5 Ways to Keep Your Heart Healthy
In Honor of National Heart Month, The Cedars would like to share 5 easy ways to keep your heart healthy. Having a healthy heart indicates a healthy lifestyle impacting your happiness, level of energy, improvements in appearance, and most importantly, life longevity. The consequences of having a bad heart are horrifying–it can cause heart attacks, strokes, coronary diseases, diabetes, and further health problems. In fact, cardiovascular-related diseases are one of the most common causes of death. At The Cedars, we recommend heart healthy tips to our patients in our Cardiac Care Program. We’d like to share some so you can keep your heart happy and healthy as well!
Change your eating habits
We’ve all heard this phrase before as a kid: “eat your veggies!” It’s important to realize that eating vegetables and food with low calories is only part of a healthy, fulfilling diet. Remember, you can make room for those indulgent foods as long as it is in moderation. Here are some foods and tips you can accommodate to your diet for a healthier heart.
Fish: Adding fish to your diet is crucial because of its health benefits that result in eating it. Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are absolutely necessary to maintain a healthy heart. It lowers blood pressure, reduces the risk of heart attacks, and stroke. Not only is it good for your heart but it has health benefits to your brain functions and improves your vision!
Say No to salt: High sodium intake can result in high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems such as stokes, heart failures, and heart attacks. Salt it causes water retention in your body and research says that limiting salt intake can decrease the rates of heart disease.
Go nuts by eating nuts: Nuts are extremely good for your cardiovascular system and are a great snack to munch on. They can lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and help with weight control.
Stay Active Regularly
Being active can benefit your heart in magnificent ways. There are many ways to stay active regularly to keep your heart healthy, here are some alternatives to going to the gym.
Go on walks: It’s not a chore to go on walks, in fact it can be an enjoyable activity; you may even walk into beautiful sceneries and discover new things on your walk. By going on walks, you’re staying active and keeping your body in shape. Walking is an easy activity and it’s a part of our daily routine anyway.
Use the stairs: Instead of reaching for that elevator button, try taking the stairs. Climbing the stairs could feel like a chore but once you make to the top, you know you’ve succeeded.
Fitness Classes: Working out doesn’t have to be miserable, check out your local gym and try fitness classes they offer. It’s always motivational to work out with people who are all doing the same thing. It could be fun and you might end up loving it! Some examples of fitness classes you may be interested in are yoga, zumba, spin classes, and dance classes.
Watch Your Physical Health
See the doctor regularly: Visit your doctor regularly in order to ensure that there is nothing wrong with your body. It’s an obvious yet important factor that should be part of everyone’s life.
Maintain a healthy weight: A healthy weight indicates a healthy heart, meaning it’s a less risk of obesity, which is one of the leading reasons of heart problems. It also plays a remarkable role in your overall physical and mental health.
Healthy level of blood pressure and cholesterol: Since a high blood pressure and cholesterol are two prominent deteriorations of a bad heart, it’s essential that you keep a healthy them at levels. You can do that by eating right and staying active!
Control Your Mental Health
Managing your mental health is essential when it comes to maintaining a healthy heart. Believe it not, the mind and the body are not two separate components of a person. Your mind impacts your body significantly and it’s crucial that your mind is as great as it can be. Having a content state of mind leads to a healthier heart. Some ways of fulfilling that are:
Read a book: Grab your favorite book and just relax. It could calm your mind and take you away from reality.
Meditate: Research says that meditation is one of the best activities for your mind and body. Some of its health benefits are improvements in metabolism, immune system, happiness, sleep cycle and a great stress reliever.
Take short breaks throughout the day: It’s important that you take a break each day during the day to halt anything you keep your mind busy with. A short break can impact your mood significantly and reduce any stress on your shoulders.
Sleep well: Yes, sleep. We do it every single day but it’s substantial that you’re getting at least 8-10 hours every night. Sleep impacts how our brains function and it can highly benefit your heart health.
Avoid Smoking
Smoking is one of the main reasons behind deteriorating health and the ultimate cause of heart problems. By refusing to smoke, you’re saving your heart and lungs from a lot of troubles.
If you or a loved one requires in-home care due to pulmonary heart disease, contact The Cedars. We provide home care services for Rhode Island. Our home health staff contains highly trained and experienced nurses who are able to provide a range of home health services.