Show your ticker some love

14th February 2016

Show your ticker some love in National Heart Month

While you’re rushing about doing the weekly shop or playing with the grandkids, do you ever stop to think how healthy your heart is? Statistics show that it’s time you did. Every year, a shocking 65,000 women in the UK suffer a heart attack and women are three times more likely to die from heart disease than from breast cancer. But why are we so clueless about the threat it poses to us?

We think of it as something affecting men more but the reality is just as many women die from cardiovascular disease as men and many of the risk factors for heart disease are connected to our lifestyle habits.

The good news is, there are plenty of steps you can take to reduce your risk of developing heart problems. And with February marking National Heart Month, there’s no better time to show your ticker some love…

Most of us would never make the connection, but having regular eye checks can help detect serious health conditions like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, which can both lead to heart disease.

Did you know you’re more likely to have a heart attack in the morning than any other time of the day? This is because levels of the stress hormone cortisol peak early in the day.

Add in a rise in blood pressure and an increased heart rate from a rush to get ready followed by a stressful commute to work, and you have the perfect recipe for a heart attack.

Lower your stress levels with some simple techniques – music can have a calming influence on our brains, so play something soothing as you get ready for the day.

And get to bed early – the less sleep you have, the higher the levels of cortisol in your bloodstream.

One of the easiest ways to reduce high cholesterol is making changes to what you eat. Biscuits, cakes, meat and full-fat dairy are full of saturated and trans fats, which raise cholesterol.

Swap white rice, pasta and potatoes for whole grains such as brown rice, millet, oats, quinoa and buckwheat. Also eat plenty of vegetables, especially the green, leafy variety, which contain calcium and magnesium.

Being overweight increases your risk of developing heart disease, but your body shape can have an impact too.

People who carry weight on their waistline are more vulnerable to heart disease than those that carry it on their hips so exercise is extremely important when it comes to reducing the risk of heart disease.

The NHS recommends the ideal waistline is approximately half your height – on average that’s under 31.5 inches for women and under 37 inches for men, so it’s time to take action if yours is more than this.

To whittle down that waist and lose weight in general, you should eat a healthy diet and do 150 minutes of exercise a week – that’s just 30 minutes a day.

Come on – show your ticker some love!