LIVING HEALTHY

LIVING HEALTHY

In addition to following a heart-healthy eating plan, making wise lifestyle choices is essential to good health. It’s always important to stay physically active, maintain a healthy weight, and eliminate the habits that put your heart at risk, especially if you are concerned about your blood pressure.

MAKE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
PART OF YOUR ROUTINE

Being physically active is crucial to maintaining your weight, energy, and overall health, and the lasting benefits are huge. Exercising daily can prevent blood pressure from rising as you get older. If you already have high blood pressure, being physically active will help lower it, increase the effectiveness of blood pressure medications, and decrease your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Aerobic exercises, such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and biking, directly benefit your heart. You should aim for at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) of vigorous-intensity, aerobic exercise each week. Moderate-intensity activities increase your heart rate to the point that you are able to talk but not sing while you are exercising. At vigorous intensity, you should not be able to say more than a few words without needing to catch your breath. You can combine activities at different intensities, and you can also break your workout time into sessions of 10 minutes or more, spread out through the week, to reach an equivalent total. Twice a week or more, you should also include moderate- or high-intensity muscle-strengthening activities that involve all the major muscle groups.

REACH AND MAINTAIN
A HEALTHY WEIGHT

Being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, especially high blood pressure. People who are overweight or obese are much more likely to have high blood pressure than those at a healthy weight. When you are overweight or obese, your body needs more energy to carry more weight. To provide that energy, your heart must work harder. Over time, the heavier workload causes the heart to enlarge and weaken.

If you are overweight or obese, losing weight can help you lower your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. For many overweight people, losing just 10 percent of their body weight can reduce blood pressure or prevent high blood pressure. Although the American Heart Association dietary recommendations are not intended as a weight-loss plan, they emphasize nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables that are low in calories and fiber-rich whole grains that can help you feel full. Despite the claims of fad diets, the key to losing weight is logical and simple: eat fewer calories and increase your level of physical activity. To start an effective weight-loss program, you need to know your recommended calorie intake. Compare that with the number of calories you are actually eating and the number of calories you are burning through physical activity to see how much you need to cut back. (For more information on determining your calorie intake and healthy weight loss, visit www.heart.org.)

A gradual weight loss of about 1 to 2 pounds per week is best. It’s a safe approach, and if you stick to that goal, you’ll be more likely to keep the pounds off for the long term. To cut calories, add a routine of aerobic physical activity and eat smaller portions, substitute lower-calorie foods for high-calorie ones, follow a set weight-loss diet plan, or combine all these techniques. Talk with your healthcare provider to decide which approach is best for you.

STOP SMOKING AND
LIMIT ALCOHOL INTAKE

Smoking increases blood pressure, decreases your ability to exercise, and increases the tendency of blood to clot. If you smoke now, find a way to quit. Family and friends, support groups, and your healthcare professional can help you find a program that will work for you. Regardless of how long you have been a smoker, your risk of heart disease and stroke will begin to drop dramatically as soon as you beat the habit.

Although some studies have shown health benefits from drinking moderate amounts of alcohol, research also consistently shows that people who drink more than moderate levels tend to develop high blood pressure. Alcohol is a major source of calories and can contribute to weight gain, which in turn can further increase blood pressure. A moderate amount means no more than two drinks per day for a man and no more than one drink per day for a woman. One drink is 12 ounces of beer, 4 ounces of wine, or 1½ ounces of 80-proof hard liquor. If you don’t drink alcohol now, don’t start; if you drink more than is considered moderate, find ways to cut back.

This recipe is taken from american heart association Low-Salt cook book 4th addition 

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