Your Heart Matters: Stay Young, Stay Heart-Healthy, Simple Tips to Prevent Heart Attacks and Strokes in Your 20s
You might have heard that “heart attacks come to people in their old age,” but that’s not always true. Heart attacks and related diseases like strokes aren’t just problems for older adults. These conditions can start developing in people as young as their early 20s. But don’t worry—there are a few easy and simple things you can do to keep yourself, and especially your heart, healthy. Below is a guide to help you understand how you can take care of your heart and prevent these issues and diseases.
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Why It Matters
Arteries (blood vessels carrying oxygenated blood to the body) can start getting clogged at young age. This clogging is called atherosclerosis. Consider your arteries like pipes. If these pipes get clogged (plaque) it can block the flow of water (blood)leading to serious life threatening issues later in life. it is imperative to take care of your heart now to avoid such problems in the future.
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Simple Tips for a Healthy Heart
1. Maintain a Healthy Weight: People believe there’s no significant relation between the two. But that’s not true. Keeping your weight in check is one of the best ways to avoid many problems including heart ones too. A healthy weight is a great way to reduce the strain on heart and lowers the blood pressure. I’ll explain it with a simple example; imagine carrying a heavy backpack all day – it makes you tired and everything seems harder. That’s what extra weight does to your heart.
2. Control Blood Pressure and Cholesterol: It is imperative to keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in a healthy range; and what better than regular check- ups? Putting extra pressure on clogged pipes we talked about will reduce the water flow even more and adding junk to it can even worsen it. Similarly, high blood pressure and high cholesterol (junk) can damage your arteries over time ultimately leading to heart disease.
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3. Healthy Eating: Providing healthy fuel to your body makes it function well. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can keep not only your heart but your entire body in top shape;try limiting any source which might lead to weight gain and high cholesterol.
4. Stay Active: In order to understand, acknowledge it that your heart is a muscle, the more it is exercised and used, the stronger it becomes under normal conditions. It is said that 30 minutes of exercise daily can bring drastic positive effects to your health. This could be as simple as a brisk walk or even cycling too. Regular physical activity strengthens your heart and improves circulation reducing the risk of diseases.
5. No Smoking or Vaping: “Tobacco in all forms is injurious to health.” Active smoking and even passive smoking can be harmful. Tobacco smoking is like adding toxins to your pipes which can corrode them and cause them to break down. Smoking damages your blood vessels and heart leading to an increased risk of heart disease.
6. Get Enough Sleep: Good sleep is like a recharge to your body which it needs and hence is essential to maintain a good heart health too. Try to get 7-9 hours each night. Poor sleep can affect your blood pressure and heart health.
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New Research Insights
So yesterday I was reading an article in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) which conducted a large size study on young adults and it was found that those who used to follow these healthy habits have a better artery health and function leading to decreased risk of heart attacks and strokes later on than those who didnt. The study clearly showed that people who follow these guidelines have healthier arteries.
The Tools You Need
Following are the 2 sets of guidelines for keeping your heart healthy as suggested by The American Heart Association-
Life's Simple 7 (LS7): Also known as the basics of heart health. What does it include? diet, physical activity, smoking, body mass index, cholesterol, blood pressureand blood sugar.
Life's Essential 8 (LE8): The eighth one is healthy sleep and some other factors like vaping in the smoking category. It’s an updated version to help you cover all bases.
Easy Changes to Make
Eat More Fruits and Veggies: The premium fuel! Try to fill half your plate with these at every meal. These provide essential nutrients that help keep your heart healthy.
Move More- a means to add little workouts throughout your day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, or park further from the store to get extra steps. Small changes in your daily routine can prove benign for your heart.
Quit Smoking: As it is said “It’s never too late to start fresh.”There are many resources to help you quit if you need them. Your heart will start to repair itself as soon as you stop smoking.
Get Regular Check-ups:- a key to early diagnosis.Keeping track of your blood pressure and cholesterol can help you catch problems early before they become serious. It’s like having a regular car service to ensure everything is intact.
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Why Start Now?
It is used to belive that the heart diseases start at older age. However it is rightly said that “Prevention is better than cure”. Hence, The earlier you start some healthy habits, the better your heart will be in the long run. so by adapting to these habits mentioned above, you can easily and effectively reduce the risk of getting heart disease by preventing the buildup of plaque (Initiating process) in your arteries.
Conclusion
Small changes= healthier future.Taking care of your heart doesn’t have to be hard. Start from little changes day by day. Try incorporating one or two of these in your routine;your heart will thank you!!
regards,
Dr @abdu.navi03