Keep your heart healthy all year round

Did you know that every day, 420 people in the UK die from Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and that it’s the UK’s number one cause of death? February is National Heart Month, and we want to help raise awareness on the importance of heart health, and how making healthy adjustments and simple lifestyle changes can have a big impact on the overall health of your heart.

There are several aspects a person can influence that will help prevent CVD:

Better sleep

It can be difficult to get the balance right when it comes to sleep. Studies have shown that people who get less than seven hours sleep per night have more calcium in their arteries, which is an early symptom of heart disease, compared to people who get more. Adults should aim to get around eight hours of sleep per night as this is proven to be better for our health. However, if sleep is something that you struggle with you can contact your doctor to seek support and advice.

Improved diet

There are plenty of foods that can easily incorporate into your diet to help decrease blood pressure. Foods such as leafy green vegetables, berries, skimmed milk and yogurt, oats, bananas, salmon, mackerel and seeds are all great for this purpose. With better blood pressure comes less strain on your heart muscles, meaning your body doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood around your body.

Keep moving

Much like eating well, it is important to keep active in order to better your blood pressure and furthermore your heart health. It is recommended that adults do 30 minutes of exercise per day and something as simple as going on a slow walk can help towards this goal.

Making the cut

Excessive alcohol consumption and smoking is damaging not only to your heart, but the rest of your body too. Giving up these habits can be easier said than done, however making small steps now to gradually lower your intake can eventually bring you closer to stopping these altogether. Once again, for more guidance or a little bit of extra help, contact your doctor and they will work alongside you to give you the support you need.

Manage your stress

Stress is something that most of us, if not all, experience at some point during our life. Doing more of what makes you happy, managing your stressors and balancing your activities can help you get one step further to easing any stresses you may have, in turn improving the overall health of your body.

Fear not – there is no expectation to do all of these things at once. Just taking one thing from this list will help improve your heart health.