8 Heart Healty Tips

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8 Heart Healthy Tips
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Regular Exercise

• Exercise and diet plays an important part in
  cardiovascular health and is the key factor in
  keeping your heart in good health.
• There are countless number of studies which prove
  the benefits of exercise and diet. According to
  the American Heart Association (AHA), 150 minutes
  of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous
  exercise per week is recommended for maintaining
  a healthy heart.

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Diet

• Diet is another important part of keeping your
  heart healthy. Eating a diet that is low in
  saturated fat, low in refined carbohydrates and
  high in fiber, fruits and vegetables is the
  recommended diet for a healthy heart.

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Get Moving and Exercise

• Walking Walking is an excellent choice of
  exercise to get your heart rate up and keep your
  joints in motion. As you get comfortable with
  your pace, you can increase it a notch by walking
  briskly which is a very efficient way of
  achieving the targeted heart rate for your age.

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• Cycling Cycling can burn calories faster
  especially if you beat a path in the high
  terrain. This will also tone your lower body and
  more the calories you burn, the more fat in your
  body also melts away.
• Aerobics Low intensity to high intensity
  aerobics is very good for the heart and overall
  health as it improves circulation and mobility.
• Running Is a form of high intensity
  cardiovascular exercise. It can also help prevent
  or manage other chronic conditions such as
  diabetes, overweight and obesity, it burns more
  calories than most other forms.

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• Swimming Swimming is the exercise of choice for
  people with arthritic joints and for individuals
  who cannot endure high impact exercise like
  running.
• Swimming is very gentle on the joints and will
  help you tone your overall body and burn fat
  which is very good for your heart. This exercise
  is also a great relaxation inducing activity
  which again reduces burden on your heart.

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Add High Fiber to Your Diet

• Eating a diet that is high in fiber will help
  lower the bad cholesterol and also helps maintain
  a healthy body weight which is important to
  reduce the risk of heart attack. Fruits in their
  skin and grains are rich in fiber along with
  legumes, nuts and seeds.

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Track your Triglycerides and Cholesterol

• Your saturated fat consumption should be less
  than 7 of your total intake. Saturated fats are
  very bad for your heart and can lead to high
  cholesterol and high triglycerides in your blood.
  You can track these numbers by routine blood
  checks. Compare your results from the following.
• Normal is less than 150.
• Borderline-high is 150 to 199.
• High is 200 to 499.
• Very high is 500 or higher.

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Oily Fish and Omega 3 Fatty Acid

• Eating 2 to 3 ounces of fish that is high in
  omega 3 fatty acids like salmon, sardines and
  tuna can reduce your risk of heart disease. Omega
  3 fatty acids help in bringing down triglycerides
  and they also fight inflammation in your body.

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Control High Blood Pressure

• High blood pressure is one of the reasons leading
  to heart failure as the heart can no longer pump
  against the high pressure exerted by the blood
  vessels. It is recommended to follow a blood
  pressure friendly diet that includes lowering
  salt, increasing vegetables, fruits and fiber in
  your diet.

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Quit Smoking

• Smoking is detrimental for the heart as it has
  chemicals which will damage your blood vessels
  which increase the risk for heart disease. If you
  smoke, your doctor can help you get enrolled in
  smoking cessation programs.

TIME TO QUIT SMOKING
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Avoid Stress

• Stress has a negative effect on the heart.
  Identifying sources of stress and finding coping
  and relaxation techniques will help you reduce
  unnecessary burden on your heart. Counting to
  ten, taking deep breaths, moving away from the
  situation that is causing you stress are all ways
  of controlling your stress level.

STRESS
RELAX
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Add Oats to Your Diet

• Oats is well known for its heart protective
  benefits. Oats provides maximum benefit as rolled
  oats and helps to lower the bad LDL cholesterol.
  Ground oats is not as effective as the fiber is
  broken down but some oats is better than no oats.