Heart health is essential to the health of all other organs. Because your cardiovascular system, including the heart and blood vessels, is essential for maintaining your physical well-being, keeping your heart healthy is critical. Doing so requires getting adequate exercise and eating a healthy diet, among other things. It's also important to be aware of cardiovascular disease symptoms.
Diet
Diet plays an important role in maintaining heart health. The Mayo Clinic recommends limiting saturated and trans fats to help reduce your blood cholesterol. A high blood cholesterol level contributes to plaque buildup in the arteries, which can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. Choosing low-fat proteins, such as lean meat, poultry and fish, low-fat dairy products, egg whites and legumes such as beans, peas and lentils helps reduce your fat and cholesterol intake. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains all contain fiber and nutrients important to heart health.
Managing Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight is about more than just looks. Obesity is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, according to the American Heart Association, with the risk of death increasing with extra pounds. Even if you're only moderately overweight, you are at increased risk, particularly if you're between the ages of 30 and 64. Obese people are more likely to have high blood pressure and elevated triglycerides, or "bad cholesterol," and decreased HDL, or "good cholesterol." Being more active and eating nutritious foods can help you maintain both a healthy weight and healthy heart.
Exercise
A healthy heart requires regular aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise challenges the circulatory system and increases blood flow to the muscles for an extended period. Walking, hiking, jogging, bicycling and swimming are all excellent ways to improve your cardiovascular fitness. In addition to a regular exercise program, everyday activities such as walking the dog, taking stairs instead of the elevator, parking your car farther away from the store or doing yard work or brisk housework can contribute to a healthy heart.
Lifestyle
You can make lifestyle choices that contribute to your overall health and the health of your heart. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., according to the American Heart Association. In addition to promoting lung disease, smoking affects the heart by causing atherosclerosis, or fatty buildup in the arteries, and a decrease in "good cholesterol." Smoking also puts you at risk for stroke, peripheral arterial disease and aortic aneurysm.
Danger signs
Warning signs of a heart attack include discomfort in the center of the chest----it may feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain---or possibly pain or discomfort in one or both arms, or the back, jaw, neck or stomach. Shortness of breath, cold sweat, nausea and lightheadedness are other symptoms that should not be ignored, as they can indicate a heart attack, particularly in women. Symptoms of a stroke include sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body, sudden confusion or trouble seeing or walking, and sudden severe headache. If you experience any of these symptoms, call 911 immediately.
