Conventionally, heart diseases have been associated with old\nage when your bodily functions start losing their efficiency. However, we\u2019re\nnow witnessing the onset of heart and cardiovascular diseases in populations\neven in their 20s and 30s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a 2018 study in the AHA journal, 30% of heart attack patients belonged to the age group of 35 \u2013 54 years [1].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the age of 30, our body starts to respond differently,\nand body production and absorption capacity of key nutrients start declining<\/strong>.\nOur overworked, stressful lifestyle and environmental changes over the past few\nyears have increased the risk further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking care of our heart calls for lifestyle changes. Here\nare 7 steps that you can take today towards a healthier heart tomorrow \u2013 <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Take annual check-ups <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Prevention is not only better but the best cure for heart\ndiseases. Go for a routine check-up at least once a year<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Early detection of probable heart diseases would allow for\ntaking necessary steps to curb the growth of the disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gift yourself a full check-up every year. Take the following\ntests to measure your heart health \u2013 <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Exercise Regularly <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Physical exercise is important to keep our bodies healthy,\nactive and increase the quality of life. A sedentary lifestyle, with no\nphysical activity, reduces metabolism rate<\/strong> and can increase the risk\nof cardiovascular diseases<\/strong> and other conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Undertaking any form of physical activity \u2013 brisk walking,\nrunning, Yoga, fitness exercises, gym or intense exercises has the potential to\nregulate the heart muscle function<\/strong>, enhance metabolism rate<\/strong> and\nan overall healthy and active lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Studies have shown that physical exercise can strengthen\nheart muscles. It can also help in increasing the level of HDL (the good\ncholesterol) that reduces the risk of heart disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At least 150 minutes of moderate \u2013 intense activity per\nweek is recommended for adults<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Diet Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Diet has a major impact on heart health. The right nutrition and lifestyle can reduce the risk of heart, cardiovascular diseases, and strok<\/strong>e. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Diet can also reduce the risk of conditions such as high\ncholesterol, high blood pressure, and obesity<\/strong> which may often lead to heart\ndiseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What not to eat?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What to eat?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Watch your salt intake<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Salt intake has a direct impact on blood pressure. Salt allows the retention of water in the body. An increase in sodium levels in the body makes it difficult for the kidneys to remove the excess water thereby increasing the blood pressure<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n High blood pressure puts a strain on your heart and therefore can result in multiple heart related problems. Multiple studies have shown that making dietary changes and reduced salt intake can help in controlling and preventing high BP [2].<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consume salt in moderation and avoid salty foods to enhance\nthe health heart <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Kick the bad habits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption are one of the most preventable causes of cardiovascular diseases. Alcohol and tobacco can affect the functioning of the heart and increase the risk of a heart attack [3]<\/p>\n\n\n\n A cigarette contains 1000+ chemical substances apart from\nnicotine which poses risk to not only your lungs but to your heart and arteries\nas well. Studies have shown that smoking increases the risk of stroke<\/strong>, atherosclerosis<\/strong>\n(plaque build-up in blood vessels), affect the cholesterol levels<\/strong> in the\nbody, and can cause irregular heart rhythms. All of this causes your heart to\nwork harder and thereby increasing the risk of heart failure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no safe limit of smoking per day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The research on the effects of alcohol on our heart is still\nongoing, however, the key term is moderation. While alcohol consumption in\nmoderation may or may not help our heart but excessive alcohol is linked with\nan increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke and heart diseases. Until\nfurther research conclusively establishes the benefits, it best either to stay\nclear or consume alcohol in moderate amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Maintain a healthy weight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Obesity puts additional strain on our bones, joints,\nliver, heart<\/strong> and poses risks to our health. It increases your chances of\nheart disease and can also put you at risk of a stroke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Being overweight means our body needs more blood to supply\noxygen and nutrients. Therefore, the\nheart must do additional work to push the blood. This can contribute to higher\nblood pressure which over time can cause weakening of heart muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obesity coupled with a lack of physical activity also\nincreases the risks of diabetes, high cholesterol, heart stroke, and other\ncardiovascular diseases.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Eat right, exercise regularly and keep that weight in check\nfor a healthy heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. De-Stress<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Stress has crept up into every aspect of our life and is\nturning out to be one of the biggest factors for early age cardiovascular\ndiseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stressful jobs, family problems, prolonged injuries, peer\npressure have been regular stressors in our life. But now, there\u2019s a new\nelement that causes high levels of psychological stress \u2013 social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Expectations of living up to perfect life on social media are quickly driving youngsters to a higher level of stress. Recent research by Karabuk University Faculty of Business in 2017 has shown an increase in stress and anxiety levels among students because of social media [4]. However, the research is still ongoing and in a nascent phase in this field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stress is a natural body response to prepare our body for\n\u2018fight or flight\u2019 scenarios. Various physiological changes take place\nsimultaneously to avoid the upcoming danger. Our muscles get flexed up, our\nheart beats faster than normal to push more blood to arteries, muscles, and\nvital organs, blood pressure increases, more fat, and glucose is converted to\nrelease energy and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chronic stress can leave our body in a perpetual agitated\nstate where each bodily function is working in a hyperdrive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Chronic stress can exacerbate breathing issues, cause\nincreased heart rate, increase risk of high blood pressure, irregular heart\nrhythm, heart attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several beneficial stress management strategies can be\nemployed to counter the effects of stress \u2013 <\/p>\n\n\n\n In Conclusion\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The heart is one of the most important organs of the body \u2013\nkeep it healthy to enjoy all the little things of your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taking care of heart requires only slight lifestyle changes \u2013 eat right, be physically active, de-stress yourself and get regular checkups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources: Conventionally, heart diseases have been associated with old age when your bodily functions start losing their efficiency. However, we\u2019re now witnessing the onset of heart and cardiovascular diseases in populations even in their 20s and 30s. According to a 2018 study in the AHA journal, 30% of heart attack patients belonged to the age group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[2,4,1],"tags":[99,119,174],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/blog-inforgaphic-6.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/blog-inforgaphic-6.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2145"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2145"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5659,"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2145\/revisions\/5659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truebasics.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Checks the blood pressure levels<\/strong> in the blood vessels. Normal range is 120mmHg (Systolic) \/80 mmHg (Diastolic). A systolic reading of more than 140 mmHg marks stage 1 of Hypertension.
<\/li>
Checks the level of cholesterol in your blood vessels<\/strong>. The optimum range of cholesterol is \u2013 LDL or \u2018bad\u2019 cholesterol less than 130 mg\/dL and HDL or \u2018good\u2019 cholesterol more than 60 mg\/dL.
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Monitors blood sugar levels<\/strong>. Fasting blood sugar level above 126 mg\/dL is a sign of elevated sugar levels.
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Checks heart rhythm<\/strong> for normal heart functioning. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Avoid foods loaded with a high amount of sodium salts. Watch out for pre-packaged foods, canned foods, and processed foods. They generally have a high amount of salt in them
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While there is an ongoing debate on the role of saturated fats in heart conditions, trans fats are a strict no. Check the labels and avoid food with trans or saturated fat in them. This includes vegetable oils, deep-fried foods, potato chips, cookies, crackers, and popcorn.
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Sweetened drinks, sweets, and snacks are major sources of high sugar content. Especially look out for artificially sweetened drinks and food items.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Not all fats are bad for your heart. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated acids are not only beneficial but are essential for the body as well. Omega-3 is one such essential fatty acid. Several studies have established the benefits of Omega-3. Fishes such as salmon, sardines, mackerel are good sources of Omega-3. Use healthy fats such as canola or olive oil for cooking.
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Good sources of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and proteins.
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Good sources of fiber and micronutrients such as magnesium, copper, and manganese. Nuts such as Walnut and seeds such as Flaxseed, Chia Seed are excellent vegetarian sources of Omega-3.
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Go for low fat or fat-free dairy products. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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[1] https:\/\/www.ahajournals.org\/doi\/full\/10.1161\/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.037137
[2] https:\/\/www.ahajournals.org\/doi\/full\/10.1161\/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.09928
[3] https:\/\/pubs.niaaa.nih.gov\/publications\/arh293\/199-202.htm
[4] https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2633295\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"