Lifestyle Changes to Support Heart Health

Table of contents

• Lifestyle changes that would lower the risk of heart diseases 

• Other lifestyle changes to support heart health

• Best foods for your Heart Health

• Take-Home Points

• FAQ on Lifestyle changes to support heart health

Introduction 

Heart diseases are currently the number one killer on a global scale. According to the WHO, 31% of all fatalities worldwide are caused by heart diseases, which claim 17.5 million lives each year. Around 6.7 million people die from a stroke, and 7.4 million die from heart disease. 

It's possible that unhealthy lifestyle choices like smoking, poor food, and insufficient exercise account for up to half of all premature deaths. These risk factors raise the likelihood of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, a heart attack, and a stroke.

Malnutrition, stress, alcohol and cigarette use, obesity, sedentary behavior, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and genetic predisposition are all heart diseases risk factors. Genetic predisposition plays a significant role in the emergence of cardiovascular disease in young people. According to a recent study, sufferers are frequently smokers, couch potatoes, hypertensives, and dyslipidemic, although all of these conditions are modifiable.

The good news is that altering one's way of life can save one from these dangerous conditions. In research involving almost 55,000 participants, those with healthy lifestyle choices—including not smoking, not being fat, getting regular exercise, and eating well—had a roughly 50% decreased risk of developing heart disease.

Lifestyle changes that would lower the risk of heart diseases 

Recent guidelines addressing lifestyle and behavioral suggestions to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in people who do not yet have it were published by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA). The recommendations covered tobacco usage, exercise and physical activity, body weight, and diet and nutrition. They rely on the evidence already in existence that a better lifestyle can lower the risk of early mortality and disability from heart disease.

Specific dietary recommendations from the ACC/AHA guidelines included eating a diet rich in fish, vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, and whole grains. In addition, they advise cutting back on trans fats, sodium, saturated fats, refined carbs, sugary beverages, and processed meats.

1. Eat a heart-healthy diet: By lowering blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and inflammation, a nutritious diet can help lower the risk of heart disease. Put an emphasis on eating a diet full of fresh produce, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats.

2. Maintain your weight: Maintain a healthy weight since it lowers your risk of developing heart disease. Even a small weight loss of 5 to 10% can make a big difference in your heart's health.

3. Manage your stress: Long-term stress can harm your heart's health. Use stress-reduction methods like yoga, deep breathing, or meditation.

4. Get adequate sleep: Heart health depends on getting enough sleep. Sleep for 7-8 hours every night.

5. Check your cholesterol and blood pressure levels: Two main risk factors for heart disease are high cholesterol and blood pressure. Maintaining awareness of these critical health indicators can be made easier with routine checkups with your healthcare professional.

Other lifestyle changes to support heart health

Lower your Alcohol consumption

While the benefits of occasional or light drinking are debatable, excessive alcohol use is linked to a higher risk of death, heart disease, and liver disease. According to studies, consuming more than 100 grams of alcohol, or around 7 drinks, every week is harmful. A typical drink has 14 grams of alcohol in it, whether it is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.

Maintain your Blood Pressure

Blood Pressure is an important indicator of heart health. It is the force your heart needs to pump blood throughout your body. You should regularly monitor your blood pressure and consult a doctor immediately if you find something wrong with it.

Blood pressure can be lowered by adopting a healthy dietary pattern, such as the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). The DASH diet was created with lowering blood pressure in mind. It places a strong emphasis on fresh produce, whole grains, dairy products with reduced fat, legumes, nuts, seeds, and lean meats. These foods often have high fiber content and low levels of salt, cholesterol, and saturated fat.

According to studies, the DASH diet can lower systolic blood pressure (the top number) and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by roughly 8 and 4mmHg, respectively, and lower mortality.

Control your Cholesterol levels

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that is present in the blood. It is of various types but the two most important types that matter to us are HDL or the good cholesterol and the LDL or the bad cholesterol. Research proves that cholesterol plays an important role in the development of heart diseases. The most dangerous is the LDL as it sticks to your blood vessels, narrowing them and increasing the risk of heart diseases.

According to research, limiting saturated fat intake and substituting polyunsaturated fat for saturated fat may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. This entails substituting olive, safflower, canola, corn, sesame, soybean, and sunflower oils with butter, coconut oil and palm oil.

It has been discovered that the Mediterranean diet lowers cholesterol and lowers the risk of CVD. This diet is low in red meat and sweets and high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. The primary dietary fat source is olive oil. Consuming omega-3-rich meals including salmon, trout, tuna, herring, and mackerel lowers the chance of developing heart disease.

Keep a check on Diabetes

You must be wondering though if diabetes is related to heart diseases. Well, diabetes directly doesn't cause your heart to stop working, but it causes various microvascular as well as macrovascular complications which end up as heart diseases.Fortunately, modifying your way of life can help. For instance, it has been demonstrated that if you already have prediabetes, decreasing at least 7% of your body weight and engaging in 150 minutes or more of moderate-intensity exercise per week can lower your risk of developing diabetes.

Additionally, it is advised to follow plant-based diets that have an emphasis on foods that are richer in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids and lower in glycemic load and saturated fats, as well as healthy diets like the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet.

Exercise to stay healthy

Obesity, sometimes known as "globesity," is a growing problem. Around 13% of adults worldwide were obese in 2016, according to WHO. Obesity is a complicated illness involving risk factors, including genetic and behavioral variables, in addition to the imbalance between calories consumed and energy expended. Luckily, obesity is a factor that you can change. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services' Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, persons ages 18 to 64 should perform at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of strenuous aerobic exercise each week, or an equivalent combination of the two. Exercises that involve aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, biking, and other similar sports, are all recommended.

Quit Smoking

In addition to hypertension, smoking is also considered as one of the key factors increasing the risk of vascular diseases. Smokers are two to three times more likely to die from heart disease than non-smokers. Your chance of dying rises as you smoke more. 

The heart and blood arteries can be harmed by the chemicals in cigarettes. Because the heart needs to work harder to pump adequate oxygen to the body and brain, smoking causes the blood's oxygen content to decrease, which raises blood pressure and heart rate.

However, there is good news. Within a day of stopping, the chance of developing heart disease begins to decline. The risk of developing heart disease is roughly halved after a year of quitting smoking. No matter how much or how long you smoked, as soon as you stop, you'll start to benefit.

Best foods for your Heart Health

Here are some heart-healthy foods that you should add to your diet to keep your heart safe and happy. 

1. Green leafy vegetables - they're a great source of vitamin K, which safeguards your arteries and encourages healthy blood clotting. Additionally, they include a lot of dietary nitrates, which have been demonstrated to lower blood pressure, lessen arterial stiffness, and enhance the functionality of the cells lining blood vessels. Increased consumption of leafy green vegetables has been linked in certain studies to a decreased risk of heart disease.

2. Whole grains - Because they are a crucial component of a diet that promotes heart health, whole grains are a great source of dietary fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Whole grain consumption has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease. Whole grain fiber contributes to good blood pressure and cholesterol levels, two factors that are essential for heart health. Brown rice, whole wheat bread, quinoa, oats, and barley are a few examples of whole grains. It's simple to boost heart health and lower your risk of heart disease by swapping out refined grains for whole grains in your diet.

3. Berries and nuts - berries are rich in antioxidants while nuts are a great source of micronutrients which are good for your heart.

4. Fish and fish oils

5. Avocados 

6. Dark chocolate - Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants like flavonoids, which can help boost heart health.

7. Beans - Resistant starch, which is found in beans and is resistant to digestion, is fermented by the good bacteria in your stomach. The gut and certain of the inhabitants of its resident microbiota may benefit from resistant starch in several ways.

8. Garlic - Garlic's powerful medical effects have been proven by studies, which also revealed that it can even help with heart health. This is because allicin, a substance present that is thought to have a wide range of medicinal properties, is present.

9. Seeds

10. Tomatoes - Lycopene, a naturally occurring plant pigment with potent antioxidant effects, is abundant in tomatoes. Since oxidative damage and inflammation can both contribute to heart disease, antioxidants work to counteract dangerous free radicals.

11. Green tea

12. Olive oil

Take-Home Points

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and it is estimated that more than 17 million people die from heart disease every year. Fortunately, many of the risk factors for heart disease can be modified through lifestyle changes. So if you want to keep your heart healthy you should try to incorporate the above-mentioned changes in your lifestyle.