5 Lifestyle Changes to Keep Your Heart Healthy

Your cardiovascular system is made up of the vital veins, arteries, and blood vessels that carry blood throughout your body, and with this system your body gets nutrients, oxygen, and other essentials you need to live. 

Your heart is the center of it, the muscular organ that pumps oxygenated blood throughout your body.

Keeping this system and your heart in good health is important for your long-term well-being, and you can do this with some basic lifestyle changes.

At Pinnacle Healthcare System in Hollywood and Pembroke Pines, Florida, our extensive medical staff can help you maintain your cardiovascular health.

To better understand what you can do, let’s look at some common heart problems, the signs and risk factors you should know about, and some steps to avoid these conditions.

Common heart problems

Here are the heart problems most people are likely to deal with:

• Heart attack — when your heart doesn’t get the blood it needs to work, often due to blockages, tears, or lack of oxygen
• Heart failure — when  your heart can’t pump enough blood to the rest of the body 
• Stroke — a lack of blood supply to the brain, which can happen in the form of a blood clot (ischemic stroke) or a bleed in or on the brain (hemorrhagic stroke)
• Arrhythmia — an abnormal heart rhythm where it beats too fast, too slow, or in other odd patterns

Risk factors and symptoms

Heart problems can be due to structural or genetic problems such as:

• Congenital problems that develop before birth
• A family history of heart issues
• Problems due to aging

Lifestyle habits that affect heart health include:

• Physical inactivity (a sedentary lifestyle)
• Lack of proper sleep
• An unhealthy diet
• Stress
• Smoking or secondhand smoke

Other underlying problems that affect your heart’s health include high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, depression, anxiety, metabolic disorders, and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

Symptoms of heart problems vary and include angina (chest pain or discomfort), upper back or neck pain, vomiting, nausea, shortness of breath, dizziness, heart palpitations, swelling in the veins of your neck, abdomen, legs, feet, or ankles, and passing out.

Prevention and management

Here are some practical tips to maintain heart health:

Avoid tobacco products

Smoking presents dangers to almost every part of your body, but it’s especially bad for your heart, blood vessels, and blood oxygen. The sooner you stop smoking, the healthier you’ll be.

Get more active

To make a world of difference in your cardiovascular health, start a routine exercise regimen, get out more to walk or jog, and lift weights for up to an hour a day. You don’t have to overdo it, but getting up and doing more is good for your heart.

Make healthy dietary changes

Foods high in cholesterol, saturated fats, sugar, and sodium, and drinking alcohol can all damage your health, leading to many illnesses with possible complications for your heart. 

Focus on eating more leafy greens, fruits, beans, healthy fats, and whole grains, to feel better and live longer.

Lose weight

A better diet and more exercise will help you accomplish this, but losing weight is a key to reducing stress on your heart and other parts of the body.

Develop a regular sleeping schedule

Sleep benefits your health in a wide variety of ways, and lack of it increases your chances of heart problems, hypertension, depression, and diabetes. Create a regular schedule and work to stick by it to get the most out of a night’s rest.

Making these changes will improve your cardiovascular health and give you more years to enjoy what life has to bring. For more ways to take care of your heart, make an appointment with our team at Pinnacle Healthcare System today.