Mega Doctor News
By American Heart Association
Everybody wants a healthy heart. But where should you start? And can simple steps make much difference?
Heart experts have easy answers to those questions.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re old or you’re young, you can still improve your health regardless of where you’re coming from,” said Dr. Charles German, director of preventive cardiology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. “And it’s never too late to start working on those heart-healthy habits.”
Dr. Lori B. Daniels, a cardiologist and a professor of medicine at the University of California San Diego, agreed. And while the basics of a healthy lifestyle are spelled out in the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 – behaviors and factors that are key for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health – she and German also offered specific actions anybody can take today to get on a heart-healthy path.
1. Just stand up and move
The foundation of heart health is a healthy lifestyle, German said. And that means staying active.
But you don’t have to start by training for a marathon. Just reducing the amount of time you spend sitting counts as a good first step toward better heart health, he said.
“A lot of times people will say, ‘Oh, Doc, I just don’t have time to exercise,’” he said. They may be taking too narrow a view.
The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week. It also recommends adding moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity such as resistance or weight training, at least twice a week.
But “any movement is better than none,” German said. “More movement is better than some, but for those folks who are very sedentary, even light-intensity walking is great for heart health.”
Just getting up throughout the course of the day, cumulatively, counts toward the total, he said, even if you don’t have time to go to the gym to do dedicated exercise. (Making time to go to the gym, even on the weekends, is of course a good idea, experts say.)
2. Read the nutrition label
The American Heart Association recommends a heart-healthy diet that includes various types of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. Added sugar, salt and fried foods should be limited.
“A Mediterranean-style diet is probably among the healthiest for your cardiovascular health,” Daniels said.
But German acknowledged that if you’re not there yet, “I don’t think it’s realistic for someone to go from imperfect to perfect diet” overnight.
His advice is to begin by paying attention to food labels.
“Look at the amount of sodium,” he said. “That’s how you can gauge how much salt you’re taking in.” The Association recommends limiting sodium to no more than 2,300 milligrams a day – about 1 teaspoon, with an optimal goal of no more than 1,500 mg a day for most adults.
Note levels of saturated fat as well, he said. The Association recommends limiting saturated fat to 6% of total calories. So if you’re eating 2,000 calories a day, no more than 120 of them should come from saturated fat.
As you become more aware of what you’re eating, Daniels said, make changes you can live with. Healthy eating doesn’t mean you have to permanently eliminate every food you enjoy. It does mean not “scarfing it mindlessly,” but you can leave room for favorites. “Because we’re in it for the long haul,” she said. “This is a marathon, not a sprint.”
3. Take a stress-reducing walk
Stress is linked to behaviors that raise the risk for heart disease and stroke. So it’s important to find healthy ways to relax, Daniels said, whether it’s meditation, reading a book or learning a stress-reducing breathing technique.
“I’m a big fan of taking a walk,” she said, “because you can kill several birds with one stone. You get your exercise in. You get your relaxation.” And if you do it after a meal, it can help control your blood sugar levels.
4. Check your numbers, starting with this one
Life’s Essential 8 emphasizes the need to know your numbers for cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure.
The first two require checking in with a health professional. But Daniels noted that many drugstores have a blood pressure monitor on site. So that can be a convenient place to start, she suggested.
German noted that getting an accurate blood pressure reading on your own can be tricky. But done properly, it can provide valuable data to your doctor. Using it, “we can assess how well your blood pressure is controlled, and is there anything that we need to do to get it under control if it’s not in control.”
5. Try this tip for better sleep
Sleep is essential for heart health. Most adults need seven to nine hours a night.
“But how do you do that?” German asked. “It can be very challenging.”
He recommends starting by trying to be consistent about bedtime and waking up. “We all have an internal circadian rhythm,” he said. If you’re going to bed at different times every night and waking up at different times every day, “you’re never going to get into that pattern.”
Help yourself by dimming the lights (which includes screens) and paying attention to room temperature, German said. “It seems people sleep better when it’s a little bit colder.”
6. If you’re prescribed medications, take them
“That’s incredibly important,” German said. But many people who start taking important medications such as cholesterol-lowering statins soon stop.
Daniels understands. When someone is taking a medication for prevention, and they feel fine, it’s hard to see progress. Such medicines definitely save lives, she said, but “there’s no little bell that goes off each time a heart attack or a stroke has been prevented.”
German said many factors, some beyond a patient’s control, affect whether a person continues to take medications. But people can help themselves by getting into the habit of taking a medication at the same time every day. If a prescription label suggests timing that’s inconvenient, he said, you often can work with your doctor to find a better one.
7. Remember: It all adds up
A lot of the risk factors for heart disease and stroke are invisible, German said. “High blood pressure, high cholesterol – those are silent risk factors until it’s too late.”
But taking steps toward prevention, whether it’s staying on track with prescriptions or making lifestyle adjustments that lower risks, is about more than just living longer, he said. “It’s also about living with a healthy heart, healthy mind, healthy body as you age.”
