Lifestyle Changes to Protect Your Heart

Get moving. Although it can be tempting to veg out once in awhile, being too much of a couch potato is a risk factor for heart disease. In fact, a Harvard study found that watching TV for two hours a day increased the risk of developing heart disease by 15 percent, and additional TV time further increased heart disease risk. That means step one of a heart-healthy plan is to make time for physical activity.

 Kick the habit. Smoking cigarettes is tied to a number of potentially fatal health problems, including cancer, lung disease, stroke, and heart disease. Even if you have no other risk factors, smoking raises your risk of developing heart disease by two to four times, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking causes plaque buildup and hardened arteries, both of which make your heart work harder.

If you smoke, find a way to stop, such as using smoking cessation aids or through counseling. If you’ve tried to quit before and haven’t been successful, try again — most smokers require multiple attempts to quit for good. Even if you already have health issues from smoking, quitting now can allow some parts of your body to begin to recover from the damage that’s been done. And alleviating stress on your lungs can help reduce stress on your heart.

Manage stress. Stress causes strain on the heart, which creates a higher risk for cardiovascular disease. Jeffrey Fisher, MD, a cardiologist, clinical professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and an attending physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, recommends exercise for people experiencing mild to moderate stress. “When people start to exercise and feel the endorphins, they start to feel better both physically and mentally,” he says."Exercise has also been shown to reduce the risk of death after heart attack.”

Maintain a healthy weight. Weight extremes can also increase your risk for heart disease. Heart disease is the most common cause of death for people with severe anorexia, who become drastically underweight. Anorexia causes complications such as dangerous heart rhythms, low blood pressure, and imbalance of electrolytes, which are critical for maintaining a normal heartbeat. At the other extreme, obesity can increase the risk for heart disease even if you have no other risk factors. And people who are obese often have other health conditions related to inactivity, such as diabetes and high cholesterol.

Eat a healthy diet. The foods you eat play a huge role in whether you gain too much weight and develop high cholesterol, both of which can increase your risk for heart disease. “The quality and quantity of the types of food you put into your body are important

Manage high cholesterol. About one in every six American adults has high cholesterol, which increases the risk for heart disease. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the "bad" cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) is the "good" cholesterol. Too much bad cholesterol and not enough good cholesterol can result in plaque building up on the walls of arteries. Over time, arteries harden and become narrower, which can lead to heart disease.