Heart Disease Prevention Tips
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death all over the world, but contrary to what people believe, heart disease is not inevitable. There are certain risk factors that you can’t avoid, such as family history, genetic disposition, etc.; however, it can be easily prevented if you follow some basic tips in your life.
Here is a brief overview of heart disease prevention tips and how they can help you live a better life.
1. Blood pressure
Higher blood pressure is probably the most important risk factor involved in heart diseases. In order to avoid getting high blood pressure, one should make sure to adopt a healthy diet that does not contain too much oil or fat. But diet changes alone won’t help; a healthy diet coupled with regular exercise is the best way to prevent a rise in blood pressure. Moreover, you can get your blood pressure checked regularly, which is at least once or twice every year. This will help you to keep your health in check and make necessary changes when required.
2. Cholesterol levels
Cholesterol levels, like high blood pressure, is detrimental in causing heart diseases. They can not only damage your blood vessels but can also lead to a number of heart-related problems. Eating fatty foods often results in rising cholesterol levels in adults. So apart from controlling your diet, you should make sure to get your cholesterol level checked once every year. Screening of cholesterol usually occurs at age. But if you have a family history of high cholesterols, then you should get screened earlier.
3. Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is also a leading factor that results in the early onset of heart diseases. If you are overweight or have a strong family history of type 2 diabetes, then it is recommended that you get screened every 3 years. Maintaining your weight will also help you avoid getting type 2 diabetes and thus prevent heart disease.
4. Eating a healthy diet
A healthy diet goes a long way. It not only helps you maintain your cholesterol and blood pressure levels, but it also reduces your risk of getting type 2 diabetes. In order to get the best outcome, you should try changing your lifestyle, especially in terms of your diet. Try consuming these foods in a healthy diet:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Legumes and beans
- Fish and lean meat
- Free fat dairy foods
- Olive oil or other healthy fats
- Whole grains
Apart from these foods, you should try eating all other foods in moderation. Eating excessively would lead to an unbalanced diet. In order to prevent heart diseases, you should limit the intake of salt, sugar, alcohol, saturated fats, and processed carbohydrates.
5. Weight Maintenance
Being overweight can cause a lot of problems, one being the possibility of getting a heart disease. When you gain weight around your middle ages, the risk of you getting a heart disease rises exponentially. This is also because more weight is associated with high cholesterol and blood pressure levels. Eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly can help maintain weight, but if you are not sure whether you fall in the range of ideal weight, you can check your body mass index.
BMI uses your weight and height to calculate your body fat. You should get your BMI checked once every year. You should try maintaining your BMI under 25. Moreover, you should never be hopeless; losing only 3% to 5% weight can reduce a great number of triglycerides in your body, which helps prevent heart disease.
6. Exercising regularly
Contrary to what a lot of people think, exercising is not only done to reduce or maintain weight. It has many other benefits too. Apart from strengthening your heart muscles, it also improves your blood circulation levels. Moreover, it reduces blood pressure and lowers your body cholesterol levels. All of this combined helps in the prevention of heart diseases. For the best results, you should try indulging in 30-45 minutes of exercise every day, or at least thrice a week.
7. Reduce your alcohol intake
Addicts are not the only ones who are at risk of developing health-related problems. Consuming too much alcohol can also lead to high pressure and higher cholesterol levels. Higher alcohol intake also leads to weight gain, which is another risk factor of heart diseases. It is advised that men limit their alcohol consumption to 2 drinks a day, and women should limit it to one.
8. Limit smoking
Cigarette smoking is one of the worst things you could do to your body; there is no denying that. Thus we would advise that you not smoke at all. It not only raises your blood pressure but also leads to other health problems such as dizziness and laziness throughout the day. This, in return, leads to a lack of willingness to workout or indulge in daily exercise. But leaving smoking is not very easy; thus, we advise that you limit the number of cigarettes that you smoke every day.
9. Managing your stress levels
Stress is directly linked to heart diseases in a number of ways. Extreme stress can sometimes act as a trigger for a sudden heart attack. Continual stress can also lead to a rise in blood pressure over time. Not just that, there are many coping strategies involved that are adopted by people that are detrimental to a person’s health and can create problems in the long run. These include overeating, smoking, and excessive drinking to manage stress. To help manage stress, you can meditate, eat well, or even listen to songs.
10. Regulating your sleep
This is probably the most neglected prevention tip of all. In this fast world, we have forgotten the importance of sleep for maintaining a healthy life. People who don’t sleep well increase their chances of getting obese or suffering from diabetes. In order to prevent these, an individual needs to have at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Another way to regulate sleep is to sleep and wake up at fixed timings every day. This will help relax your body and ensure that you get the required amount of sleep each day.
Get help today!
Following these tips might seem to be a lot of hassle, but our experienced staff at South Florida CardioVascular Specialists will help you through the whole process. They will not only guide you through the prevention tips but also help you in the treatment of heart diseases to ensure a better quality of life.
