What you eat, how much you exercise, whether or not you smoke, and how you manage your cholesterol and blood pressure can all have a significant impact on your heart.
Find out why these areas are so important and get some great tips for a healthy, heart-healthy lifestyle.
A heart-healthy diet is not a fast-food diet. However, these standard foods or food combinations are selected on a regular basis and over time. This ideal combination is outlined in the American Heart Foundation’s Healthy Eating Plan and includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, protein, and healthy fats, as well as using spices instead of salt.
This diet is naturally low in unhealthy fats, salt, and added sugars and high in healthy fats, protein, and vegetables, as well as whole grains, fiber, and antioxidants. For people with heart disease, including those recovering from a heart attack or those with risk factors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the Core Foundation recommends following our Healthy Eating Plan for the basics and a few key changes. Use these crucial pointers to learn more about heart disease and diet. Regular physical activity reduces your risk of heart attack or myocardial infarction. An active lifestyle can help you manage risk factors for heart disease, including:
• Blood pressure.
• High cholesterol and.
• Excessive weight gain. Regular physical activity also helps strengthen bones and muscles. You can feel calmer, happier, and more energized after engaging in physical activity.
Any exercise is preferable to none at all.
The suggested 30 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (such brisk walking) each week should be increased gradually, starting with reasonable goals.
Stay motivated by being physically active with friends or family members, or even your dog. Adults who sit less during the day have a lower risk of premature death, especially death from heart disease. Learn more about being active and the key steps to staying active.
The first step to quitting smoking is to recognise the risks of smoking.
Smoking damages the blood vessels in the heart, brain, and other organs. They are therefore four times more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke and three times more likely to die from sudden cardiac death.
Quitting smoking is not always easy. It takes patience. You can do this through planning, practice and support.
If you are having difficulty standing, help is available. Call the Quitline on 137 848. You can discuss your alternatives with your physician as well.
To safeguard the health of your loved ones, quit smoking at home, in your vehicle, and in other enclosed areas.
The risk of heart attack and stroke is reduced practically instantly when smoking is stopped. A heart-healthy diet can help balance cholesterol by including the following foods:
• Rich in fiber and phytonutrients (from plant-based foods, including vegetables, fruits, grains, and nuts/beans),
Regularly choosing these healthy foods helps to “cleanse” unhealthy foods, such as foods high in saturated and trans fats (including fast foods, fried foods, cookies, crackers, and processed meats). Consuming large amounts of saturated and trans fats can increase blood cholesterol levels.
Eating foods high in fibre helps to lower LDL cholesterol levels, while replacing unhealthy fats with good unsaturated fats helps to keep cholesterol levels in balance (lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol while increasing “good” HDL cholesterol).
For more information on a healthy diet to raise healthy cholesterol levels, see here. The basic principles include incorporating healthy foods into our news, recipes and diets for a heart-healthy diet.
You should bring a note if you are over 45 (over 30 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons).
