10 ways to keep your heart healthy

As a dietitian, I meet with many people who feel overwhelmed with advice and tips for improving their heart health. I recognize that often articles, news stories and research can be confusing, so I've simplified these messages into my top 10 tips for protecting your heart. 

1. Eat whole foods

Eating nutritious food is fundamental to heart health and overall well-being. There is no “perfect” one-size fits all diet owing to individual age, health, lifestyle, culture, economic status and genetics.

A healthy, quality diet is plant-based with an emphasis on whole grains, monounsaturated fat, nuts and seeds, legumes, an abundance of fruits and vegetables, dairy and fortified alternatives, and moderate lean protein.

Choosing a variety of foods is critical to good health as different foods contribute different types and amounts of key nutrients. Adopting a balanced, nutritious diet does not have to be an all or nothing proposition. Think of improving your diet as a number of small, manageable steps that eventually will become habit.

2. Avoid low quality food

Keep your heart strong by limiting foods that can harm your health. These are ultra-processed foods - industrial formulations made mostly or completely from substances (oil, fat, sugar, starch and protein) extracted from food or derived from hydrogenated fats or modified starches. They can also be synthesized in laboratories with flavor enhancers, colors and additives to make them highly palatable. These foods typically have five or more (usually many more) ingredients.

Think sweetened sodas, pre-sweetened breakfast cereals and bars, pastries, cakes, cookies and cake mixes, and frozen pizzas, sausages, chicken nuggets and fish sticks. A diet composed mainly of ultra-processed foods exposes you to unhealthy additives and increases the risk of chronic inflammatory diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other problems.

In contrast, eating more foods that are closer to the way nature made them is associated with health. This can make a huge difference in how you think, look and feel.

3. Get enough sleep

Sleep is an essential part of health, similar to nutrition and physical activity. Poor sleep can cause a variety of physical and mental health issues including:

• heart disease
• high blood pressure
• obesity
• diabetes
• depression.  

Lack of sleep can also lead to lifestyle changes detrimental to the heart including eating unhealthy food and lack of movement. Keep your heart healthy by aiming for at least seven hours of sleep every night.

4. Maintain a healthy weight

Extra body weight burdens your heart to work harder, raises blood pressure, increases the risk of pre-diabetes and diabetes, and can contribute to raising LDL or “bad” cholesterol and lowering HDL or “good” cholesterol.

Even at a healthy weight, excess fat in the midsection or belly fat is strongly associated with cardiovascular risk compared to those who carry the weight in their hips and thighs. A waist greater than 40 inches for men and greater than 35 inches for women is a risk predictor for heart disease and diabetes. 

A decrease in body weight is typically achieved by reducing calorie intake and increasing physical activity. It is important to note that weight loss goals should be realistic and sustainable. 

Inventorying daily caloric intake can be a helpful tool to increase awareness of caloric intake and eating habits and identify where to introduce healthier choices.

5. Move more and sit less

Lack of movement is a contributor to heart disease and can also contribute to high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. 

Current recommendations are at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week. However, any small change to your routine that adds in movement can be beneficial to health.

Aim to spend less hours sitting for work, scrolling on your phone or binge-watching your favorite show, instead:

• switch to a standing desk for work or create a makeshift standing desk on a high table.  
• watch television, work, or scroll through your phone on a walking pad.
• take a walk outside with your headphones while on the phone or bring along an audio book or podcast. 

6. Manage stress

Stress on your mind can equal stress on your heart. Unmanaged stress causes the body to make the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which increase your heart rate and blood pressure. Keep your heart healthy by managing stress in a way that works for you. Some ways to manage stress include:

• moving your body through exercise or yoga
• meditation or mindfulness
• talking to a trusted friend or therapist
• eating a healthier diet by cutting back on sugar, fatty foods and caffeine
• engaging with your social or religious community.

7. Laugh a little

Try to include joy in each day. Studies suggest that positivity can lead to a lower stress level, which reduces strain on the heart. Spend your free time with people who make you laugh and smile.

Healthy companionship can increase happiness by contributing to social, emotional and physical wellbeing. In general, happy people have lower risks of heart disease. 

8. Don’t smoke, vape or use tobacco

Using any type of tobacco is unhealthy for your heart and the rest of your body. Forms of tobacco and alternative tobacco products include cigarettes, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS, including e-cigarettes), cigars, smokeless tobacco (dip or chew), hookahs, pipes, roll-your-own and oral nicotine products. 

Tobacco introduces chemicals to your body that damage the heart, lungs and skin. It increases your blood pressure and heart rate and causes buildup in your arteries that cause strain on the heart muscle. 

Just 24 hours after quitting, your chance of a heart attack decreases and after one year, your chance of heart disease is cut in half. Experiment and find a smoking cessation option that works for you. 

9. Know the signs of a heart attack

Symptoms of a heart attack can vary person to person. Some heart attacks are sudden and cause intense pain, but most start slowly with mild discomfort in the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Other signs can be a cold sweat, nausea or light-headedness. Do not second-guess, call 911 immediately and chew an aspirin.

10. Make preventative care a priority 

See your primary care doctor at least once a year and as necessary, if experiencing health concerns. Your primary provider can help track changes to your health that can impact your heart. Some heart-healthy benchmarks to aim for include:

• LDL cholesterol less than 100
• HDL cholesterol greater than 40 for a man and 50 for a woman
• glucose less than 100
• blood pressure less than 120/80.