How to Promote Heart Health – Keep Your Engine Going

The heart is the most important organ of our cardiovascular system. It is essential to know how to promote heart health because the heart functions as an engine that runs the body. Therefore, any small problem in this engine affects the working of the entire human body.

This importance of the heart makes it highly sensitive and according to statistics, every year 31 million people suffer from heart disease. Of this number, approximately 650,000 people die from the severity of the disease.

Therefore, it is necessary to take care of your heart and ensure that it is healthy. The question is what keeps your heart healthy?

There is a list of lifestyle changes and food routines which improve heart health. This article shortlists 7 important routines which will keep your engine healthy and active.

How to Promote Heart Health? Start With A Good 7 Hours of Sleep

The best way to promote heart health is to ensure that you get enough sleep. This is because sleep deprivation prevents the heart from working through its normal pattern.

When you sleep, your entire body enters a rest state. The heart rate slows, blood pressure drops and your breathing pattern stabilizes.

These all help to relax the heart, helping it to recover from a hard day of work, and prepare itself for the next busy day – much the same as you do at the end of each day.

For this entire process, your body needs a good sleep of a minimum of seven hours. Lack of good sleep means that you are depriving the heart of its own relaxation time!

This is not good for your health and is primarily the reason why people with insomnia have a hard time. Sleep deprivation can cause high blood pressure which leads to chronic heart problems.

Therefore, take a good and healthy sleep of a minimum of seven hours. Avoid taking sleeping pills as natural sleep is more healthy than an artificial one.

How to Promote Heart Health – Promote Good Sleep

For many, inability to have sufficient and quality sleep stem from their use of uncomfortable pillows or mattresses. We will consider requirements for selecting pillows and mattress that suit YOU in another article.

Too many people buy pillows just by “feel” without considering the pillow density and hardness which may end up causing neck pain. If you are currently experiencing neck pain brought about by the use of poor quality pillows or even aging, check these previous articles:

Special Pillows for Neck Pain – Not Orthopedic

Top Rated Orthopedic Pillows for Neck Pain – The Best Options

Control Your Body Weight

Obesity is a leading cause of death. Statistics show that almost 2.8 million die each year due to being overweight. Obesity is like carrying about unnecessary extra baggage from one day to the next.

Imagine that you do this in real life?

It will cause a strain on the body.

In much the same way, obesity causes an increase in blood pressure. How?

Due to being overweight, fat gets encapsulated in our bodies hindering blood flow. To keep blood flowing, pressure is exerted on the blood vessels to force the blood through.

This ultimately results in high blood pressure which can further become a cause of heart disease.

Therefore, losing weight not only improves your physical appearance, but will also improve your health. Losing weight is not a big deal if you exercise discipline.

Eating healthy, maintaining essential nutrient proportions, intermittent fasting and regular exercise are four magic keys to unlock a healthy body.

Quit Smoking

Most smokers ask how to promote heart health. Smoking and a healthy heart are not a good combination. Smoking is the worst thing you can do to your body. Every medicine, food, and treatment is useless if your lungs are addicted to nicotine.

Smoking is the leading cause of heart and lung diseases, cancers, kidney failure, and asthma.

When you smoke, the chemicals inside cigarettes affect your blood flow. It creates plaque in your blood vessels and the arteries responsible for transporting blood to the heart, get blocked.

Eliminating the habit of smoking is beneficial for the heart.

Quitting such an addiction is not easy. It requires time and effort as the cravings can be quite debilitating.

You can take your mind off the cravings by keeping yourself busy with work or other activities, or use of a stop smoking aid (patch, gum, inhaler or lozenges).

Some popular patches and lozenges with high consumer ratings are shown below:

NicoDerm CQ Stop Smoking Aid – Step 2	NicoDerm CQ Stop Smoking Aid Step- 1	Novartis Nicotine Transdermal Patch-Step 1	Nicorette Nicotine Lozenges Fruit Flavor
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Take Care of Dental Health

Healthy gums and teeth have a positive impact on the entire body, especially on the heart. The relationship between the heart and teeth is a little astonishing. But according to recent studies, the teeth and heart diseases are somehow connected.

Our gums are composed of blood vessels. When bacteria attack your gums, it penetrates your blood vessels. The bacteria can make its way to vessels and arteries which are connected to the heart.

In this way, a germ that affects your dental health can also put your heart under threat.

Brush your teeth regularly twice a day and visit your dentist regularly. Try to get rid of all dental issues on time before they start to get worse.

Avoid Trans Fat

Our body needs fats, but these should be the right kind. Fats are a source of energy and promote cell growth. But not all fats are healthy. We can consume saturated, polyunsaturated, and unsaturated fats.

Trans fats are a big no-no. Our diet should not include products that are composed of trans fats.

The reason why trans fats are the major cause of strokes in the human body is that they increase the bad cholesterol level and decrease the good cholesterol level.

Trans fats increase heart diseases. They are known to create clots that can obstruct the flow of blood. If you want to live a stroke-free life then cut-off trans fats from your diet.

Trans fats are artificially manufactured in factories. Certain chemicals are incorporated to give them a solid state. They are usually present in items like baked products, fried items, and margarine.

Therefore, check the ingredients lists before buying any item. If trans fats are mentioned in the list then it is best to avoid purchasing the product.

What Keeps Your Heart Healthy? – Regular Exercise

If you want to know how to promote heart health then exercise on a regular basis. Exercise is the key to a healthy body. People who sit in one place are at high risk of getting heart disease. Whereas people who exercise daily, live a healthy life.

You should exercise for at least 150 minutes a week to avoid heart disease. Exercise doesn’t necessarily mean going to the gym, weightlifting, or doing cardio workouts.

Just taking a walk of a few minutes or yoga will do wonders for your body. Exercise increases blood circulation which in turn increases oxygen levels due to increased blood flow. These factors make your heart healthy and happy.

Increase Intake of Green Vegetables

Green vegetables like spinach, coriander, and cucumber may not be as appetizing as other vegetables for some people. But they are very important for a healthy heart.

Green vegetables have a high amount of Vitamin K and nitrates. These compounds reduce blood pressure and maintain sugar levels. Studies have shown that a high intake of green vegetables reduces the risk of heart disease.

Start adding green vegetables to your diet. To get the most out of them, try to eat them raw, however it does not really matter how you ingest them – Fresh vs Frozen vs Canned Fruits and Vegetables as their nutrient content are pretty similar.

Conclusion – How To Promote Heart Health

Aging can cause changes in the heart and blood vessels. So, to answer the question – how to promote heart health then the 7 points discussed in this article are a good starting place for you to make healthy lifestyle changes that will make a difference.

References

Four Types of Exercise Can Improve Your Health and Physical Ability. (n.d.). Retrieved from National Institute on Aging website: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/four-types-exercise-can-improve-your-health-and-physical-ability#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20it

Ralph. (2020, July 10). How Dental Health Can Impact Your Heart. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from Oklahoma Heart Hospital website: https://www.okheart.com/about-us/ohh-news/how-dental-health-can-impact-your-heart#:~:text=Gum%20disease%20and%20heart%20health

Penn Medicine. (2019, March 25). Three Ways Obesity Contributes to Heart Disease – Penn Medicine. Retrieved from Pennmedicine.org website: https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/metabolic-and-bariatric-surgery-blog/2019/march/obesity-and-heart-disease

Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from EASO website: https://easo.org/media-portal/statistics/#:~:text=Overweight%20and%20obesity%20are%20the

Staff, & Jswords. (2017, January 24). Keeping Your Heart Healthy. Retrieved from familydoctor.org website: https://familydoctor.org/keeping-heart-healthy/

LOliva. (2022, February 8). 12 Ways to Keep Your Heart Healthy. Retrieved from Cano Health website: https://canohealth.com/news/blog/12-ways-to-stay-heart-healthy/

5 Things to Do Every Day to Keep Your Heart Healthy. (2019, February 5). Retrieved from Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic website: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/5-things-to-do-every-day-to-keep-your-heart-healthy/