7 ways to love your heart

Did you know your heart beats around 100,000 times a day? With every beat it works hard to pump blood through your body, around 5 litres in fact¹. Our hearts play such an important role in keeping us all alive and well, but sadly heart and circulatory diseases cause more than a quarter (27%) of all deaths in the UK_².
 

The good news is there are lots of ways that you can help to reduce your risk of heart attacks, stroke and other heart and circulatory diseases. Loving your heart is like any special relationship: a little effort goes a long way. Making a few simple lifestyle changes can really ‘up your game’ when it comes to caring for your heart. Even if you already have a heart condition, small changes can offer big benefits for your heart.

1. Check-in to your emotions

Tending to your mental wellbeing and working to change your response to stress is a great way to help love your heart. Loneliness, anxiety and feeling stressed won’t directly cause heart and circulatory diseases but experiencing these emotions may encourage you to turn to bad habits, such as unhealthy ‘comfort’ foods, alcohol and smoking – which are not good for your health.

Avoiding stress altogether is tricky, so trying relaxation techniques, focussing on the positives and connecting with the good people in your life may help you improve your emotional health.

2. Dig into your DNA

It’s important to tell your GP if you know your family’s history of heart attacks or strokes. You can be monitored closely for warning signs such as high blood pressure or cholesterol levels which may increase your risk, but usually have no symptoms³.

Although your family history is something that you cannot change, by making some simple lifestyle changes, you can help to reduce your risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases.

3. Eat ‘heart-ily’ and healthily

High on the list of heart-hostile foods are saturated fats and salt. Consuming too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in your blood, while too much salt can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure. Too much saturated fat or salt in your diet can also increase your risk of developing coronary heart disease³.

Eating five portions of fruit and veg each day is a high priority, not just for your heart, but also your overall health. The 5 A Day campaign recommends eating a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer⁴.

For further advice on eating well for your heart, visit the British Heart Foundation website: www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/healthy-living/healthy-eating

4. Maintain a healthy weight

Being overweight or obese can increase your risk of heart and circulatory diseases such as heart attack, stroke and vascular dementia³.

Willpower is the number one requirement: cut back on portion sizes, replace high sugar food or drinks with reduced sugar or sugar-free alternatives, read food labels to help you make healthier nutrition choices and remember to keep active!

5. Cut down on alcohol

Alcohol misuse is associated with many health risks. Long-term heavy drinking can result in raised blood cholesterol levels and an increase in blood pressure, both of which are major risk factors for heart attacks and strokes⁴.

The British Heart Foundation has advice around sensible alcohol use: www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/healthy-living/healthy-eating/alcohol and this tool will tell you if you need to make changes to how much you’re drinking: www.drinkaware.co.uk/tools/self-assessment.

6. Quit smoking

Smoking is one of the worst possible scenarios for your life-giving heart. With every cigarette, you inhale around 4,000 chemicals³. Did you know, nearly 20,000 UK heart and circulatory disease deaths are attributed to smoking each year³?

If you’re trying to quit smoking, the NHS has lots of support to help you: www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/

Once you do stop, the benefits come thick and fast. Within 2 to 12 weeks of stopping smoking, your blood circulation improves and after one year, your risk of a heart attack will have halved compared with a smoker's⁴.

7. Keep on moving

Being active can reduce your risk of developing some heart and circulatory diseases by as much as 35%³. Keeping active has many health benefits, such as helping you to maintain a healthy weight³ and reducing your risk of coronary heart disease⁴.

There are many simple ways that you can help to increase your daily activity levels. For example, walking around during phone calls and trying out exercise activities that you can do at home, such as cardio or muscle strengthening workouts.