What instructions should I follow to keep my heart healthy?
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In order to keep your heart healthy, you should exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet rich in vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and maintain a normal blood pressure. If you have a strong family history of heart disease, visit your doctor to discuss further testing such as cholesterol levels and blood glucose.In order to keep your heart healthy, you should exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet rich in vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and maintain a normal blood pressure. If you have a strong family history of heart disease, visit your doctor to... More -
Towanda Stewart of Honor Society of Nursing (STTI) answered:With the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD), hypertension (HTN), congestive heart failure (CHF) and other cardiac disorders and medical diagnosis, there are many disease specific instructions that you may get from your doctor. Some basic heart healthy instructions may include:
- monitoring sodium intake (may cause swelling (edema)) HINT: may need to rinse vegetables from can before cooking & read food labels
- monitoring fluid intake (especially with CHF) HINT: 6 to 8 cups recommended daily otherwise to avoid dehydration
- at least 30 minutes aerobic exercise at least three times a week (unless contraindicated)
- opt to consume baked foods over fried foods at times to decrease cholesterol intake and decrease chance of atherosclerosis (hardening of arteries)
- Keep doctor appointments and take medication as prescribed!
With the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD), hypertension (HTN), congestive heart failure (CHF) and other cardiac disorders and medical diagnosis, there are many disease specific instructions that you may get from your doctor. Some basic... More -
RealAge answered:To keep yourself informed about your heart health and make smart health choices, start with these three steps:
- Know your blood sugar. Out-of-control blood sugar will damage the lining of your blood vessel walls over time. That can facilitate plaque formation and the hardening and narrowing of your arteries -- very bad news for your health.
- Know your cholesterol. A dual diagnosis of diabetes and high cholesterol can be tricky. Right off the bat, you've got two major risk factors for heart disease. You can control both and keep your heart healthy, but it may involve taking medications for each condition, in addition to making healthy lifestyle choices -- like eating the right foods and being as physically active as you can be.
- Track your weight and your waist. Losing weight if you need to -- even if it's just a little weight -- could do big, big favors for your health. Not only will it help lower cholesterol and blood sugar, but also it can nudge down a whole bunch of other health risk factors, like blood pressure and blood-vessel-damaging inflammation. That's a lot of weight loss incentive. Where you carry your weight matters, too. So if your middle isn't so little, you'll want to focus on choices that help reduce the amount of fat you have stored in your abdomen; it's the most dangerous place to carry fat on your body. Abdominal fat -- called omentum -- can significantly increase heart disease risk.
To keep yourself informed about your heart health and make smart health choices, start with these three steps: Know your blood sugar. Out-of-control blood sugar will damage the lining of your blood vessel walls over time. That can... More
