Your heart and blood vessels work hard to keep you alive and healthy. We call taking care of them cardiovascular health. It is important to maintain your cardiovascular health to mitigate cardiovascular risks.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and around the world. This affects both men and women from many racial and ethnic groups, according to the CDC.
What Increases Your Risk of Heart Disease?
Some factors can make cardiovascular disease and strokes more likely, such as:
- Eating an unhealthy diet
- Being overweight or obese
- Having diabetes
- Not being physically active
- Drinking too much alcohol
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Smoking or using tobacco products
- Eating too much salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats
How to Lower Your Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
You can’t always prevent heart disease, but you can make choices to lower your risk:
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Follow a heart-healthy diet with lower sodium, sugar, and unhealthy fats
- Exercise 30-60 minutes most days of the week
- Manage stress effectively
- Avoid smoking and tobacco products
- Control diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol levels
Great Exercises for Heart Health
🏃 Aerobic exercise (like walking, running, or swimming) helps your heart, lungs, and brain. Additionally, it boosts immune function and improves overall cardiovascular health.
🏋️ Anaerobic exercise, like weight training, is good for your heart and lungs. It reduces bone loss and helps build lean muscle.
Heart-Healthy Diet: Best Foods for Heart Health
- Lean proteins like chicken breast, wild salmon, and sardines 🍗
- Healthy oils such as olive oil and avocado oil, rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids 🥑
- Antioxidant-rich foods like blueberries, raspberries, kidney beans, black beans, broccoli, and brussels sprouts 🍇
- Whole grains such as steel-cut oats, brown rice, quinoa, and garbanzo beans 🌾
Eating heart-healthy foods every day is good for your heart. Avoid processed foods, sugary treats, fried foods, and unhealthy fats. This will help your heart remain strong and healthy for many years! ❤️
