If you’ve had an incident with your heart or your doctor has warned you that you have heart problems, you should be concerned, but you shouldn’t feel resigned to a bad fate. There are steps you can take to improve your heart health. You can reverse damage to your heart and get back on track to living a healthy lifestyle.
Start Exercising
Talk with your cardiologist or primary physician about starting an exercise program. Exercise strengthens the heart muscles and pumps oxygenated blood throughout your system. Studies have found that just 30 minutes each day of brisk exercise can stimulate stem cells to begin repairing your heart.
Your doctor may encourage you to start slowly by walking or swimming each day and gradually build up to bicycling or other aerobic activities. Lifting weights can also be beneficial because it improves circulation and builds muscle mass. You may want to invest in working with a personal trainer to help keep you motivated and on track.
Change Your Diet
Your doctor may advise you to lose weight, which is always beneficial, but if you have heart problems, you want to do more than cut calories. You sh\ould make sure the foods you eat give you the right balance of nutrients for optimum cardiovascular health. The Mediterranean diet in particular provides nutrients that are critical to heart health.
The Mediterranean diet consists of mostly plant-based foods such as whole grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, and fruits. Lean fish and dairy can be added occasionally, but red meats should be avoided. Healthy fats such as olive oil are used.
Meditate
Your mental state affects your physical health, especially when it comes to your heart. If you’re stressed, your blood pressure will rise, your veins will constrict, and your heart will do unnecessary work. Meditation has been shown to reduce stress and help your heart.
You don’t need a special place to meditate, and you don’t need to learn special techniques. Positive meditation is based on taking slow, deep breaths in a quiet area, relaxing your body, and clearing your mind of anxieties. Make a mental image of a place that brings you peace.
While everyone has busy schedules these days, taking time out to plan your meals, exercise, and meditate can bring you positive results within just a few weeks. Self-care is the best way to begin to repair any damage to your heart and keep it healthy for many years to come.
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