Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death and affects millions of people. However, by adapting your lifestyle and making specific changes, you can significantly reduce the risks of developing heart disease.
There are many different lifestyle changes you can adopt and changes to make to your daily life that can help to prevent the onset of heart disease. From adding or taking away certain foods from your diet to simply being more active, there’s a lot you can do to lower the odds of getting heart disease.
How to reduce the risk of heart disease
- Quit smoking: Quitting smoking can be one of the most important things that you can do to reduce the risk of heart disease. Quitting cigarettes and tobacco can reduce the risk of getting heart disease by almost 50%, and also significantly lowers the risk of death from having a heart attack. Additionally, avoiding second-hand smoke can lower this risk even further.
- Exercise regularly: Exercising regularly and working towards staying fit and active is also a great way to lower the risk of heart disease and heart attacks. Even adding an additional 30 or 60 minutes of daily physical activity can help to reduce the chance of developing conditions that could potentially put a strain on your heart such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. If you have been inactive for a while, slowly build up your physical activity and find ways to work it into your daily life,
- Watch your diet: Aiming for a heart healthy diet can help to protect your heart, improve blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and risk of type 2 diabetes as well as other health benefits. Your diet plays a huge role in your overall health, so be sure to get plenty of vegetables, beans and other legumes, lean meats and fish, low-fat or fat-free dairy foods, whole grains, and healthy fats like olive oil to promote a healthy heart. Make sure to limit your intake of foods that are high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats to further reduce risk of heart diseases.
- Limit alcohol intake: Excess amounts of alcohol have long been linked to cardiovascular disease – so try to limit your intake. Alcohol is known to raise blood pressure and increase the risk of cancer along with other potential issues, so limiting alcohol or cutting it out altogether can lower the odds of heart disease and other medical condition associated with excessive alcohol consumption.
- Try to manage your stress levels: Whilst it’s easier said than done, managing and reducing your stress level can lead to better heart health. Invest in some good stress management tools and methods such as meditation and mindfulness to reduce stress and minimise the potential impact on your physical health.
These are just a few different ways that you can reduce the risk factors of heart disease and promote good heart health. Always check with your doctor before making any significant life changes, particularly if you have any underlying conditions that could be affected as a result.
Cardiology at Ramsay Health Care
If you’re looking for additional support or want to find out more, read more about cardiology care and treatments at Ramsay, or get in touch with us if you have any questions or would like to book an appointment with one of our specialists.