Take Care of Your Heart

Looking great on the outside is not nearly as important as looking great on the INSIDE. February is American Heart Health month, a great time educate Americans on what we can do to live heart-healthy lives. Heart disease, including stroke, is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. These diseases, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers, claim more than 865,000 American lives a year.

Cutting your risk for cardiovascular disease doesn’t necessarily require a total lifestyle overhaul. Many heart-healthy habits are surprisingly easy to adopt. Here are some simple quick fixes that can help your heart:

1. Yoga

Medical research shows that yoga promotes heart health and decreases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Of note, one study presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando reports transcendental meditation (TM) could potentially lower the risk of heart attack and death by up to 47 percent in patients with heart disease. Transcendental meditation (TM) is a form of yoga meditation introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1960s.

2. Togetherness

Having a close relationship with another person, be it a friend, lover or relative is so heartwarming it can halve the risk of a heart attack in someone who has already had a heart attack, a 2004 heart study suggests. And one State University of New York at Oswego investigation found that blood pressure dropped when one spent time with a spouse or partner. While researchers can’t pinpoint exactly why this is the case, it could be that having a close relationship with someone else may lead to better health habits and less depression.

Toxic relationships, on the other hand, do the heart no favors, though. In one 12-year study, British civil servants in bad relationships were 34 percent more likely to have heart attacks or heart trouble than those in happier relationships.

3. Chocolate anyone?

Dark chocolate contains high concentrations of cocoa. Intake of this anti-oxidant rich substance appears to relax blood vessels, lower blood pressure and control blood sugar. But don’t go nuts. A single 1.5 ounce serving will do the trick without adding an overabundance of fat, sugar or calories to your diet.

4. I like to Move it, Move It

When researchers from the University of South Carolina analyzed the daily movement patterns of adult men, they found that those who were the least active throughout the day had a 64 percent greater risk of dying from heart disease compared with men who reported living a less sedentary lifestyle.

Spending too much time rooted to the couch or chair may pack on unhealthy fat around the heart and lead to less desirable levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, triglycerides and waist size, research suggests. This appears to be true even for people who maintain a regular exercise routine.

5. Don’t forget your veggies

Leafy greens are an excellent source of vitamins and phytochemicals associated with a lower risk of heart disease and depression. Make a salad and toss in a half cup of steamed asparagus or a couple of slices of avocado. These are two veggies packed with folate, a vitamin that helps head off blood-vessel inflammation. To lower LDL, or “bad cholesterol,” swap out the croutons for a handful of almonds or cranberries. Finally, top it all off with a vinaigrette dressing. Harvard research suggests two tablespoons daily can cut the risk of heart disease in women.

6. Get your zzzzz’s

Findings released last year by Chicago Medical School suggest that people who catch fewer than six hours of sleep a night are twice as likely to have a stroke or heart attack, and one-and-a-half times more likely to have congestive heart failure, whereas people who slumber more than eight hours a night are more likely to experience chest pain and coronary artery disease.

“Somewhere around eight hours seems optimal,” Becker acknowledged. “But sleep alone won’t necessarily impact heart health unless it’s put in context with nutrition, activity, stress management and all of your other health habits.”