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5 Tips for Seniors to Ensure Heart Health

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, with one in every four people dying as a result of heart disease. The risk of heart disease grows as people enter their senior years, making it more important for people to make healthier lifestyle choices to ensure heart health.

Keep reading to learn about how seniors can improve their heart health with simple lifestyle changes.

1. Be More Active

Your heart is a muscle, and without exercise, it will get weaker and be more susceptible to different types of heart disease.

By staying active or adding an exercise routine to your life, you can make your heart significantly stronger and reduce the likelihood of developing heart disease moving forward. Find an activity that you enjoy and that will help you reach your target heart rate, and stick with it at least three times a week.

2. Start a Heart-Healthy Diet

The foods you eat have a tremendous impact on your heart health. Foods that are high in cholesterol, trans fat, saturated fat, and added sugar are bad for your heart and can lead to health issues such as high cholesterol or blood sugar.

Adding foods that are heart-healthy can make your heart stronger and prevent these health complications. Here are some foods that are great for heart health:

Leafy green vegetables
Fatty fish like salmon
Whole grains
Berries
Heart-healthy fats like avocados
Dark chocolate
Nuts and seeds
Green tea

Adding these foods to your daily diet in place of unhealthy, processed foods can make a world of difference. You can also consider getting in-home health care services that include meal preparation to ensure you're eating the best foods every day to improve your health.

3. Learn to Reduce Stress

Stress puts a lot of pressure on your heart by raising your blood pressure and increasing your heart rate. Over time, if you are constantly stressed, you can develop serious heart problems simply due to high levels of stress.

Learning to reduce stress through avenues like meditation, yoga, deep breathing, and exercise can reduce your blood pressure and improve your heart's health.

4. Lose Weight

Being overweight or obese puts a major strain on your heart. Obesity causes high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which can lead to health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and even cancer.

If you are overweight or obese, it's time to start making lifestyle changes to avoid future health complications. Consider adding light exercise and changing your diet to start losing weight.

Practice These Tips to Ensure Heart Health

Keeping your heart healthy is important at any age, but seniors need to take extra care because they are more at risk for heart problems. With these tips, your loved one can ensure heart health to the best of their ability for years to come.