How to have a healthy heart

by Taryn Davies | 16 October 2013

Maintain a healthy heart with these tips

In the average lifetime, your heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times, so it's important to keep an healthy ticker.

As it's Heart UK's National Cholesterol Week we have seven tips to keep your heart healthy.

Even when resting, your heart will beat 60 times every minute, rising to 200 beats per minute with heightened activities such as running. Each one of these heartbeats pushes blood around the body, and it takes less than one minute to pump blood to every single cell in your body.

In just one hour, your heart will work hard enough to produce enough energy to raise more than one tonne from the ground. With our hearts working so hard, it’s important to look after our heart health, and make every beat count.

Here are some tips we've put together with the help of Vitabiotics Cardioace Plus to maintain a healthy heart – 7 ways in 7 days:

Eat a healthy diet, as it is a vital part of overall wellbeing, and will improve the health of your heart.
Manage your weight, as carrying extra puts a strain on the whole body, and adds pressure to the heart.
Get moving, because exercise is essential for a healthy heart. Build up slowly to 30 minutes per day. Aerobic or cardiovascular activity using large muscle groups are particularly beneficial, as these help to strengthen the heart and lungs and improve the body’s ability to use oxygen.
Maintain good cholesterol levels, as nearly two-thirds of adults have a level that is higher than recommended. Cholesterol causes fatty deposits to build up inside the blood vessels. In time, the blood vessels to the heart may become too narrow, and unable to deliver enough oxygen to the heart muscle.
Lower your blood pressure, and this in turn will improve the health of your heart. Exercise, a healthy diet and limiting alcohol intake can all help reduce high blood pressure.
Stop smoking, as the habit has a well-documented damaging effect on the overall health of your heart, as well as general wellbeing. Here’s the good news – as soon as you quit, your risk of heart problems dramatically decreases, regardless of your age.
Have a heart to heart chat with your family. If there is a history of heart health concerns, you are at an increased risk of developing the same issues. However, you can also lower your risk by following the steps above.