How to Keep Your Heart Healthy this Heart Health Month

February is Heart Health Month, and that means it’s time to focus on ways to keep your heart healthy! There are many things you can do to protect your heart, from eating a healthy diet to getting regular exercise. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the best ways to keep your heart healthy. We’ll also provide some tips for avoiding heart disease. So if you’re looking for ways to protect your heart, read on!

What is Heart Disease?

Heart disease is a general term that describes several different conditions that affect the heart. These include coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and others.

What Causes Heart Disease?

The exact cause of heart disease is not always clear, but factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels in the blood, obesity, lack of exercise, and diabetes are known to contribute to developing heart disease.

What Are the Symptoms of Heart Disease?

Symptoms of heart disease can vary depending on the type of condition you have. For example, some people with coronary artery disease may not experience any symptoms at all while others may feel pain in their chest or experience shortness of breath or fatigue. Symptoms for other types of heart disease may include swelling in the legs, ankles, feet, stomach, and face; difficulty breathing; irregular heartbeat; chest pain; fainting or dizziness when standing up suddenly; leg cramps at night that keep you from sleeping well; cold hands or feet combined with increased sweating; and reduced appetite combined with unexplained weight loss.

The CDC explains, however, that sometimes heart disease may be “silent.” This means that it may not be diagnosed until a person experiences signs or symptoms of a heart attack, heart failure, or an arrhythmia. When these events happen, symptoms could include:

• Heart attack: Chest pain or discomfort, upper back or neck pain, indigestion, heartburn, nausea or vomiting, extreme fatigue, upper body discomfort, dizziness, and shortness of breath.
• Arrhythmia: Fluttering feelings in the chest (palpitations).
• Heart failure: Shortness of breath, fatigue, or swelling of the feet, ankles, legs, abdomen, or neck veins.

Exercise for Heart Health

We know that regular exercise not only helps you lose weight but it also reduces your risk of heart disease, lowers blood pressure, strengthens the heart muscle, and strengthens bones. And these are just a few of the many health benefits you’ll experience if you’re active regularly. Hopkins Medicine explains three kinds of exercise that can help prevent heart disease:

1. Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise improves circulation, which results in lowered blood pressure and heart rate. Further, aerobic exercise also reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and, if you already live with diabetes, helps you control your blood glucose. Try to aim for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least five days a week. Examples of this type of exercise include:

• Brisk walking,
• Running
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Playing tennis
• Jumping Rope

2. Resistance Training (Strength Training)

Resistance training has a more specific effect on body composition. For people who are carrying a lot of body fat (including a big belly, which is a risk factor for heart disease), it can help reduce fat and create leaner muscle mass. Research shows that a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance work may help raise HDL (good) cholesterol and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. Aim for at least two nonconsecutive days per week of resistance training. Examples of resistance training include:

• Working out with free weights (such as hand weights, dumbbells or barbells)
• Weight machines
• Resistance bands or through body-resistance exercises, such as push-ups, squats and chin-ups

3. Stretching, Flexibility and Balance

Flexibility workouts, such as stretching, don’t directly contribute to heart health. What they do is benefit musculoskeletal health, which enables you to stay flexible and free from joint pain, cramping and other muscular issues. That flexibility is a critical part of being able to maintain aerobic exercise and resistance training. As a bonus, flexibility and balance exercises help maintain stability and prevent falls, which can cause injuries that limit other kinds of exercise. Aim to do stretches each day before and after exercise.

Heart Health with Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center

If you want to improve your heart and your overall health, we can help at Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center! Our team of medical providers can help you get to the bottom of your chronic pain and give you exercise recommendations that will help you feel your best. We can also give you advice on how to eat healthier and lose weight as part of your treatment plan. To find out more, contact us today!