How to Improve Your Heart Health
Heart health is something you can work on every day.
Key Points:
Heart disease is the number one cause of death worldwide.
For many people it is preventable through healthy lifestyle changes.
Learn key ways to improve your heart health and prevent heart disease.
What is Heart Disease?
Heart disease is the number one cause of death worldwide. However, for many people it can be prevented, and there are many steps you can take to reduce your risk of developing heart disease.
Heart disease is a term used for a range of conditions that affect your heart. This includes: blood vessel diseases (coronary artery disease), heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias), and heart defects you’re born with (congenital heart defects).
This article will explore key ways to improve your heart health and prevent heart disease.
How Can I Improve Heart Health and Prevent Heart Disease?
Physical Activity
Your heart is a muscle, and as with other muscles in the body, physical activity strengthens it.
Exercise also helps to manage common heart disease risk factors, including:
High blood pressure
High cholesterol, and
Being overweight.
Build in regular physical activity to your week:
Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise 5 times a week
Take the stairs, walk or cycle instead of driving
Include some exercise where you are raising your heart rate.
Quit Smoking
Smoking damages the blood vessels leading to your heart, brain and other areas of your body. This increases your risk of heart attack or stroke by 4 times that of non-smokers.
Quitting smoking can be challenging and it can help to have support from your doctor, a quitline and friends and family.
When you quit smoking, your risk of heart attack and stroke quickly decreases.
Eat Healthy Fats NOT Trans Fats
We need healthy fats in our diet, however one group of fat we don’t need is trans fat.
Trans fat is known to increase risks for heart disease and stroke. This is because trans fat increases levels of problematic cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein or LDL) and decreases helpful cholesterol levels (high-density lipoprotein or HDL).
This can lead to blood flow issues and ultimately clogging of your arteries.
Trans fats are manufactured fats often found in margarine, fried fast food, and snack foods. Look for ‘partially hydrogenated oils’ in the ingredient list and try to pick foods with 0% trans fat.
Healthy fats include those that are naturally occurring in foods like salmon and avocado.
Practice Good Dental Hygiene
We know dental hygiene is important for the mouth and gum health. But what about heart health?
Regular flossing and brushing prevents gum disease, which in terms prevents bacteria from the mouth moving into the bloodstream and causing heart issues.
Floss and brush your teeth daily to support gum and heart health.
Get a Heart Health Check from Your Doctor
If you are 45 years or older (30 years or older for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) it is recommended that you get a Medicare-covered Heart Health Check from your doctor (Australia).
Your doctor will assess any risk factors you have for heart disease, including:
Blood pressure
Cholesterol
Diet
Physical activity
Medical and family history
Your doctor can support you to develop a plan to manage any risk factors and prevent heart disease.
Key Takeaways:
Whilst heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, there are many ways to prevent it through healthy lifestyle factors.
These include:
Regular physical activity
Quitting smoking and avoiding second-hand smoke
Eating healthy fats and avoiding trans fats
Practicing daily dental hygiene
Having a heart health check with your doctor
If you’re concerned about your heart health or want to know more, make a time to discuss this with your doctor today.
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