Your heart is the engine of your circulatory system. By delivering oxygen and essential nutrients to cells and removing waste, your heart is responsible for your entire body’s health. A healthy heart ensures not only the efficient functioning of your body but also contributes to:
- Helping with energy levels: A strong heart pumps blood more efficiently, delivering oxygen to your muscles, brain and other parts of your body to keep you feeling your best and experiencing less fatigue.
- Improving mental clarity: Heathy blood flow to the brain keeps you sharp and focused, and optimizing your metabolic health helps to prevent dementia and memory loss.
- Supporting a healthy immune system: A strong heart delivers immune cells to help your body fight infections and diseases.
- Reducing the risk of chronic disease: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide, which includes heart attacks, strokes and heart failure.
- Enhancing overall well-being: A healthy heart contributes to physical and emotional well-being. You can live longer and experience a higher quality of life, especially in your later years.
The important thing to remember is that you have real control over your heart health. By adopting healthy habits, you can reduce your risk of heart disease significantly and optimize your ability to spend time doing the things you enjoy. Start by considering what you put into your body and how you keep your body moving. Embrace a heart-healthy diet by limiting processed foods, simple sugars, refined carbs and saturated fats. These foods contribute to the accumulation of plaque (fatty/cholesterol deposits in your arteries), putting you at risk for both heart disease and stroke. Choose lean protein sources, high fiber foods and load up on vegetables.
Exercise is another great way to maintain and improve your heart health. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic activity per week. Biking, swimming and using the elliptical machine are exercises that don’t put too much stress on your joints while getting your heart pumping. Don’t be afraid to use what is accessible to you. Going up and down stairs, walking on a slight incline are all beneficial. Resistance and strength training exercises are great for heart health as building muscle improves your metabolic function, while reducing your risk for diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.
Other tips for heart health include:
- Maintaining a healthy weight: Being overweight or obese increases your risk of heart disease. Visceral fat around organs can disrupt their function and contribute to systemic inflammation, a major risk factor for coronary disease.
- Quitting smoking: Smoking is one of the leading risk factors for heart disease.
- Limit alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to heart failure or abnormal heart rhythms.
- Get regular checkups: Schedule regular checkups with your doctor to monitor your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and other important heart health markers. These routine checkups can catch early signs of heart disease.
At Endeavor Health, our dedicated teams of primary care physicians and prevention specialists can help you create a personalized prevention plan that meets your goals. To learn more, visit us online or call (847) 864-3278.
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