Effective, conservative heart health treatments often require lifestyle modifications and health behavior change. According to the American Heart Association, there are numerous activities a person can perform to improve his heart health. Switching to a healthy diet, engaging in physical activity--especially aerobic activity--and maintaining an appropriate blood pressure by participating in activities that help manage stress in a healthy way all contribute to optimal heart and cardiovascular functioning.
Diet
Adopting a healthier diet is a powerful way to favorably influence heart heath. According to the Mayo Clinic, altering eating habits can be challenging, even when a person knows and accepts that the continued consumption of certain foods may boost his risk of cardiovascular disease. The Mayo Clinic makes numerous dietary recommendations to improve heart health, including eating more fruits and vegetables, selecting whole grains, reducing the amount of salt in food, controlling portion sizes and planning ahead by creating daily menus. The Mayo Clinic also suggests that a person eating a heart-healthy diet should indulge in an occasional treat, as a reward for maintaining consistent heart-healthy eating habits. They note that periodically consuming a treat won't negatively affect the heart health gains made over time, as long as it does not become an excuse for discontinuing a heart-healthy eating plan.
Exercise
Exercise is another potent heart health measure that can reduce the likelihood of cardiovascular disease. According to Health.com, increasing physical activity and improving fitness lowers the risk of heart attack, diabetes and high blood pressure, along with many other conditions. Health.com also states that if a person already has one or more of these conditions, exercising on a regular basis may help her control her health problems and improve her sense of well-being. Suggested routines to improve heart health include moderately vigorous aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, for at least several hours each week--which can be spread out over several days--or vigorous aerobic activity, such as running or rowing, for at least one and a quarter hours each week. To gauge exercise intensity, a person can wear a heart rate monitor or perform the "talk test." If the activity causes a person to work so hard that he can't talk, the activity is too intense. If a person can talk, but not sing, while performing the activity, the exercise intensity is at an appropriate level.
Transcendental Meditation
Meditation and relaxation techniques help manage blood pressure, which reduces stress on the cardiovascular system and promotes optimal heart health. According to a 2006 study by Maura Paul-Labrador, MPH and colleagues published in the journal "Archives of Internal Medicine," use of transcendental meditation (TM) by coronary heart disease (CHD) patients over a period of 16 weeks improved blood pressure, insulin resistance and cardiac autonomic nervous system tone, relative to a control group that received health education only. The researchers stated that TM may regulate a person's physiological response to stress and improve CHD risk factors, and that it may be an important therapeutic modality for patients with CHD.
Performing TM may also be an important CHD prevention and wellness tool. According to the Transcendental Meditation Program website, the state of restful alertness attained during TM promotes health by decreasing sympathetic nervous system activity, which dilates blood vessels and reduces stress hormones.
References
- American Heart Association: Life's Simple 7
- Mayo Clinic: Heart-Healthy Diet: 8 Steps to Prevent Heart Disease
- Health.com: The Best Types of Exercises for Heart Health
- "Archives of Internal Medicine"; A Randomized Controlled Trial of Transcendental Meditation; Maura Paul-Labrador, MPH; June 2006
- The Transcendental Meditation Program: Cardiovascular Disease
