A healthy heart is a key factor to a healthy body. Changing your lifestyle to include eating the right foods and increasing movement helps you function properly while playing a big role in improving cardiovascular health. You can also reduce your chances of developing diabetes, hypertension, and ultimately heart attacks.
Disease Risk Factors
Some heart and vascular disease risk factors include:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Age-related changes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Currently smoking or vaping
- Too much alcohol intake
- Being a former heavy smoker or vaper
- Inherited genetic risk
- Poor diet and exercise
Risk Factors You Can Control
There are some things you can’t control, like family medical history and inherited genetic risks. However, there are many risk factors you can control. It’s important to focus on the risk factors you can manage to improve your health.
- Visit with your doctor yearly to monitor unique risk factors.
- Eat a healthy diet of lean meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans.
- Stay active and exercise regularly for at least 30 minutes a day.
- Decrease salt intake.
- Avoid tobacco use, such as smoking and vaping.
- Only drink alcohol in moderation, if at all.
How to Get Help
Ask your doctor if you have any questions about your heart health. Also, cardiovascular screenings are generally recommended for men ages 40+, and women ages 45+.
Whether you get a screening or not, your Avera doctor will review your family history and help you with:
- Cardiovascular risk assessment and management
- Education on lifestyle modifications to prevent heart disease
- Monitoring and management of chronic conditions, like hypertension and diabetes
- Prescribing medications for conditions like heart failure and arrhythmias
- Lifestyle counseling and management of risk factors such as diet, exercise and smoking cessation
