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Plan on making a New Year’s resolution? If so, consider incorporating the health of your heart into any 2023 commitments.
“This is a great time of year to refocus on one’s heart health,” said Dr. Catherine Benziger, an Essentia Health cardiologist. “It’s important to make changes to be as healthy as possible as prevention is the best way to avoid heart attacks and strokes and other chronic conditions.”
Heart health is something that is often overlooked until it is too late, increasing the risk for a major cardiac event. However, Essentia offers many tools that can aid in preventive care and maintaining a healthy heart.
One resource is our heart risk assessment tool. During the brief assessment, you compare your actual age to your heart’s biological age, calculate your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and prioritize your most alarming risk factors. It also explains those risk factors and provides helpful tips on taking care of your heart and preventing future complications. Best of all, it only takes five minutes and is free.
There are a variety of ways you can take care of your heart, including the following:
• Eating a balanced diet: Include fresh
veggies, whole grains and lean proteins
while avoiding fried, packaged or high-sugar and/or high-salt foods.
• Being active: Exercise at least 30 minutes a day.
• Maintain a healthy weight: Losing weight
if you’re overweight can help prevent heart
problems.
• Get quality sleep: Aim for at least seven
hours a night.
• Quit smoking.
• Manage stress and health conditions:
Stress, high blood pressure, diabetes, high
cholesterol and other conditions are linked
to increased heart trouble.
“A good rule of thumb is to just move more and sit less,” said Dr. Benziger. “We recommend at least 8,000 – 10,000 steps a day for most adults. Kids need 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Maintaining a normal body weight helps prevent the onset of diabetes and high blood pressure. Getting enough sleep and reducing stress are important, too, and under-recognized risk factors for heart disease.”
Essentia also offers a cardiometabolic clinic. This is a specialized program developed to help reduce your cardiometabolic risk, maintain a healthy lifestyle and improve risk factors to prevent heart and vascular disease. Our experts work with patients who have high blood pressure or cholesterol, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea and more. All of these risk factors can increase your chance of heart disease. Our team will work with you to help with early diagnosis and treatment while creating a personalized plan for a healthy lifestyle.
“If someone is concerned about their family history, has a history of pregnancy-related high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, autoimmune diseases or is high risk on the heart survey, we recommend they schedule an appointment with a primary care provider to discuss their risk,” said Dr. Benziger. “A coronary artery calcium score or a visit with a cardiologist may be helpful for adults older than 40 at intermediate to high risk to determine if they need additional medication to lower their risk.”
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. Heart disease symptoms can be different in everyone so it’s important to understand your personal risk factors.
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