7 Tips to Heart Health

Feb 3, 2023 | Fitness, Health Tips

Fruit in a Heart Shaped Bowl

1. Know your heart health history

Does anyone in your family have heart disease? Do you know your risks factors? Remember knowing your risk factors does not mean that you will have heart health issues but shows if you should make changes to your lifestyle, exercise frequency, and dietary changes to reduce your risk. Understanding your risk gives you the knowledge to may changes to reduce your risk (Aly, 2022).
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2. Eat a healthy diet

What is considered a healthy diet? Healthy diet choices are a balanced meals with fruits, vegetables, grains, lean meats, healthy fats, and limiting foods that impact health (World Health Organization, 2020). If you heard things about avoiding foods, remember your body needs certain foods to perform at its peak and maintain homeostasis.
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3. Get enough movement and limit sedentary periods

Get at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activities a week and 2 days of strength training (CDC, 2022).
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4. Quit and limit habits that work against heart health

What are some of those habits (Harvard Medical School, 2011)? Think about smoking, excessive drinking, eating high amounts of certain fats, excessive consumption of sugar for example in sugary drinks, these are just a few. Remember you may work towards making improvements on decreasing habits that work against your heart health and replace them with new habits as a process towards making a change and improving your overall health.

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5. Take medications as prescribed

While working on improving your heart health you may need changes in your medications, but you must work with your physicians before making any changes and follow their guidance (Harvard Medical School, 2012).
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6. Make sure you stay hydrated

What is the recommended amount of water consumption per day? Women should get 11.5 cups of water and men should get 11.5 cups of water per day for individuals without any health issues limiting fluid intake with more needed for working out in hot and humid conditions or long periods of exercise (Institute of Medicine, 2005). Remember some of the water may come from the foods depending on your diet (Zelman & LD, 2006).
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7. Monitor your blood pressure

You may monitor your blood pressure at home to ensure that you are within the limits (American Heart Association, 2018). Talk to your doctor about what is a healthy limit for your body.
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References

Aly, A. (2022, February 1). Know your heart health numbers. Mayo Clinic Health System. https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/know-your-heart-health-numbers

American Heart Association. (2018, January 29). Monitoring your blood pressure at home. www.heart.org. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings/monitoring-your-blood-pressure-at-home

CDC. (2022, October 20). Move more; Sit less. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

Harvard Medical School. (2011, January 1). Top five habits that harm the heart. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/top-five-habits-that-harm-the-heart

Harvard Medical School. (2012, February 1). Medications help the heart – if you take them – Harvard health. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/medications-help-the-heart-if-you-take-them

Institute of Medicine. (2005). Dietary reference intakes for water, potassium, sodium, chloride, and sulfate. Washington DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10925

World Health Organization. (2020, April 29). Healthy diet. World Health Organization (WHO). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet

Zelman, K. M., & LD. (2006, May 5). The wonders of water. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/wonders-of-water