Protect Your Heart and Improve Your Heart Health with Easy Tips and Healthy Lifestyle

The human heart is one of the most important yet very fragile organs. The function of the heart is to pump the oxygenated blood throughout the body. Therefore taking care of heart health is very important. Today the risk of heart diseases have been greatly increased in both men and women.

Heart diseases especially heart attack is one of the major cause of sudden death these days. Fortunately, we can control the health of our heart and avoid risks of cardiac problems such as heart attack, heart failure or coronary spasm etc. While the risk factors such as family history and age for heart problems can’t be avoided or changed but still if we take precautions we can limit or minimize the risk of factors which can trigger heart problems.

To protect your heart from serious heart problems and improve the health of your heart all you need is to adopt a healthy and proper lifestyle. It is said that precaution is always better than cure. With little effort and determination, one can easily change his/her lifestyle from unhealthy to healthy and right track.

Another benefit of adopting a healthy lifestyle is that it can boost up your overall health and lowers the risk of other health problems too. This article covers all the precautions, tips and ways which can help to improve heart health.

What does Healthy Lifestyle Mean?

A healthy lifestyle means adopting a healthy and proper diet followed by regular exercise and walk. The diet we intake plays an important role in both improving and declining of our heart. Heart problems are usually associated with other health problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity etc. and the root of all these health problems is unhealthy and improper diet.

Moreover, inactivity and poor physical fitness also trigger heart problems, high cholesterol, high blood pressure etc. Hence in order to protect your heart from severe cardiac problems, you need to switch your current lifestyle (unhealthy) to the healthy one.

We have listed a few ways which can help you change your lifestyle and improves your heart health.

Indulge in Physical Activity and Exercise:

One of the major cause of not only cardiac problems but other health issues is the lack of physical activity. Although it is very tempting to eating in front of a television screen and not moving or doing any physical activity in reality, this habit is very harmful to our heart and overall health.

In a study, conducted by Harvard, it was concluded that by just watching television for two hours a day can increase the risk of heart/cardiac problems by 15 percent. Persons who eat in front of television screens and stays on the couch have high risk of heart diseases especially cardiac arrest.

Hence the first step in protecting your heart and improving your heart health is to indulge yourself in physical activity. Physical activity does not only mean exercise but it also includes brisk walking, cycling or swimming, jogging and running. You can adopt one or more physical activities.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), physical activity for at least half hour per day is necessary in order to improve heart health. One can also split the physical activity into 3 sessions of 10 minutes each in a day. Regular exercise and physical activity does not only improve heart health but also helps to reduce overweight.

Also, exercise and physical activity like brisk walking and jogging are very effective in lowering the riks of high blood pressures, it also improves the overall blood circulation in our body, reduces the level of bad or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol & triglycerides in our bloodstream.

It only requires commitment and a strong determination. It might seem a little difficult in the beginning but it comes with many health benefits as well as physical activity also improves your physical fitness and physical appearance of body. Which means it’s good for both your health and beauty.

Quit Smoking:

Cigarette or tobacco smoking is very injurious human health. Smoking comes with a number of fatal and life-threatening diseases such as mouth, lung or throat cancers, lung diseases, heart diseases, and stoke. A person who does not have risk factors but is indulge in smoking has 2 to 4 time’s higher risk of heart diseases. Smoking can trigger the plaque buildup and damage the heart vessels wither making the walls thinner or hardening the arteries. As a result, the heart has to work hard and t exerts a lot of pressure on heart as well as the coronary arteries.

Smoking can worsen heart diseases and it is life-threatening. The smoke from the cigarette is injurious to the smoker as well as the persons around him or her. It is quite necessary to quit smoking if you want a healthy heart.

There are many ways to quit smoking. One can quit smoking by joining smoking cessation aids or with the help of counseling. Smoking cessation and quitting requires strong determination, will power and commitment. It might take multiple attempts to quit smoking but once you overcome this habit you can alleviate all the health risks for your heart and lungs.

Moderate Drinking:

Excessive or daily use of alcohol also increases the risk of many heart problems. As we know that heart diseases are mainly associated with other health problems such as high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure or high blood sugar levels (diabetes), therefore alcohol plays an important role in reducing the heart health.

Daily intake of alcohol in excess increases the level of cholesterol in our blood and it triggers the plaque formation inside the blood vessels mainly in the coronary arteries. The plaque buildup narrows the arteries and decreases the blood flow to the heart. As a result, the tissues and muscles of heart get damage and it can lead to severe heart problems such as cardiac arrest, angina, heart failures etc.

A study shows that men should not have more than 2 drinks a day while women must take 1 drink a day. More than 1 or 2 drinks a day can trigger the heart problems and associated health problems which can reduce the life span.

Work on Stress:

many heart problems such as heart failure or cardiac arrest are triggered by stress. Stress puts strain or greater pressure on the heart increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases or problems. People who are experiencing mild to moderate stress are recommended to exercise.

Jeffrey Fisher, MD, a cardiologist, clinical professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and an attending physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, says, “When people start to exercise and feel the endorphins, they start to feel better both physically and mentally.” He further says, “Exercise has also been shown to reduce the risk of death after heart attack.”

Stress management s therefore important. Stress can also be relieved through proper meditation. A study has concluded that people who have heart problems who meditate are nearly 50 percent less risk of heart arrest, stroke and sudden death caused by cardiac arrest.

Healthy and Proper Diet:

Food/diet has an important role in health improvement as well as our food or diet can also cause decline in our health. It depends on what we eat and how much we eat. Eating a certain type of diet or food can increase the risk of high cholesterol or high blood pressure, ultimately leading to heart problems.

Dr. Fischer says the “The quality and quantity of the types of food you put into your body are important," He also added, “Look for foods that are high in nutrients but low in calories.”

It means that we should avoid excessive use of food/diet which has a level of cholesterol. Food products such red meat, full-fat dairy products or animal products and commercially baked cookies and cakes, as well as the junk food such as chips, processed meat, and deserts, contains the high level of triglycerides, trans and saturated fats. In order to avoid any heart problems or high cholesterol level, you must limit or quit the use of such foods in your diet.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, provides a list of both foods which are healthy and non-healthy for our heart and overall health. Food which is rich in soluble fibers, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin C, and other nutrients should be added to our diet.

Fish such as trout, salmon, tuna etc., walnuts, are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Moreover tree nuts especially almonds are very good for healthy and improved heart rate & health. Fruits and vegetable are rich in soluble fibers which reduces the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. Soluble fibers are also available in whole grains such as oatmeal and oat barns etc.

Use of citrus fruits is very beneficial for improving heart health. Skinless chicken does not increase the bad cholesterol in our blood. According to Dr. Fisher, a proper Mediterranean diet includes plenty of soluble fibers such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains etc. omega-3 fatty acids from fish and walnuts and proteins from skinless chicken.

Maintain a Healthy Weight:

Over-weight and obesity attracts many severe health problems and increases the risk of heart problems. Not only is this, but the risk of heart attacks also higher in extremely underweight people. The common cause of death in people suffering from anorexia is a heart attack.

Obese persons are likely to have high cholesterol levels and they also have high blood pressure. Both of these factors contribute to decreasing the health of the heart and its muscles. On the other hand, people who are underweight may suffer from low blood pressure, imbalance electrolyte levels, irregular heart rhythms all of the factors which are critical in disturbing the normal heartbeats. It means it is quite necessary to maintain a normal and healthy body weight if you want to protect your heart from any kind of damage or fatigue.

A healthy weight reflects a healthy lifestyle, and it helps to improve the blood circulation in the body. When the blood circulation in the body is healthy and normal, the heart is free from any stress or strain. And it prevents the damage or muscle weakling of the heart.

Final Word:

Other factors or lifestyle which can help you to maintain a healthy lifestyle include managing your blood cholesterol level, maintain and manage your blood pressure, and controlling the blood sugar levels. Moreover, to further avoid any health problems make sure to have a regular checkup. Timely treatment and medication can greatly improve heart problems.

By adopting such lifestyles one can protect his/her heart from many life-threatening health problems. A healthy lifestyle not only improves your health but also increase the life span and quality of life. Today we need more precautions and health tips because of the high risk of heart problems in the world.