Patriot Health Digest
It’s important to live a heart healthy lifestyle. Even still, in the U.S., cardiovascular disease is the top cause of death, which means preventing heart disease should be everyone’s number one priority.
Fortunately, we have learned a lot in 2020 from cardiologists, new research, the American Health Association and heart health experts about what you could do to keep your heart in tip-top shape.
Each of the following can help lower your risk of health disease and enhance your overall well-being.
Yes, walking is sufficient exercise
On days or weeks when you are super busy (which, let us be honest, is most of the time for a lot of us), it could be challenging to have time for a workout and even the energy to do said exercise. The good news is that, according to heart doctors, an easy, quick, 15-minute walk around your block is enough to aid in a healthy body and heart as a whole.
The mortality and morbidity benefits of walking occur regardless of how fast your heart beats each minute while doing it. Of course, raising your cardiovascular fitness and collecting even more mortality and morbidity points requires raising your heart rate and going for longer distances.
Sleep also has an affect on heart health
By now you most likely know that getting adequate sleep each night is an important contributor to overall health, but it is also crucial for leading a heart healthy lifestyle. Poor sleep could have a negative impact on your cardiovascular health by interrupting your body’s recuperation and natural recovery, causing changes in your blood vessels, slowing down your metabolism, and putting added stress on your immune system. Which is even more of a reason to work on getter more quality sleep in 2022.
Hydration also has an affect on heart health
Staying adequately hydrated is crucial for everything from moving, breathing, digesting to being alive. Even still, chronic dehydration is a common occurrence, and new research has suggested there is an association between heart failure and hydration.
While there’s still more research that needs to be done to know for sure if dehydration has a direct impact on heart failure, this research suggests that staying well hydrated might have preventative benefits. While the National Academy of Sports Medicine suggests males drink 128 oz. of water each day and females consume 96 oz.—the CDC does not offer guidance on daily water intake.
Author: Scott Dowdy
