Is there a key to a healthy heart? Probably several. The most important thing to remember is the heart is a muscle. Exercise strengthens all your muscles, but exercise also strengthens the heart. Cardiovascular exercise is any exercise that increases your heart rate. This builds heart strength.
Keeping up an elevated heart rate for 30 minutes or more every day, or at least a few times a week, is the first step toward a healthier heart. Diet is the next most important. Eating nutritious fruits and vegetables and sticking with lean meat and fish is healthier for your heart. Fatty foods and meats lead to clogged arteries and can cause blockages.
Having an inactive lifestyle is a key factor to having heart problems. If you sit on the sofa watching shopping channels on the television buying designer jewelry and handbags, then you are much more likely to have a unhealthy heart than an avid walker
Lifestyle is also important for heart health. Smoking is a big no no, but light drinking could actually be beneficial. Research shows that wine, especially red wine, and even beer can be good for the heart. About one drink per day is optimal. Excessive drinking does more harm to the liver than any benefit to the heart.
While many people are advised by their doctors to take an aspirin a day for their heart, you should not be doing this unless your doctor recommends it. All medicines have side effects, and aspirin is a blood thinner. Always check with your health care provider before taking medications, especially on a regular basis. If you are already taking a blood thinner, aspirin might cause your blood to thin too much.
Many supplements can support heart health. Always tell your doctor when you are taking supplements – herbs in particular- because they can actually react with other medications sometimes.
Taking care of your heart before you have heart disease can prevent having to take drastic measures later in life. Eating right and exercising now will help more than surgery and expensive medications later.