Heart Health

Articles

Feb 1

Our hearts are so important for our overall health; the heart is the force that allows our blood to circulate and keep us going. During the month of February, the American Heart Association projects the message about promoting heart healthy habits and awareness of how you can prevent heart disease. The most common type of heart disease is coronary heart disease, or coronary artery disease. To better understand how you can make choices in your lifestyle to affect your heart in the most positive way, we are reviewing what causes heart disease, what you can do to prevent it, and how these smart choices can begin at a young age with the whole family.

What is Heart Disease?

Plaque can build in the arteries that lead to your heart and cause blockages or narrow the pathway. When heart disease occurs, plaque builds up due to an excess of fat and cholesterol in your diet, high blood pressure, smoking, or diabetes. A heart attack can occur when plaque has blocked off an artery and the heart is struggling to maintain the flow of blood. The signs of a heart attack can be noticed but are not always apparent. Signs like chest pain, feeling discomfort in your upper body, feeling short of breath, nauseous, dizzy, or suddenly experiencing cold sweats can all be signals that a heart attack may be forthcoming. Awareness of the warning signs may help in the event of a heart attack, but these indicators are not always present.

How to Be More Aware of Heart Health

Many different factors should be examined when determining your potential risk of heart attack or developing heart disease. Your doctor can help you understand your risk with cholesterol and blood pressure checks. If you have any indication your blood pressure or cholesterol levels are high, you may be more at risk of heart attack. Family history can also indicate risk, so keeping record of family with heart conditions in the past is helpful for your doctor to know.

Diet & Exercise

Two main components of maintaining good health overall are what you put in your body and how much you exercise. Eating a heart healthy diet typically includes monitoring your intake of bad fats (trans and saturated fats), sugar, and salt. Ensuring your diet has plenty of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and good fats (like olive oil or avocado) can help you maintain a diet for a healthy heart.

Aerobic fitness is key to providing your body with the exercise it needs to keep your heart healthy. It is recommended that adults get at least two and a half hours of moderate activity each week, whether that is walking, running, dancing, yoga, playing sports, or the activity of your choice. If your body is overweight, it increases the likelihood of high blood pressure and diabetes.

Stress Management

One major reason to try to keep stress at bay is the effect it can have on heart health. Stress can lead to the development of heart disease, depression, high blood pressure, among other issues. Managing your stress with practices of meditation or mindful breathing exercises are ways you can prevent its negative impact.

Heart Health for Kids

Children can begin forming healthy habits at an early age at home. As a family, it is important that parent’s actions represent what they want to see in their children. This means that parents set the example and educate their kids about how to make healthy choices throughout their life. How you eat and what you do for exercise can have a positive impact on your children. There are many ways to incorporate conscious healthy choices into your daily routine. For kids, one major factor to address in our current age is screen time. Because screen time can become excessive for some kids, it will likely have an impact on their health. The nature of playing games on a device is typically a sedentary one as compared to how active kids can be when they play without a screen. Limiting the time allowed on screens can have a lasting impact in your child’s health. If your family is able, try to engage in physical activity together. Taking walks after dinner, visiting the park, going for bike rides, or walking the dog are all great ways to incorporate movement into each day.

Helping your children understand how to make healthy food choices starts with education. One great way to make a positive impact and involve them in making decisions about food is doing the grocery shopping together. Your kids can learn about how you check the ingredients in certain items and what you would consider to be a healthy choice or an unhealthy choice. At home, cooking together is a great way for your kids to not only learn an important skill, but also to help them invest and put love into the things they put in their body.

Looking for ways to incorporate new activities into your routine with your kids? Check out our free printable activities, exercises, and crafts that you can do at home that have a positive impact on your children’s development. All of our activities are therapist recommended and come with an explanation of how and what kind of developmental benefit each has.

If you’re looking for specific advice to add some heart healthy activities into your routine at home, talk to your child’s therapist! With their expertise and understanding of your child’s natural environment, our therapists can help you find new ways to aid your child’s development.