There’s never a bad time to think about being more heart-healthy, but February provides a lot more reminders. That’s because it’s Heart Month – an annual celebration of all things cardiovascular, and we don’t want you to miss out. We put together five tips for living more heart–healthily – this month and every month.
1. Eat A Healthy Diet
Eating healthy is one of the best ways to prevent heart disease and improve your cardiovascular health. It starts with eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, but it includes adding more healthy fats, like olive, canola, peanut, and sesame oils; nuts; avocados; olives; and peanut butter, which can improve blood cholesterol levels and lower your risk of heart disease. It also includes steering clear of excess salt, which can contribute to high blood pressure – a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (the American Heart Association recommends no more than a teaspoon of salt per day).
How you cook your meals is just as important as what goes into them. That’s why it pays to use heart-healthy cooking methods like baking, broiling, roasting, steaming, poaching, stir-frying, or sautéing. They better preserve the nutritional value of the healthy ingredients you’re choosing to use without adding the unhealthy excess of processes like frying.
2. Choose An Active Lifestyle
Regular physical activity is another key to keeping your heart healthy. Exercise not only lowers blood pressure and helps us maintain healthy body weight, but it also improves the muscles’ ability to pull oxygen out of the blood, reducing the need for the heart to pump more blood to the muscles.
Physical activity is also a great stress-reliever. It reduces stress hormones that can put an extra burden on the heart. Adding things like weight training, cardio, meditation, yoga, or deep breathing to your daily routine can mean less stress and improved heart health.
3. Quit Smoking (or Don’t Start)
If you don’t smoke, vape, or use tobacco products, don’t ever start. Smoking is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease. According to the FDA, when you breathe in cigarettes and other types of smoke, the blood that’s distributed to the rest of the body becomes contaminated with more than 7,000 chemicals that can damage your heart and blood vessels. And no matter what the ads say, there are no safe tobacco products. So don’t start smoking or vaping, and if you do, take the steps necessary to kick the habit. It will go a long way in improving your heart health.
4. Manage Any Contributing Conditions
If you already have a health condition that puts your heart at greater risk (e.g., high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, diabetes), it’s especially important to talk with your health care team about making lifestyle changes that reduce that risk. Eating better, being active, losing weight, and quitting tobacco are some of the most effective options. But having a candid conversation with your providers may lead to others. It's also important to take your medications as directed.
5. Know Your History & Risks
When it comes to heart disease, family history can be a big contributing factor. That’s why it’s important to know about any heart-related diseases, conditions or complications that run in your family. If you do have a family history, it’s important to know your optimal blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels and to keep them in check. Scheduling and keeping regular check-ups with your primary care provider is the best way to document those things and make sure you’re staying on track.
Heart Month is a great reminder to live heart-healthy, but actually doing so is a year-round commitment. So take these tips to get started and use them as the foundation for a full-time plan. Because that’s what it takes to not just get heart-healthy, but stay that way.