The heart is an important organ that functions to pump blood throughout the body. That is why maintaining heart health is important. If not, you can end up suffering from various types of heart disease, such as atherosclerosis, arrhythmias, or heart attacks later.
Based on WHO data in 2015, heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease causes 17.7 million deaths in the world. This number is growing every day, thus ensuring that we are not experiencing the same issue and being able to prevent heart disease is important.
The key to preventing heart disease is by living a healthier life. To make it clearer, here are some surefire ways to prevent heart disease and its recurrence.
Healthy diet
Preventing heart disease can be done by paying attention to what you consume every day. You can reduce your risk of this disease by eating healthy food that is good for the heart. Various types of food that can help maintain heart health and avoid the recurrence of cardiovascular disease, including:
- Fish rich in omega 3, such as salmon, tuna, or milkfish, have the potential to prevent inflammation of the blood vessels.
- Nuts high in omega 3, such as almonds or walnuts can keep the heart healthy.
- Berries, grapes, tomatoes, avocados, pomegranates, and apples are rich in antioxidants to reduce free radicals.
- Oats, flaxseeds, and chia seeds, which are high in fiber and good omega 3s, have the potential to improve heart health.
- Soybeans, edamame, and black beans are rich in isoflavones, B vitamins, and fiber which is good for the heart.
- Vegetables, such as spinach, lettuce, broccoli, and sweet potatoes contain vitamin C, potassium, and folate which can support heart function.
Maintaining a healthy diet not only means eating the recommended food, but also prevents consuming some foods that can be a high threat to the heart. One of the causes of cardiovascular disease is the buildup and blockage of plaque in the arteries. Plaque is formed from cholesterol, fat, or excess calcium. Most of the substances that make up plaque come from the food you eat every day.
For example, fast food, fried food, fatty food, and high-cholesterol food. If you often consume these foods, plaque in the arteries can accumulate and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. It would be better to choose foods that are baked, boiled, or steamed.
Stop drink alcohol and soft drinks
Alcohol can increase blood pressure and triglyceride levels in the body. If you consume this too much, alcohol can increase your risk of obesity, and heart disease. Therefore, you should limit alcohol consumption, to help maintain heart health while preventing heart disease.
Not only alcohol, but soft drinks are also equally as dangerous. Soft drinks contain a high amount of sugar, which can increase body weight and can ultimately increase the risk of heart disease.
Steer clear from salty food
Next, you can prevent heart disease by reducing the consumption of salty foods. Foods that are high in salt can increase the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure).
If you already have hypertension, your risk of developing heart disease will be even greater. If you persist in eating foods high in salt, your heart function will get weaker and your arteries will be damaged. Over time, this condition will lead to heart failure, where it is difficult for the heart to supply oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
Although salt is needed by the body so that cells, tissues, and organs can work properly, the intake should not be excessive. Thus from now on, you should reduce the habit of snacking on salty foods to prevent heart disease.
Drink lots of water
Drinking water diligently is one way to prevent heart disease that is quite effective. When you are dehydrated, the amount of blood in your body will decrease. To compensate for the lack of it, the heart will beat faster. The body also stores more sodium, making the blood thicker and making it difficult for it to circulate properly. Thus, the heart’s performance in pumping blood will become increasingly heavy.
To support your water needs every day despite your busy schedule, you can opt to stock bulk water in your house and office. Thus whenever you feel thirsty, you can grab it on the go. If you want to protect your heart, even more, the best water type that you should consume is the purified one. Purified water is much healthier compared to tap water. Because it does not contain contaminants that can affect your heart health. You can purchase purified water in bulk at My Own Water.
Avoid smoking
If you are a smoker, trying to quit smoking and stay away from people who smoke is very important to avoid heart disease. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the risk of heart attack and stroke can drop drastically after people kick these unhealthy habits.
Workout regularly
Workout can help improve heart and lung health, maintain normal cholesterol levels, and normal blood pressure, and maintain a healthy weight. On the contrary, if you are too lazy to workout, the risk of various diseases will be higher, including cardiovascular disease. Therefore, avoiding heart disease can also be done by exercising at least 30 minutes a day (5 days a week).
Learn to manage stress
Stress is normal and can be experienced by everyone. The problem is not what causes stress, but how you respond to it. When you are under stress, the body produces the hormone adrenaline which will make the heart work harder. As a result, it can potentially cause various heart problems.
You can take steps to prevent stress-related heart disease by trying meditation, yoga, or deep breathing techniques.
Routine health check
You can do heart disease prevention with routine health checks. Because this will include checking blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. By doing this, you can monitor your overall health.
You need to start paying attention to your heart health even when you are in your mid-20s. Keep in mind that cardiovascular disease does not only affect the elderly. Adults over 20 years of age can also get this chronic disease due to the adoption of a bad lifestyle!
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