You can protect your heart and keep it healthy by making a few simple lifestyle changes, as Michelle Higgs explains
You can protect your heart and keep it healthy by making a few simple lifestyle changes, as Michelle Higgs explains
“What you eat has a significant impact on how well your heart works”
“We all know exercise is good for us, but it’s also good for your heart”
“Smoking cigarettes damages your arteries so it’s a significant risk factor for heart disease”
“Drinking too much alcohol on a regular basis can lead to high blood pressure, resulting in clogged arteries if untreated”
Facts/stats
More than 7.6 million people in the UK are living with a heart or circulatory disease
(British Heart Foundation)
Exercise can reduce your risk of heart and circulatory diseases by up to 35%
(British Heart Foundation)
Smokers are almost twice as likely to have a heart attack than people who have never smoked
(British Heart Foundation)
Your heart is one of the most hardworking organs in your body. Every single day, it pumps blood continuously around your system through your arteries and veins. This blood carries oxygen and important nutrients to your organs and muscles so that they can work effectively. In addition, the blood transports waste products and carbon dioxide away.
That’s how a healthy heart works. However, fatty material can build up in your arteries, and if there is too much, the arteries can become blocked. This can lead to a heart attack or other heart conditions, or to a stroke if the arteries to your brain are clogged.
Certain risk factors increase your chances of heart disease. Some of these, such as family history, age and ethnic background, are beyond your control. But others –including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, being inactive, smoking and drinking too much alcohol – can be managed or even removed through lifestyle changes. This can significantly decrease the amount of fatty material in your arteries, so that your heart can work as efficiently as possible.
How to keep your heart healthy
- Eat a balanced diet
What you eat has a significant impact on how well your heart works. Foods such as fatty meat, full fat dairy products, palm and coconut oil, and processed items, including biscuits, chocolate, cakes and pastries, are all high in saturated fat and sugar. Eating them regularly can lead to high cholesterol which can block your arteries. Refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, rice and pasta, and low-fibre cereal, can also increase cholesterol.
You can lower your cholesterol levels through your diet by doing two things: switch to eating more fibre, including at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and more wholegrain foods; and eat more unsaturated fats, such as lower-fat dairy products, nuts, seeds, vegetable oil and oily fish.
The good news is that eating a healthy, balanced diet also helps to lower your blood pressure, manage type 2 diabetes, lose weight if you need to, and maintain a healthy weight in the future. It’s a win-win!
- Keep active
We all know exercise is good for us, but it’s also good for your heart. Regular exercise lowers your blood pressure and cholesterol, helps you to control your weight, boosts your mood and energy levels, and reduces stress.
To stay fit and healthy, you should try to do moderate intensity physical activities for 20 to 30 minutes every day, or at least 150 minutes every week. In addition, on at least two days a week, you should do some resistance-type exercises to keep your muscles, bones and joints strong. That may sound difficult, but it’s much easier if you find an activity you love that can be fitted into your routine.
Try the NHS free fitness apps: Active 10, that tracks your steps and records every minute of your walking, and/or Couch to 5K, a running programme for absolute beginners. You can also get fit at home with free instructor-led workout videos (https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/).
- Get enough sleep
A lack of sleep is not a direct risk factor for heart disease. However, it’s vital that you get sufficient quality uninterrupted sleep to allow time for your mind and body to rest and repair. If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’ll experience changes in mood and excessive tiredness. To cope with this, you could find yourself turning to alcohol, overeating or smoking more. These bad habits are all risk factors for heart disease, so it’s important to find ways to improve the amount of sleep you get.
It helps to stick to the same routine, going to bed and getting up at the same time, even at weekends. If you have problems drifting off, try using a specialist sleep app, or one dedicated to mindfulness, to help you sleep better more often. But if you’re struggling with insomnia, speak to your GP or your local pharmacy team.
- Quit smoking
Smoking cigarettes damages your arteries so it’s a significant risk factor for heart disease. Watch the excellent British Heart Foundation video that shows what happens inside your body when you smoke a cigarette (https://youtu.be/cuG9aVnZf-A).
It’s never too late to quit, even if you’ve tried before. And if you can stop smoking for 28 days, you’re five times more likely to quit for good. Visit the Better Health website for tips and advice, and download the free NHS Quit Smoking app for lots of instant motivation. It tracks your progress, provides daily support and even tells you how much money you’re saving by not smoking.
To increase your chances of quitting completely, get free expert help and support from your local stop smoking service. They can advise about the best combination of stop-smoking products – including nicotine replacement therapies (NRT), nicotine vapes and nicotine-free prescription-only medicines – to help you manage cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
- Drink less alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol on a regular basis can lead to high blood pressure, resulting in clogged arteries if untreated. As a result, you’re at a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as liver disease, and mouth, throat or breast cancer. Drinking less alcohol will lower your risk of developing these serious health conditions.
Under UK guidelines, men and women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol each week. This is classed as low-risk drinking because there is no safe drinking level. 14 units is the same as 6 pints of 4% beer or 6 standard glasses (175ml) of 13% wine.
Cutting back on alcohol can be difficult, but the NHS Drink Free Days app can help. It encourages you to commit to several alcohol-free days a week, and to drink less than 14 units. Drinking is a social activity so tell your friends what you’re doing and ask for their support.
- Manage your stress levels
Although we all experience stress, sometimes it can become overwhelming when there’s a big life change, for example, the death of a loved one or the break-up of a significant relationship.
Stress by itself will not cause a heart attack or stroke. But if you try to cope with stress by smoking and/or vaping more, drinking more alcohol than usual, or regularly eating foods that are high in sugar or fat, this will increase your risk of heart disease. Learning how to deal with stress without getting into bad habits is important for your overall wellbeing.
Start by listing out what’s causing your stress because this can make it seem more manageable. Don’t bottle it up – talk to friends and family about how you’re feeling. It’s also worth trying calming and relaxation techniques such as mindfulness and meditation to clear your mind and focus on the moment.
