Everyone knows that keeping a healthy heart is not easy, especially if you have lived a sedentary lifestyle for years. The good news is that making simple heart-healthy lifestyle changes could have dramatic impacts on your future. In the U.S., cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of premature death not just in the U.S. but around the world. With this being the case, more people are looking for ways to prevent and reverse heart disease. Many people are turning to natural remedies as a way of making these lifestyle changes.
There are many common heart-healthy lifestyle changes that help lower blood pressure. They include: losing weight, quitting smoking and/or drinking, maintaining a proper diet, and reducing stress. As stated above, some of these lifestyle factors also reduce cholesterol levels and help to lower blood pressure. All these things combine to keep your heart healthy and prevent the onset of heart disease.
Heart-Healthy Lifestyle Changes
These lifestyle changes are not just good for your heart’s health but for your entire well-being. When your body is healthy, it can help to reduce your risk of many illnesses, including coronary artery disease. In fact, if you smoke or use tobacco products, you are taking a risk with your heart. Cigarette smoking increases your risk of heart disease and other health problems. Also, alcohol use negatively affects your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and your overall health.
Things To Consider
By taking all these factors into consideration, it is easy to see how making small changes in your lifestyle can have a tremendous impact on your long-term heart health. For example, if you are trying to quit smoking, you will likely want to take a look at your diet. You should eliminate or greatly reduce your consumption of foods that have been proven to increase the likelihood of heart diseases, such as red meats and dairy products. In addition, you should focus on getting plenty of physical exercise daily and eating a low-fat, high-fiber diet. These types of heart-healthy lifestyle changes will help to significantly reduce your chances of developing heart disease.
Of course, while you are making some exciting changes in your life, you will need to continue to monitor your health and watch for the development of any of these risk factors. This is a necessary part of maintaining a healthy heart and achieving optimum heart health. For example, you may be doing everything you can to maintain your weight at a reasonable level. Unfortunately, being overweight can increase your risk for heart problems. If you are making some positive changes in your lifestyle, such as quitting smoking and reducing your overall weight, you should still monitor your weight to ensure that you are not putting yourself at risk for heart health complications.
Risk Factors
The more you know about the causes of heart disease, the more you can work towards changing those risks. However, while you may be able to make some significant changes in your lifestyle, if you do not also quit smoking and get regular exercise, you will not be able to lower your risk for heart disease. Similarly, while making some healthy lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, you will need to monitor your weight regularly. You cannot expect to lower your risk for heart disease by only watching your weight and not quitting smoking, or you will still be putting yourself at risk for developing heart disease. While many people focus on weight loss, if you do not stop smoking, you will still be putting yourself at risk of developing heart disease. Smoking will also lead to other health issues, so the best solution is to quit smoking!
Finally, despite all of the good things you are doing to improve your lifestyle, if you do not maintain healthy blood pressure, you will continue to put yourself at risk for coronary heart disease. Your blood pressure needs to be between 120 and 140 if you want to reduce your risk for heart disease. So, it is very important to check your blood pressure on a regular basis. If you do not check it regularly, you may be putting yourself at risk of developing heart disease, which can be fatal!
Bottom Line
To sum up, making some lifestyle changes is very important to help you lower your risk for heart problems. In particular, it is important to quit smoking, lose weight, quit drinking, and get regular cardiovascular exams. However, if you already have heart disease, you may have to take more aggressive steps to protect yourself and your family. Also, it is essential to monitor your blood pressure regularly. By making these lifestyle changes, you will dramatically reduce your risk for coronary heart disease and a number of other life-threatening diseases!
