Heart Health: How you can protect yourself
Introduction
Around a quarter of all deaths in the UK are caused by heart and circulatory diseases – meaning that they claim more than 160,000 lives each year.
While surgeries and medication are needed in many cases, simple lifestyle changes can add up to make a huge difference in improving heart health.
1. Get active
Physical activity reduces the risk of developing heart disease and is a great mood-booster as well.
Aim to do 150 minutes of exercise each week. For example, 30 minutes of activity five days a week.
2. Give up smoking
Quitting smoking is the single biggest positive change people can make to improve their heart health.
A year after giving up, the risk of a heart attack is around half that of a smoker.
3. Manage your weight
Being overweight is a significant risk factor for heart disease - and losing weight can reduce that risk.
Eating healthily and increasing your exercise levels can help to manage weight.
4. Eat well
Eating more fibre, cutting down on salt and saturated fat and getting five fruit-and-veg a day can all improve heart health – as can eating oily fish once or twice a week.
These dietary steps can help by lowering cholesterol. High cholesterol is another risk factor for heart disease.
5. Drink less alcohol
Regularly drinking too much alcohol is linked to high blood pressure, which can contribute to heart disease.
Try to stick to recommended limits to reduce the risk of heart problems, and for general good health.
Start improving your heart health today.