At Cardiovascular Institute in Tomball, TX, Dr. Daljit Muttiana and his team promote heart-healthy lifestyles. Prolonging lives and helping people feel and function at their best, cardiac wellness touches every aspect of daily activity, nutrition and diet.
Who wants a heart attack or stroke?
Silly question, isn't it? Yet, many adults in the United States engage in harmful habits that set the stage for catastrophic cardiovascular events and conditions such as pulmonary embolisms, blood clots, peripheral artery disease, stroke, heart attack, heart failure and more.
Yes, some people have congenital defects beyond their control. However, other diseases are avoidable or largely manageable with some thought, effort and heart-wise habits. For instance, the American Heart Association (AHA) says that exercising daily and avoiding excessive TV and computer screen time reduces the risk of a heart attack significantly.
Leading a heart-healthy lifestyle
Here are some important recommendations for a heart-healthy lifestyle:
- Exercise at least 30 minutes every day as advised by the AHA. Pick an activity you like and will stick with. Simple walking or swimming does wonders for heart health.
- Modify your diet to limit animal fats, carbs, sodium and processed sugar. Increase your intake of water to at least eight glasses per day, and enjoy fish often. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish, shrimp and other seafood benefit the ratio of good to bad cholesterol in your bloodstream.
- Monitor your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels. Increases in any one or more of these measures ups your risk for cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis, damaging plaque which narrows blood vessels and decreases circulation to the brain, heart and other vital organs.
- Watch your weight and body mass index (BMI). Losing even 10 pounds improves blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
- Limit alcohol--one drink a day for women or two for men.
- Stop all tobacco. Ask your primary care physician or Dr. Muttiana about a smoking cessation program. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says quitting the habit reduces your risk of heart attack by 200 to 400 percent.
- Reduce your stress, worry and anxiety levels with exercise (and its production of endorphins in the brain), meditation, prayer and other calming activities that feed your spirit, advises the AHA.
- Take your prescribed medications every day in the proper dosage and at the right time.
Let's work together
At Cardiovascular Institute, Dr. Muttiana and his staff help patients along the path to better cardiovascular wellness. For more tips on a heart-healthy lifestyle, call our Tomball, TX office at (281) 357-5700.
