How to Keep Your Heart Healthy

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death for men and women alike in the United States. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around "600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year--that's 1 in every 4 deaths". The most common type of heart ailment is coronary heart disease, and this causes the death of over 385,000 annually. When it comes to costs, the CDC states that "coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity."

Those numbers are certainly alarming, but the good news is, heart disease can be prevented. By making better choices and smarter lifestyle decisions, you can actually lower your risks for getting heart disease.

Consider the following tips:

Maintain a Proper Diet

Load up on fruits and vegetables, as they contain a lot of vitamins and minerals that can help prevent heart diseases. If you're not used to eating these fruity or green goodness, then start by simply including more of them in your diet. Order a salad instead of soup, and buy more fruits from the grocery. You may also want to consider switching your snack foods (e.g. chips, sweets, etc) with fruit and veggies instead.

Aside from fruits and vegetables, consider eating more of whole grain products. Eat oatmeal for breakfast instead of your usual muffin and swap "white products" such as flour, rice, or bread with their whole grain counterparts.

You should also limit your consumption of foods that are high in saturated fat. Examples of such food items include processed meat (bacon, sausage), butter, and coconuts. Try to stay away from foods high in cholesterol as well. Egg yolk, shell fish, and shrimp, for instance must be avoided.

Exercise (They don't call it "cardio" for nothing!)

Being inactive physically also increases your risk for heart disease so make sure to get some exercise on a regular basis. Aerobic exercises in particular have been proven to improve circulation, lower blood pressure, and most importantly, strengthen your cardiovascular system. Examples of pro-heart exercises include walking, cycling, jogging, rowing, and skiing. Aim to get around 30 minutes of physical activity daily to get the most benefits.

Get yourself tested regularly

It may sound cliche, but the fact is, prevention is always better than cure. Aside from the above-mentioned tips, an effective way to prevent heart disease is to catch the signs as early as possible. Visit your physician and get regular blood tests so that any problems (or potential problems) can be detected.

It would also be helpful to be aware of your family history. If you have any relatives that suffered from heart disease, be sure to inform your doctor so that they can help steer you away from that fate.

Get Informed

For more information about keeping a healthy heart, check out the following resources below:

Getting Healthy - American Heart Association - A collection of articles about being healthy by the AHA

FDA - Eat for a Healthy Heart - An article by the Food and Drug Administration informing consumers about diets to keep a healthy heart

NHLBI - The official site of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

Understanding Cardiovascular Disease A great article about Heart Disease by the Hope Heart Institute

AATS - The official website of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery

STS - The official website of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons

MedStart Union Memorial Hospital - The resource page of Union Memorial Hospital

ACHA - The Adult Congenital Heart Association is an organization dedicated to improve and extend the lives of adults with congenital heart defects.

American College of Cardiology - CardioSouce - Website of the ACC

Healthy Kids - Heart Foundation - A resource page about maintaining a healthy lifestyle for kids by the Heart Foundation

Mended Hearts - A non-profit organization that aims to give hope to heart disease patients as well as their families and caregivers

Image credit: Ember Studio on Flickr

Search