One of the greatest risks to the average American’s health and wellbeing is cardiovascular disease. This is particularly true as people age.
Consider these facts:
- Roughly 120 million Americans have been diagnosed with some form of cardiovascular disease (which is more than 1/3 of all Americans).
- Every year about 150,000 Americans will die from heart disease-related conditions, such as heart attack and stroke.
The odds are overwhelming that you (or someone you love) either has heart disease or is at risk for developing it. And as noted above, this risk increases with age.
Fortunately, there are proactive steps you can take to lower your risk.
Maintain a Heart-Healthy Diet
When it comes to heart health, what you avoid eating is as important as what you do eat.
Avoid processed foods, refined carbohydrates (like sugar), and unhealthy fats (like partially hydrogenated oil). These foods contribute to inflammation, and they increase heart disease risk.
Instead, focus your diet on lean protein, colorful vegetables, low-sugar fruit (like berries), complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats (like olive oil). You may find it helpful to use the Mediterranean diet as a reference. This approach to eating is widely looked upon as being heart healthy.
Stay Active
Regular physical activity is crucial for maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system.
Many experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week. Think of a brisk walk as moderate activity, with running being more vigorous. Other options include swimming, cycling, and climbing stairs (to name just a few). When engaging in cardiovascular exercise, your heartrate should be up, you should be sweating, and it should take some effort to carry on a conversation. If in doubt, a heartrate monitor can help you to gauge how hard you’re working.
Also, if it’s been a while since you engaged in cardiovascular exercise, it’s always a good idea to be cleared by your primary care physician first.
Minimize Stress
The human body reacts to stress with the “fight or flight response”.
When something stressful is happening, your body releases stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones increase your heart rate and cause your blood pressure spike so you can deal with the “threat”.
The fight or flight is response is an important biological mechanism that is meant to be triggered only occasionally when a person is in physical danger. Think in terms of fighting or fleeing when confronted with a big animal while out hunting and gathering. Furthermore, the stress hormones described above are not harmful when excreted in large amounts only infrequently and for short amounts of time.
However, the fight or flight response is counterproductive when triggered repeatedly over a long period of time. When a person is under chronic modern-day stress from a demanding job or a sick family member, the body never has a chance to recover from the ongoing flood of stress hormones. The result can be chronic cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure and weight gain.
Not all stressors can be avoided, but minimizing the risk for developing cardiovascular means minimizing life’s day-to-day stressors as much as possible. Be selective about what you take on from one day to the next and do the best you can to build rest and relaxation into your schedule.
Don’t Smoke (or Vape)
Smoking is one of the worst things a person can do for their cardiovascular system. And vaping is bad, too.
Both habits damage blood vessels, increase blood pressure, and significantly increase heart disease risk overall.
If you smoke or vape, talk to your primary care physician about cessation strategies.
Watch Your Weight
Carrying extra body fat, especially around the midsection, increases heart disease risk. A healthy diet, combined with regular exercise, should go a long way toward helping most people to maintain a healthy weight, even as they age.
Having said that, if you have good lifestyle habits relative to diet and exercise, and you still struggle to maintain a healthy weight, your hormones may be imbalanced and/or you may be insulin resistant. Renew Youth can help with both, making weight loss easier and more achievable.
Get Regular Check-ups with Your PCP
Regular screenings with your primary care physician are important for early detection and management of the various risk factors for heart disease.
The following should be checked regularly:
- Blood pressure—Chronically elevated blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease.
- Cholesterol and inflammation markers—Elevated LDL cholesterol isn’t necessarily bad in and of itself. However, when LDL cholesterol is elevated in combination with chronic inflammation, the result can be plaque that builds up on arterial walls.
- Hemoglobin A1c—Type II diabetes significantly increases heart disease risk. Your hemoglobin A1c level is an important indicator of blood sugar health.
Check Your Hormone Levels
Declining hormone levels can cause weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, and other symptoms that increase heart disease risk. Hormones like estrogen and testosterone directly impact heart health in positive ways.
At Renew Youth, we can test your hormone levels, and if appropriate provide targeted hormone replacement therapy that is tailored to your unique physiological needs.
Want to be proactive about your health? Call Renew Youth at 800-859-7511 or use our easy contact form to schedule your free consultation.