of the heart, the endocardium).
- Get your blood sugar and blood pressure checked regularly
- It is important to get blood pressure and blood sugar checked regularly by a healthcare professional.
- Many times high blood pressure symptoms are not visible and it can damage the heart. Talk to your doctor if you have behavioral risks such as an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco, and alcohol use. Your doctor can help you plan a correct lifestyle so that you can get back heart health back on track.