Maintaining good overall heart-related health requires significant time investment outside of the doctor’s office. These include key lifestyle changes that improve risk factors for common conditions like heart disease.
Heart disease affects millions of Americans and contributes to nearly 610,000 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC). Heart disease is especially common in the U.S and develops from key risk factors including blood-cholesterol level, obesity, and hypertension – the clinical name for high blood pressure.
Thankfully, improving heart disease risks and managing your risks factors is relatively easy with these preventive care tips:
Eat a balanced diet that promotes heart health
Diet is an essential part of managing your heart disease risks, lowering your weight/obesity level, and lowering blood cholesterol.
A heart-healthy diet includes three meals a day that include your daily intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats like poultry, and fish. Dietary changes to promote heart health should also involve avoiding foots high in trans and saturated fats. These fats can lead to increased blood pressure and cholesterol, which additionally increase heart disease risks.
Speak to a primary care provider about ways to manage your diet and seek out professionals that can assist in nutrition-related health.
Incorporate an daily exercise routine into your lifesytle
Exercise is one of the most useful deterrents of heart disease and has other health benefits including lowering stress. Most importantly though, a daily exercise routine allows you to maintain a healthy weight and reduce blood pressure.
Most adults should try and get in at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise to reduce clinical heart disease risk factors. Activities including gardening, light bike riding, brisk walking, jogging, and pilates are great ways to launch an exercise routine.
Look for a nearby gym or community groups to launch an exercise routine. Better yet, try and get some friends and family to join you in your fitness goals!
Get blood pressure and cholesterol screenings
Hypertension and cholesterol are referred to as “silent killers” when it comes to heart disease since both conditions don’t have immediate/visible symptoms.
The only way for patients to manage and detect these conditions is to visit either an urgent care or primary care office. A medical professional can provide a brief screening that includes your risk of high blood pressure or cholesterol.
In addition, your primary care provider is able to make other healthcare recommendations or referrals to help manage your risk factors.
Getting heart-healthy takes some time, and a lot of commitment, but it can be done! Visit your local medical professional, ask questions, and steadily pursue a healthier life!