4 Potentially Life-Saving Heart Disease Prevention Tips
February is almost here, which means it is nearly American Heart Month once again. Here at Abraham Family Medicine, our healthcare providers pride themselves on being able to educate our readers about health concerns like heart disease, in an effort to help them prevent these issues before they develop. We thought it would be helpful today to provide some general heart disease prevention tips as a means of helping our readers prepare to live a heart healthy lifestyle.
Eat Right & Exercise
The best thing anyone can do to prevent heart disease is to eat a heart healthy diet and get regular daily exercise. We recommend a healthy diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins like salmon. Additionally, 30 to 60 minutes of even moderate physical activity is incredibly important in preventing and reducing the risk of heart disease. Even simple things like housework or a neighborhood walk will do.
Keep Tabs On Your Vital Signs
Many common indicators of a person’s overall health can indicate an increased risk of heart disease. Specifically, high blood pressure and higher than normal cholesterol levels. It’s important to keep daily records on your blood pressure and get your cholesterol checked regularly based on your provider’s recommendation to make sure they are at a safe and healthy level.
Understand Your Risk Factors
Every person’s individual risk of heart disease is different. However, there are some universal risk factors that people should be aware of. Advanced age, being overweight, and smoking are known risk factors for heart disease. As is a family history of heart diseases. High stress levels can also increase a person’s risk, so developing healthy stress management techniques can be crucial.
Discuss Heart Health at Annual Appointments
You don’t need to fight alone in your effort to prevent heart disease. During annual check-up appointments, be proactive and bring up heart health as a discussion topic. Even if you’re not currently experiencing any issues, discussing all of your available preventative measures against heart disease with a healthcare professional can be incredibly educational and beneficial in the long-run.
Our hope is that our readers will take these tips to heart and do everything they can to promote heart health and wellness in the days ahead. Meeting with your healthcare provider for an annual wellness check-up is a great first step in the fight against heart disease. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact Abraham Family Medicine. Our office is located in Snellville, not far from Grayson, Dacula, and Lilburn.
