Keeping your heart as healthy as possible is all about living a healthy lifestyle. There are little things you can do every day and bigger decisions that can all help with maintaining a healthy heart.
1. Be more active
One of the best things you can do is to get more exercise and avoid long periods of inactivity. This can mean just getting out for a good walk every day or heading to your local pool or gym a couple of times a week.
Do something active you enjoy to help you keep in the habit. If the thought of the gym doesn’t appeal, maybe try a sport or go cycling.
2. Maintain a healthy weight
Keeping your weight in check can help reduce the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular issues. Be sure to eat a balanced diet and keep an eye on portion control, and being active will also help with maintaining a healthy weight.
Check your BMI to get an idea of whether or not you’re a healthy weight.
3. Cut down on salt
Having too much salt in your diet can lead to high blood pressure, which can increase the risk of other cardiovascular disease. Try to avoid adding salt to you food, and don’t use too much in cooking. You should also check the labels of any ready-made foods you buy as these are so often high in salt and can easily increase your overall intake.
4. Eat more fruit, vegetables, and fibre
Eternally good advice for general health – always aim to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. They provide important vitamins and nutrition as well fibre, which is also important for lowering the risk of heart disease.
You can also increase the fibre in your diet through foods such as wholemeal bread, cereals, and oats.
5. Eat more fish
Getting more fish into your diet can help reduce the risk of heart disease, specifically oily fish rich in omega-3 fats. This includes fish like salmon, sardines, trout, and mackerel. Try adding fish to your diet a couple of times a week to help promote heart health as well as host of other benefits, such as reducing the risk of arthritis and improving cognition.
6. Know your blood pressure
High blood pressure is one of the biggest risk factors when it comes to heart disease, so it’s important to get it checked and managed if needs be. There are no symptoms that come with high blood pressure, so you won’t know if you have it. This is why it’s important to get it checked, especially as we get older and the risk of high blood pressure increases.
7. Quit smoking
Smoking is another very big risk factor for heart disease, so if you’re a smoker, giving up is one of the best things you can do for your heart health. Smoking not only damages your lungs but also the blood vessels around your heart.
Quitting can be difficult, but there are lots of resources and products out there to help, and it can help to improve your quality of life in many different ways.
Cardiology services at Ramsay
You can find a comprehensive cardiology service at Ramsay hospitals around the country, including the latest equipment and the very best specialists, nurses, and other medical staff. If you’d like to speak to one of our experts or make an appointment, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.