Heart diseases sound daunting, as many common factors can lead to them, but studies worldwide show that they can be prevented. Some lifestyle changes can make your heart happy and strong and keep the doctor away. 

Keep reading to learn 10 effective yet easy habits on how to keep your heart healthy.

The heart is one of the most vital organs of our body. Stress and present-day lifestyle often take a toll on our health. Surprisingly, following a few healthy habits can improve our heart health. Let’s take a closer look into it!

1. Eat Heart-healthy Foods

Eating the right food is essential when you are trying to keep your heart in good shape. Here are some pointers on what to choose:  

• Include Fruits and Vegetables in Your Diet: Unprocessed fruits and vegetables provide your body with plenty of dietary fibre and essential vitamins and minerals.   

• Add Whole Grains to Your Table: Whole-grain foods are filled with nutrients and dietary fibres. Therefore, they are perfect for your blood sugar levels.

• Keep Your Portion Size in Check: Avoid stuffing your stomach each time you eat. Instead, use smaller plates to build this crucial habit. 

• Avoid Unhealthy Fats: Avoid saturated and trans fats; it will help you by reducing your blood cholesterol to normal levels.   

• Control Your Salt Intake: Lower your consumption of salt to reduce high blood pressure.

• Opt for Low-fat Protein: Fish, lean meat, poultry, low-fat dairy products, soy products, and tree nuts are some healthier protein sources. 

• Benefits of Eating Heart-Healthy Foods
  
  • A healthy diet improves cholesterol levels and keeps blood pressure in check, decreasing heart disease risk. 
  • It will improve your digestion and help you control your weight. 
  • A heart-healthy diet would also invigorate your immunity system.  

However, only eating healthy might not be enough. You have to breathe healthy too.

2. Avoid Both Active and Passive Smoking

It would be best to avoid smoking, be it active or passive. Quitting tobacco can be one of the best things for your heart health and, in this case, your blood vessels. Here are some mandatory to-dos to quit smoking:

• Identify Your Trigger: If you can identify what triggers the craving, you can avoid it by replacing it with something harmless.

• Do Not Get Trapped in ‘Just this Time:Thinking that after 'just this time' you will quit, is a typical rut that a smoker gets entangled in. So stay cautious and avoid it altogether. 

• Try New Ways to Release Stress: Many people use smoking as a means of stress relief. So, quitting smoking can cause a lot of stress. Prepare beforehand with another helpful relaxation method to make the necessary change.   

• Find Ways to Avoid Second-hand Smoking: One may try to avoid places that allow smoking. Furthermore, one can try to convince people around him or her to refrain from smoking. 

• Benefits of Avoiding Active and Passive Smoking
  • Quitting smoking can increase up to 10 years of life expectancy and substantially reduce the risk of premature death.
  • Avoiding smoking helps people lower the chances of various resultant cardiovascular diseases, cancer, issues with reproduction etc.   
  • It improves overall health and life experience.  

After smoking is dealt with, one more thing to cut down on is alcohol consumption.

3. Reduce Alcohol Intake

Alcoholism directly affects one's heart health by damaging its muscles, making its rhythms irregular, increasing blood pressure and so on. There is no safe limit to drinking alcohol, so losing the habit is the only way. The following tips can be of help: 

• Identification of Triggers: Once again, finding out triggers is an essential step towards recovery. If you become aware of your triggers, you can plan ahead and find solutions to resist the temptation.  

• Involve Your Family: If you plan on quitting, let your family and loved ones know about it. This way, you will have the promise to keep and someone to be accountable to.

  Furthermore, your decision can inspire others to quit drinking too.

• Avoid Bad Company: When one wants to quit, avoiding the company of people who can influence him or her to drink is very important. Finding new people who also want to get rid of the habit is the best way to go. 

• Find Ways to Remind Yourself About the ‘why': Reminding yourself about 'why' you are quitting alcohol will be necessary for moments of crisis. Visualise the situations beforehand and create ways to stay on the healthy path. 

• Benefits of Reducing Alcohol Intake 
  • Long abstention from alcohol improves sleep quality and restores cognitive functions like concentration and problem-solving skills.  
  • It reduces the risk of several cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer. 
  • Lowering alcohol intake will help boost one’s nutrition and immunity.

However, eating healthy, avoiding smoking, and drinking would only have the intended effect if you sleep plentifully.

4. Get an Ample Amount of Sleep

A good amount of quality sleep, by itself, can prevent a plethora of diseases. Matthew Walker, the author of Why We Sleep, advises the following ways one can have better sleep: 

• Follow a Strict Sleep Schedule: Following a strict sleep routine will keep your internal sleep-wake cycle intact, which will help the healing process work properly.  

• Get Rid of Stimulants: Avoid stimulants like nicotine and caffeine, which can disrupt the sleep system resulting in disturbance of natural bodily functions. 

• Relax Before Going to Bed: Reading a book, listening to music, meditation, light stretching, or, whatever relaxes you, try it before going to sleep.  

• Keep Your Stomach Light: Choose small snacks over a heavy meal to keep your stomach light before bed.   

• Avoid Intensive Workouts Before Sleep Hours: After an intense workout session, the brain takes time to get to a relaxed state, which can, in turn, deteriorate sleep quality.  

• Take a Hot Bath: A hot bath before bed can drop your body temperature and make you more relaxed for sleep. 

• Benefits of Getting an Ample Amount of Sleep
  • Regular quality sleep will lower the risk of numerous diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, obesity, etc. 
  • A good sleep schedule will help you to develop a robust immune system.
  • Stress management becomes much easier with quality sleep.     

A good diet and a healthy sleep schedule by themselves are great for your heart. However, tracking your blood is equally important to give total prevention assurance.

5. Keep Track of Your Blood-Test

Getting time-to-time check-ups is one of the best tips for a healthy heart. With the test results, you get the power to manage your blood and prevent disease. Here are some relevant tests that will measure: 

• Various cholesterols 
• Plasma ceramides
• C-reactive protein 
• Lipoprotein  
• Natriuretic peptides
• Troponin T 

Benefits of Keeping Track of Your Blood-work

• If your concerned medical professional sees any irregularities in the results, they will prescribe correctional medication.
• You can keep track of your blood work in specific intervals until it shows improvement. 

It's noteworthy, however, that your physical improvement depends significantly on your stress management capability.

6. Learn to Handle Stress

A happy mind makes a happy heart. Therefore, if you learn how to handle stress correctly, your biology will react in a positive way. Here are a few ways one can react to stress factors: 

• Be Proactive: It starts with recognising circumstances that you do not have any influence on and finding factors that you have an influence on. It will help if you focus on what you can control and do not let anything else bother you.

• Avoid What You Can Avoid: Sometimes people engage in stressful situations out of habit. Please make a point to take note of such instances and avoid them in the future. It can make a big difference. 

• Face Challenges Head-on: Not all stressful situations are bad. Some of them help you grow and be a better person. Most of the time, avoiding such good stresses results in bad stresses.

• Connect With People: Having fulfilling relationships is better for your heart-health and the whole being.

• Benefits of Learning to Handle Stress
  • Good stress management will drastically improve your sleep quality. 
  • It will relieve your body from muscle tension and fatigue and re-establish strength. 
  • It will help you have a better mind space for creativity or productivity.  

Being stress-free is much more nuanced at its core. It takes time, but it is worth it. However, there is also a way to being stress-free without such intellectual effort, which is meaningful daily activities.

7. Stay Active Throughout the Day

Your body needs a proper amount of physical activity to function optimally. Frequent activities that result in a mild increase in your heart rate will improve cholesterol levels and blood pressure and keep your weight in check. So let's look at some ideas on how to make your day an active one: 

• Engage With Household Works: Doing household chores can help you relax by letting your mind unwind and giving your heart a gentle workout. 

• Try Dancing: You can try dancing while listening to music if you do not do it already. If you feel embarrassed, do it behind closed doors. However done, it will do the work.   

• Enrol in a Sports Club: Enrolling in a sports club, however intensive, will add value to your daily life. Activity and fun will be automatically taken care of. 

• Take Up a Hobby: If you are not a sports person, consider taking up a hobby, be it cooking, gardening, or learning an instrument.

• Consider an Energetic Pet: An energetic pet will responsibly make your day active. In addition, some studies show improvement in heart and lung function after becoming a pet owner. 

• Benefits of Staying Active Throughout the Day
  • An activity-filled daily life helps prevent chronic health conditions and increases life expectancy. 
  • It helps you better control your weight and strengthens your muscles and bones. 
  • It will make you relax more easily and handle stress better. 

Activity throughout the day will have a positive effect on your heart health. Additionally, you can make it better by being intentional, which is cardiovascular training.

8. Do Zone-2 Cardiovascular Training

Cardiovascular exercises are generally divided into five zones: 

• Zone 1: 50-60% of maximum heart rate 
• Zone 2: 60-70% of maximum heart rate 
• Zone 3: 70-80% of maximum heart rate
• Zone 4: 80-90% of maximum heart rate
• Zone 5: 90-100% of maximum heart rate

Zone-2 training can be achieved through activities like walking, jogging, cycling, running, and swimming. Staying in this zone for minimum 3-4 hours spread across the week will have the intended health benefits.

• Benefits of Zone-2 Cardiovascular Training 
  • Increased VO2 max
  • Higher aerobic capacity without lactic acid build-up 
  • Higher cardiac output
  • Lower resting heart rate
  • Improved use of fat as an energy source 
  • Faster recovery process   

Higher zones generally target sport-specific physical adaptations, which is unnecessary if you want to know how to maintain heart health. 

Furthermore, you can add resistance training to build natural muscle mass, which will help you burn more calories. 

However, if your situation does not allow the above practices, you can choose yoga.

9. Combine Yoga Poses and Pranayama

Yoga is proven to be exceptionally effective in boosting cardiovascular health. Choose some of the following yogic practices for long-term benefits: 

• The Mountain Pose (Tadasana): This pose improves your breathing patterns and helps in blood circulation. It also contributes to stress management and weight loss.

• The Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana): The bridge pose stimulates the lungs, abdominal organs and thyroid glands. It also improves blood circulation and alleviates stress. 

• The Downward Dog Pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana): Apart from boosting blood circulation and relieving tension, this pose helps to prevent heart blockage.  

• The Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana): Although one of the best exercises for spine health, the cobra pose is immensely effective for your heart.   

• Bee Breath (Bhramari): This pranayama can relieve hypertension by lowering blood pressure and releasing cerebral tension. That is why practising Bhramari before going to sleep is very helpful.     

• Alternate Nostril Breathing (Anuloma Viloma): Apart from relieving anxiety and stress, this pranayama enhances brain and cardiovascular health. 

• Benefits of Combining Yoga Poses and Pranayama
  • Apart from improving heart health, yoga will give your body the necessary balance, strength, flexibility, and ability to handle stress. 
  • It will relax your skeletal and muscular structure and boost your internal organs for optimal functioning.   

There are many other yoga poses and breathing patterns within the realm of yogic practices that can be very beneficial for your heart, but the exercises mentioned above can be an excellent place to start.

10. Focus on Your Oral Hygiene

Oral hygiene is an indicator of your overall health. It is also directly related to your heart health. Bacteria responsible for gum diseases can spread through the bloodstream and increase C-reactive protein levels. It will cause inflammation in blood vessels developing risk factors for the heart. 

Here are some useful tips for maintaining dental hygiene: 

• Learn Proper Brushing Techniques: Move your brush in a gentle and circular way. Make it a point to clear away in-between teeth. Also, remember to give your gums a massage with your fingers.   

• Wash Your Tongue: Washing your tongue is equally vital for eliminating plaque. Use your brush or a tongue cleaner to do the job.   

• Add Flossing to Your Routine: Flossing is an excellent option for cleanliness in-between teeth. It also helps to reduce plaque and gum inflammation. 

• Drink Water: Drinking water is necessary to maintain oral health. Take note that just gulping down the water is not enough. Drink it slowly. 

• Eat Fruits and Vegetables: Proper eating is not just comfortable for your digestive system; it strengthens your teeth and gums too.  

• Pay Regular Visits to the Dentist: Visit your dentist at least twice a year for a cleaning and complete dental check-up. A dentist can also detect possible issues and provide solutions for prevention. 

• Benefits of Focusing on Your Oral Hygiene
  • Apart from reducing the risk of heart and lung diseases, good oral hygiene can also decrease the risks of diseases like diabetes and cancer. 
  • It increases fertility and makes pregnancy safer. 
  • It makes losing weight easier as there is a direct connection of the mouth to the body and mind. It helps keep diseases like diabetes away. 

No habit alone can answer the question, 'How to keep your heart healthy?' However, in unison, all the habits mentioned above can do wonders. Not only your heart but your overall life experience can have a positive effect.