Tips for a healthy heart

1) Maintain a healthy body weight

Our heart needs to work harder if we are carrying around excess pounds. Obesity is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, as well as a number of other serious conditions. We should try to have a balanced diet, containing plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, oily fish, starchy foods such as wholegrain bread, pasta and rice.

2) Get regular physical exercise

Engaging in regular physical activity reaps benefit upon benefit for our body and mind. Walking is a great way to reduce risk of a heart attack. Simply getting regular cardiovascular exercise five days a week helps maintain a healthy heart.

3) Eat a balanced diet

Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, and make sure that we get plenty of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. We must also choose lean sources of protein, opt for low-fat dairy products and incorporate whole grains into your meals.

4) Avoid tobacco and alcohol

To keep our heart healthy, we must try to limit our alcohol intake and must stop smoking and avoid second-hand smoke. From the moment we stop smoking and drinking, the risk of heart attack starts to reduce. And there is always a better time to give up.

5) Beware of physical health

Risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes may not have symptoms that we can see. That is why regular physicals are so important. If we have any of these conditions, we must see our doctor right away for treatment to help lower our risk for heart disease.

6) Eat less sugar and fat

Before buying, we must read food labels. Staying away from saturated fats can help decreasing the risk of heart attack as Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature. We must rather eat nuts, low-fat dairy products and oats.

7) Minimize stress

If we find things are getting on top of us, we may fail to eat properly, smoke and drink too much and this may increase our risk of a heart attack. Too much stress can raise your blood pressure, which can strain our heart. Managing emotional stress improves our overall health and well-being.

8) Know your family history

If a close relative is at risk of developing coronary heart disease from smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, obesity and diabetes, then we could be at risk too. Therefore our doctor must be the first one to be aware so as the latter can help us to avoid developing heart disease.

9) Ignore stereotypes

Heart disease is not limited to older people and men. It is not uncommon for people in their 30s and 40s to have heart problems. And heart disease is the number one killer of women, regardless of race or ethnicity.

10) Don’t trick yourself or ignore possible symptoms

Think that feeling in your chest is just heartburn? Let a doctor decide. And talk with a doctor if we are thinking about taking aspirin on a regular basis.