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Are you interested in healthy heart habits? The heart is a very important organ, its main function is to pump oxygenated blood to your organs, therefore you have to keep it healthy and fine just to keep it functioning well.
Humans are suffering from heart disease and sudden strokes. Remember that one out of three deaths in the United States are from heart stoppage but also you should know that 80 percent of cardiovascular diseases are preventable.
Therefore, you can simply lower your risk of having heart disease by improving your habits or by making certain changes in your lifestyle.
Throughout this article, we will identify four important behaviors humans must use in order to protect their cardiovascular health.
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Healthy heart habits: no 1: Blood pressure test
“Your heart must not be exhausted or make him work more than required”
Hypertension is not a good sign for your heart because it puts stress on your arteries pushing them to become narrower and stiffen, so your heart muscles become weaker over time.
This stress will lead to blood vessels in your brain and lead to stroke. Ideally, human blood pressure must not be more than 120 over 80. Remember that your top number is when your heart is contracting, and a lower number is when your heart is at rest.
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Therefore, if you always check out your blood pressure you will be able to see if anything is wrong. In case you have hypertension many things could be taken into account to decrease it.
- Loose weight because the excess weight will drive your heart to work harder so it will need to pump blood throughout your body.
- Decrease your alcohol intake because this overconsumption can increase blood pressure.
- Exercising is a magical pill as already mentioned just above.
- Hypertension is linked to the amount of intake of salt and sugar. World health organization recommends keeping salt intake around 5 grams per day.
Healthy heart habits: no 2- Avoid smoking
Smoking is considered nowadays the main risk for cardiovascular diseases. It is the single largest preventable cause of death in the United States.
Around 36 million (15 percent) of the American population continues to smoke, causing toxicity to the heart. All your blood vessels will be damaged, which increases blood pressure, lower your HDL cholesterol, etc…
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Simply smokers have double the risk of having heart attacks and strokes compared to non-smokers. Therefore, quitting smoking is major, it will immediately lower your risk of having heart failure.
Try to find any resources that can help you to quit, you can contact many associations or your personal doctor to give you some tips and inspiration to keep you away from lighting up and get yourself back on track after you slip down.
Healthy heart habits: no 3 – Healthy diet
Many studies have shown that many foods could help your heart stay healthy. However, food intake could be dived into three parts.
The first part is the food good for your heart, the second one is the food bad to consume and neutral type of food.
- The first part is the food good for your heart such as nuts, seeds, legumes, grains, avocado, fruits and vegetables with no sugar added, and seafood including salmon and sardines rich in vitamins that help out to keep your heart in good condition. Plus, fermented foods such as yogurt, kimchi, and healthy fats mainly like olive oil. All these foods are mainly coming from plant-based food because they have things that our bodies need when we become older.
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- The second one is the food bad to consume and you should avoid such as foods with added sugar like soft drinks, candies and processed meat (hot-dog, salami, etc…), packaged foods (potato chips, nuggets, canned soups, boxed snacks). Most people know that sugary drinks and other sources of sugar are harmful, but they forget that packaged foods contain trans fats and additives that could harm our bodies.
- Finally, neutral types of food are the moderation food, you don’t have to avoid it but you can break with it such as butter, cheese, red meat, eggs, etc… it Is fine to cook or bake it.
Read also: Keeping Your Heart Healthy by Heart Foundation
Healthy heart habits: no 4 – Specify your blood sugar level
Every person has to continuously check their sugar level and monitor their sugar intake. This is a major factor to avoid any heart diseases or heart risks.
Therefore, after testing, in case you would have a high level of sugar, you must directly consult your doctor, but there are many things you can make it by your own like exercising and eating smart.
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Be also aware that your sugar level could increase because of not getting sleep, being obese, consuming alcohol, chronic stress, birth control pills, antidepressants, and other medications.
Finally, pursuing healthy habits is major to keep your heart fine to continuously achieve its required tasks. Nothing is more important than health, just keep it in good status to live freely and long.
Read also: 8 Effects of Stress on Mental and Physical Health
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Dr. Julian Miles is a board-certified general medicine physician with over a decade of experience in delivering comprehensive care to individuals of all ages. With a focus on preventive medicine, holistic wellness, and chronic disease management.