By Aieza

True beauty is not just in the body but in the heart of the beholder. When the heart is healthy, it shines in a person’s eyes, vocal tones, and actions.

Choosing healthy meal and snack options can help you to avoid heart disease and complications. You can prevent heart disease by following a healthy lifestyle. There are some tips which will help you to protect your heart from various diseases.

There is no particular cure for heart disease but it can be managed with certain lifestyle changes and if we leave it untreated it can cause serious problems, even deaths. There are many heart diseases, such as congestive heart, coronary heart diseases are the leading causes of death for men and women. There are some healthy ways which can help you to reduce the risk of heart diseases.

Here are some health tips which will boost your heart health:

1.Quit smoking and use of tobacco

Smoking is bad for your lungs and hurts your heart too, so one of the best things you can do for your health is to stop smoking and use tobacco. Well, if you aren’t a smoker then be sure to avoid passive smoking areas. While the presence of chemicals in tobacco can damage your heart and blood vessels too and smoking the cigarette will reduce the oxygen in our blood, which increases the level of our blood pressure & heart rate as our heart has to work for the supply of enough oxygen to our whole body and brain and the good news is that your risk of heart diseases tends to drop in as little as a day after you quit it. Even after a year without smoking, the risk of your heart disease drops to about half that of a smoker. it doesn’t matter how long and how much you smoked; you will surely start reaping the rewards as soon as you quit it.

2. Go for some moving activities for at least 30 to 60 minutes in a day

Regular walks and daily physical activities can lower your risk of heart diseases and help to control your healthy weight and also reduce the chances of developing other conditions that can put a strain on your heart, such as high blood pressure levels, high cholesterol, and type II diabetes. So, for being active you need some effort to work towards these goals, at least you have to exercise 150 minutes a week for moderate aerobic exercise, such as walking at any outdoor place.

 And 75 minutes of exercise a week for vigorous aerobic activity, which you can do by running. Even shorter bouts of activities benefit the heart, so just five minutes of moving can help us to get the benefits such as gardening, housekeeping, taking yourself to the upstairs and downstairs walking keeps you benefitted.

3. Eat heart-healthy foods

Many foods can keep your heart healthy and maintain your levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. So, keeping these levels in line with your eating plan includes:

• Vegetables and fruits
• Beans or other legumes
• Lean meats and fish
• Low-fat or fat-free dairy foods
• Wholegrains
• Healthy fats, such as olive oil

 There are also some other food plans for the dietary approaches to Stop Hypertension [DASH] and the eating plan includes the following:

• Try to eat more fruits and vegetables.
• Eat low-fat dairy foods.
• Don’t eat a high level of saturated and trans-fat foods
• Limit sugars, sugary drinks, and red meat
• Consume whole-grain foods, fish, poultry, and nuts

 4. Maintain a healthy weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is important for our overall health and wellbeing so being overweight can increase the risk of heart diseases which involves the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. For this purpose, to see if your weight is healthy you can calculate your body mass index [BMI], which you can use to determine your weight whether your weight is healthy or unhealthy with the percentage of body fat and calculate it. 

Another procedure is Waist circumference which is also a useful tool to measure how much abdominal fat you have. You can get the risk of heart disease is higher if your waist measurement is greater than:

• 40 inches (101.6 centimeters, or cm) for men
• 35 inches (88.9 cm) for women

So, if you are going for a small weight loss it can be beneficial for your health. Reducing your weight by just 3% to 5% can help decrease certain fats in your blood (triglycerides), lower your blood sugar (glucose), and reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. Losing, even more, helps lower your blood pressure and blood cholesterol level.

5.Maintain good quality sleep

Sleep quality is how well you sleep, not how much you sleep, and good sleep is measured by how quickly you fall asleep so, the lack of sleep can harm your health. Some people don’t get enough sleep and are at higher risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes, and depression. You can check the sleeping chart pattern according to your age and most of the adults have at least seven hours of sleep each night. So, make your sleep a priority in your life and set a sleep schedule, and stick to it by going to bed and waking up at the same times each day. Keep your bedroom dark and quiet, so it’s easier to sleep, and if you can’t sleep better take sleeping hygiene suggestions.

And still, if you’ve been getting enough sleep but you’re still tired throughout the day, ask your doctor if you need to be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnoea, a condition that can increase your risk of heart disease.

6. Manage your stress

Stress is a feeling which makes a person unable to respond to mental and emotional pressure. Stress causes some chemical changes in our body that can raise your blood pressure, heart rate, and even the blood sugar levels and cause of stress a person goes inside the anxiety, pressure, and frustration causing some people to cope with stress in unhealthy ways, such as overeating, drinking or smoking. So, you can find some alternative ways to manage stress such as physical activity, relaxation exercises, or meditation that can help improve your health.

7. Get regular health screening check-ups

Regular health check-ups can reduce the chances of health risks and life-threatening health conditions by detecting diseases early. So just like this High blood pressure and high cholesterol can damage your heart and blood vessels without testing for them, you probably won’t know whether you have these conditions. Regular screening can tell you what your numbers are and whether you need to take action or not.

• Blood pressure: For the detection of blood pressure screenings starting at age of 18 your blood pressure should be measured at least once or twice a year to detect any risk factor for heart disease and stroke. If you’re between 18 and 39 then you don’t have risk factors for high blood pressure, you’ll likely be screened once a year. People aged 40 and older also are given a blood pressure test annually.
• Cholesterol levels: The level of cholesterol should be checked at the early stages even in children and adolescents. Adults generally have no symptoms for cholesterol screening usually starts at age 20, though earlier testing may be recommended if you have other risk factors, such as a family history of early-onset heart disease.
• Type 2 diabetes screening: Diabetes can also be a major factor in heart disease. If you have risk factors for diabetes, such as being overweight or having a family history of diabetes you should go to the doctor and recommend early screening. If your weight is normal then you don’t have the high-risk factors for type 2 diabetes, so screenings are not much necessary. In adults ages, 35 to 70 who are overweighed or obese can get high levels of diabetes so recommends a necessary screening and medications prescribed by your doctor and must follow a healthy diet plan to overcome the risk of diseases and live a healthy and safe.