Live Your Best Life

6 Tips for Achieving a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle

by Dr. Rajal Patel, Concierge Physician - WellcomeMD Mooresville

February is heart awareness month, and it’s a good reminder to keep our momentum for healthy living in the new year.

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States. The good news is we can significantly change our cardiometabolic risk by adapting the following healthy lifestyle choices.

1. Nutrition. To reduce cardiometabolic risk, a diet that is rich in antioxidants will help decrease inflammation, manage blood sugar levels and decrease oxidation. Sounds like a tall order, but it’s not as difficult as it sounds. While eating, make sure half the plate contains fruits and vegetables and, additionally, the daily diet includes plenty of nuts (unsalted), fiber (beans/ peas), omega-3 which is found in fish, edamame/soybeans, seaweed or flax and chia seeds. Reduce consumption of red meat, refined carbohydrates (white flour, pasta, pastries) and simple sugars (soda, fruit juice).

2. Movement & Exercise. Exercise has great benefits. In addition to cardiometabolic improvements, exercise also improves brain health and weight loss, while decreasing cancer risks and improving hormones. Daily exercise is more likely to occur if it is scheduled. Strive for at moderately intense activity at least 150 - 300 minutes per week (e.g., brisk walking, light bicycling, vacuuming, mopping, mowing the lawn), or 75 - 150 minutes of vigorous activity per week (e.g., jogging, hiking, shoveling, bicycling). Stack exercises with 10–15-minute intervals, 2-3 times throughout the day.

Since sedentary behavior lends to higher risk, avoid sitting for prolonged periods. Use an Apple Watch or Fitbit as a reminder to move hourly, or consider a standing desk 3. Stress management & Mindfulness. Stress can kill. It increases blood pressure, causes arrhythmias and heart attacks, increases fat deposition, and increases insulin resistance. Mindfulness will help improve your heart rate variability, lower cortisol levels, help improve brain focus, decrease anxiety and depression and help cope with life’s curveballs. There are many ways to incorporate mindfulness into a daily routine: meditation, breathing techniques, yoga, and taking nature walks are but a few. Stick to the most beneficial routine.

4. Lose weight. Achieving and maintaining weight loss is a lifelong journey. If additional assistance is required, use an app that counts calories such as Lose It! or My Fitness Pal. Burning 3,500 calories equals one pound of weight loss, which can be realized with exercise, eating less or a combination of both. If counting calories is unnecessary, use a smaller plate for meals to reduce portion size, and remove junk foods or personally addictive foods from the pantry. Limit unhealthy snacks to individual portion sizes or indulge in them only when eating out.

5. Quit smoking. Discuss smoking cessation options with your doctor.

6. Limit alcohol intake. Alcohol is a toxin — enjoyable at times, but still a toxin. Alcohol impairs the brain’s ability to function, raises blood pressure, causes cardiomyopathy (heart enlargement) and arrhythmias, increases cancer risk, causes liver damage and ulcers, worsens depression and anxiety and the list goes on. The potential benefits of alcohol are minimal and will not apply to all individuals. Current recommendations for moderate drinking are determined as no more than two drinks for men and one for women per day.

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