Keep Your Heart Healthy: 5 Heart Health Tips for Seniors

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Keep YourHeart Healthy:

5 Heart Health Tips for Seniors

Note: This list is for information only and not a substitute for a consultation with a qualified professional.





February is a great time to think about your heart. Not only is it the month in which we celebrate love and romance, it’s also AMERICAN HEART MONTH. But sadly, many of us give the hearts in our Valentine’s Day cards more thought than we do the hearts in our bodies.

Maintaining a healthy heart at any age is important, but as you continue into your Golden Years, heart health is even more important.

HEART DISEASE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MORE DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES THAN ANYTHING ELSE, ABOUT

ARE YOU GIVING YOUR HEART THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES?

BUT ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 4 OUT OF 5 OF

THESE DEATHS ARE PREVENTABLE.

600,000 AMERICANS EACH YEAR.





Start making your most valuable organ your top priority withthese five tips to keep your heart healthy for a lifetime.

Eat Better1.Each week, it seems like the media and internet sites report contradicting advice on what to eat to keep your heart healthy.

MEAT IS BAD FOR YOU. MEAT IS GOOD FOR YOU. DRINK RED WINE. RED WINE WILL KILL YOU!

STOP WATCHING THE HEADLINES AND START FOLLOWING SIMPLE GUIDELINES

The AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION suggests eating a variety of nutritious foods such as VEGETABLES, FRUITS, UNREFINED WHOLE GRAINS, AND FISH, and cutting back on NUTRIENT-POOR FOODS HIGH IN FAT, CHOLESTEROL AND SALT.





Exercise More2. A 30-MINUTE WALK A DAY, most days of the week will keep your heart in prime pumping shape. If this number seems daunting, start small: TWO 15-MINUTE BRISK WALKS A DAY will bring you up to the correct total.

REMEMBER THAT WALKING THE DOG, GARDENING, AND CLEANING THE HOUSE ALL WORK OUT YOUR HEART.

Find ways to stay active that are fun and engaging, and it will be easier to make them habits.





Don’t Smoke3. Smoking or using tobacco is one of the biggest risk factors in developing heart disease. According to the CDC, SMOKING INCREASES YOUR RISK OF STROKE AND HEART DISEASE BY UP TO 4 TIMES.

Additionally, smoking can take, on average, 10 YEARS OFF YOUR LIFE. However, if you quit by AGE 64, you can get 4 YEARS BACK, and by AGE 54, you can get 6 YEARS BACK.

WHEN YOU QUIT SMOKING, YOUR RISK OF HEART DISEASE DROPS DRAMATICALLY WITHIN JUST A YEAR.





Stay at a Healthy Weight 4.

Extra pounds around your middle can lead to HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HIGH CHOLESTEROL, and DIABETES -- all conditions that increase your chances of heart disease.

According to the Mayo Clinic, MEN are considered overweight if their waist measures MORE THAN 40 INCHES. WOMEN are considered overweight if their waist measured MORE THAN 35 INCHES.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR WEIGHTIS PUTTING YOU AT RISK?





Get Regular Health Screenings5.

If you have HIGH CHOLESTEROL or HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, your heart may be accumulating damage as you read this. If you don’t know whether you have these conditions, the damage can occur without you having any idea.

According to the AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION, all regular heart health screening tests for those with HIGH CHOLESTEROL or HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE should begin as early as AGE 20, except BLOOD GLUCOSE MEASUREMENTS, which should begin at AGE 45.

WORK WITH YOUR DOCTOR TO GET A HANDLE ON YOUR HEART HEALTH AND TO LOWER POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS.



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Keep Your Heart Healthy: 5 Heart Health Tips for Seniors