6 Simple Ways to Take Care of Your Heart

A healthy heart pumps blood throughout your cardiovascular system, so it can suffuse your organs with oxygen and nutrients while whisking away toxins and waste products. This fist-sized organ is responsible for keeping your body alive.

Unfortunately, most women and men in the United States don’t think about their heart health until they experience chest pain or other symptoms that send them to a cardiologist. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the US.

Our cardiologists at Advanced Medical Care in Queens and Brooklyn, New York, urge patients to pay attention to their heart health. Whether you already have cardiovascular issues or you simply want to prevent them, you can adopt simple habits that improve your heart health and reduce your risk for early death.

1. Pump up your pump

Your heart muscle powers your body. But like every other muscle, it has to be exercised to stay fit and healthy. Authorities such as the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine maintain that the most potent exercise routine for heart health combines aerobics with resistance training. Some healthy options include:

Swimming and water aerobics

Swimming is an excellent way to work your cardiovascular system and strengthen your heart. It doesn’t put stress on your joints, which is a significant benefit for anyone with arthritis or obesity.

Resistance training

Resistance training helps you build stronger muscles so you turn up your metabolism and burn more calories, even when you’re at rest. If you’ve never lifted weights or used resistance bands before, consult a trainer or physical therapist to learn correct form.

Walking

If running is too tough on your joints, try walking instead. Take the stairs instead of using the elevator. 

Ideally, you should get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. You can spread that out through an exercise regimen, such as weight lifting and swimming, as well as daily household tasks and walking.

2. Eat for your heart

The DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) is a great way to transform your eating habits to feel better, have more energy, and support your heart health. This diet encourages you to limit fatty meats and dairy, sugar, and salt. You can create delicious meals and snacks with:

• Low-fat dairy
• Whole grains
• Beans
• Vegetables
• Meat, poultry, and fish
• Healthy fats and oils

The diet also allows for a limited number of nuts and seeds, due to their high fat content, and no more than five sweets per week. The DASH diet focuses on nutrient-rich foods that also tend to be flavorful and satiating.

3. Quit the vices

Smoking doesn’t just cause a number of cancers; it also weakens your heart. Chronic cigarette smoking carries a high risk for congestive heart failure. Excessive alcohol consumption (three or more drinks per day) weakens the heart muscle. When continued for years on end, alcohol abuse can cause cardiomyopathy.

In combination, these two toxins interact with one another in ways that either cause or exacerbate cardiovascular disease. If you need help quitting alcohol, smoking, or recreational drug use, let us know so we can refer you to a cessation program.

4. Trim down

Not surprisingly, carrying extra weight puts extra stress on your heart. When you adopt heart-healthy habits, such as changing your diet and exercising more, excess weight tends to drop. However, if you’re obese or severely overweight, we may recommend a medically supervised weight-loss program to ease the strain on your heart.

5. Sleep well

Sleep is a time of active organ repair. Though you may think you’re wasting time by being immobilized for 7-9 hours a night, that time is invaluable for your heart health and overall health.

When you don’t get enough sleep, you can’t function as well as you do with plenty of restorative rest and rejuvenation. People who sleep for fewer than seven hours per night on a regular basis are at higher risk for:

• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity

If you don’t feel rested after your night of sleep, ask us for a sleep study. 

6. Don’t stress

Take a deep breath. Worrying about your heart health isn’t good for your heart health! Focus on taking positive steps that improve your overall well-being, and heart health will follow.

If you have a tendency to feel anxious, depressed, or stressed out, you can adopt deep-breathing or meditation techniques to calm your nervous system. You might also benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy.

If you’ve noticed chest symptoms, or if cardiovascular disease runs in your family, contact Advanced Medical Care for a cardiovascular evaluation and treatment or prevention plan today.