10 Tips to Keep Your Heart Healthy
Heart health is important, since many people die of heart attacks every year. Most heart attacks have serious consequences even if they are not fatal. You have to take a great deal of care once you’ve had one and it can totally change your life. But by following these 10 simple tips, you can keep your heart much healthier and avoid having a heart attack.
- Reduce or give up smoking. Smoking is very bad for heart health since it reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood. It not only increases the risk of heart attack, but of other baddies such as stroke.
- Manage your cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a fatty substance in the blood that sticks to the walls of your arteries, preventing blood from flowing freely through your heart.
- Watch your blood pressure and take medication to reduce it if it’s too high. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease. It’s dangerous because you can’t feel anything wrong. It is wise to have your blood pressure checked every time you go to a chemist. It’s usually free.
- If you have diabetes, your risk of heart attack is higher. Always follow the doctor’s orders to best manage your diabetes.
- Exercise is an important part of staying healthy. If you have a sitting down job, try and get up at least once an hour to stretch your legs and get the blood flowing to keep your heart healthy and prevent deep vein thrombosis. Go walking, cycling, dancing or swimming. Play in the park with your kids. Take up gardening.
- Keep your weight down by exercise and by eating healthy foods – and amounts. Obese people are more at risk of heart attack. You may need help to get weight down to an acceptable level if you’ve tried and failed to lose weight.