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10 tips for a healthy heart
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There are many steps people can take to try to prevent heart disease.
You can start by concentrating on key lifestyle areas such as eating, exercise,
smoking and drinking, and considering other factors like family history,
diabetes and stress. Here are 10 top tips for a healthy heart
![A human heart](file:///C:/DOCUME~1/subhani/LOCALS~1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image001.jpg)
1. Stop smoking. Quitting smoking is the single most important
thing a person can do to live longer. If you are a smoker, you are twice as
likely to have a heart attack than a non-smoker. But from the moment you stop
smoking, the risk of heart attack starts to reduce. With public smoking bans
recently introduced, there has never been a better time to give up.
2. Cut down on salt. Too much salt can cause high blood
pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease. Avoid
foods like crisps, salted nuts, canned and packet soups and sauces, baked beans
and canned vegetables, pork pies, pizzas and ready meals. Many breakfast
cereals and breads that appear healthy also contain high levels of salt, so
keep your eye on these too.
3. Watch your diet.
A healthy diet can help to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, and can
also help increase the chances of survival after a heart attack. You should try
to have a balanced diet, containing plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, oily
fish, starchy foods such as wholegrain bread, pasta and rice. Avoid foods like
biscuits, cakes, pastries and dairy products that are high in saturated fats
and sugar.
4. Monitor your alcohol.
Too much alcohol can damage the heart muscle, increase blood pressure and also
lead to weight gain. Binge drinking will increase your risk of having a heart
attack, so you should aim to limit your intake to one to two units a day.
5. Get active.The heart is a muscle and it needs exercise to
keep fit so that it can pump blood efficiently round your body with each heart
beat. You should aim for 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a day. If
this seems too daunting, start off gently and build up gradually. Keeping fit
not only benefits your physical health - it improves your mental health and
wellbeing too.
6. Manage your weight. The number of people who are overweight
in Britain
is rising fast - already more than half of the adult population is overweight
or obese. Carrying a lot of extra weight as fat can greatly affect your health
and increases the risk of life-threatening conditions such as coronary heart
disease and diabetes. If you are overweight or obese, start by making small,
but healthy changes to what you eat, and try to become more active.
7. Get your blood pressure and cholesterol
levels checked by your GP. The higher your blood pressure, the shorter your life expectancy. People
with high blood pressure run a higher risk of having a stroke or a heart
attack. High levels of cholesterol in the blood - produced by the liver from
saturated fats - can lead to fatty deposits in your coronary arteries that
increase your risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and diseases that affect
the circulation. You can help lower your cholesterol level by exercising and
eating high-fibre foods such as porridge, beans, pulses, lentils, nuts, fruits
and vegetables.
8. Learn to manage your stress levels. If you find things are getting on top of
you, you may fail to eat properly, smoke and drink too much and this may increase
your risk of a heart attack.
9. Check your family history . If a close relative is at risk of developing coronary heart disease from
smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity,
obesity and diabetes, then you could be at risk too.
10. Make sure you can recognise the early signs
of coronary heart disease . Tightness or discomfort in the chest, neck, arm or stomach which comes
on when you exert yourself but goes away with rest may be the first sign of
angina, which can lead to a heart attack if left untreated.
· Health tips from the British Heart Foundation
In : Home made Healthy tips
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