With more than 100 strokes every day1 and 1.2 million Australians having a condition that relates to heart, stroke or vascular disease1, looking after your heart is more important than ever to help you live a long and healthy life.
It can be overwhelming to start looking after your heart health, but we’ve found four things you can do this month to get on the right track.
Eat a heart-healthy diet
Eating too much processed foods, including deep fried foods, too often can be damaging to your heart.
Eating a combination of different foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts can help protect your heart and prevent you from developing heart disease.
Some food you should be including in your heart-healthy diet are2:
- Unflavoured milk, yoghurt and cheese
- Eggs and poultry
- Wholegrains like brown rice, wholemeal pasta, grainy bread and oats
- Beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts and seeds
- Fish and seafood
Some foods you should reduce your intake of include:
- Baked goods, including cakes, biscuits and pastries
- Chocolate
- Chips
- Lollies
- Fast food, including take-away pizza, burgers
- Sugary drinks, such as soft drink, energy drinks and sport drinks
Increase your physical activity
Getting exercise on a regular basis is great for your heart health.
If you increase your physical activity to the levels recommended by the Australian Government, which are 30 to 45 minutes a day five or more days a week, you can help reduce your risk of heart disease and heart attacks3.
By building up your physical activity to the recommended levels, you’re making your heart work a little harder and can help reduce risk factors of heart disease, which include high blood pressure and cholesterol.
Talk to your doctor about weight management
If you’re clinically overweight or obese, it can lead to a range of health conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and more.
These conditions increase your chances of having a heart attack, and with two-thirds of Australian adults being overweight or obese4, it’s vital to maintain a healthy weight to reduce your risk.
Working closely with your doctor to manage your weight, including slowly changing your eating habits and becoming more active, can help you maintain a healthy weight.
It’s important to note that a healthy weight may vary for different people, which is why it’s important to work with your doctor so you can find your healthy weight together.
Check your blood pressure and cholesterol
Knowing your blood pressure levels and whether or not your cholesterol is high is vital for the health of your heart.
High blood pressure is one of the main risk factors for heart disease and is symptomless, which means you can have this condition without even knowing it4.
High cholesterol levels mean you have too much cholesterol in your blood and is a major risk factor for heart disease.
Too much ‘bad’ cholesterol can be harmful to your heart as it sticks to the artery walls and can cause a build up, which can create blockages to your arteries4.
Knowing your blood pressure and cholesterol levels is easy if you head into your local Blooms The Chemist for a Blood Pressure Evaluation and a Cholesterol Screening. Our friendly Pharmacists are happy to help.
To get a Blood Pressure Evaluation or a Cholesterol Screening, make a booking with your local Blooms The Chemist today.
References
1Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Heart, stroke and vascular disease - Australian facts, accessed 2 February 2023
2Heart Foundation, Healthy eating to protect your heart, accessed 2 February 2023
3Heart Foundation, Physical activity and your heart health, accessed 2 February 2023
4Heart Foundation, Are you at risk of heart disease?, accessed 2 February 2023