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Heart-healthy Lifestyle Changes: Decrease Chances of Stroke and Heart Attack

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Heart diseases are common causes of deaths in the USA. The main reason behind these deaths is a poor lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle can decrease the risk factor of heart diseases. Here are some vital lifestyle changes that are necessary for everyone:

Stop Smoking

If you are a smoker, make sure to quit. If a person around you smoke, encourage him to quit smoking. However, it is difficult, but you can recover from a stroke or heart attack. If you want to avoid chronic diseases, make sure to stop smoking. You can get the assistance of a doctor to quit smoking.

Select Good Nutrition

You can fight with cardiovascular diseases with the help of proper nutrition. With good food, it will be easy for you to control several risk factors: overweight, diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Select nutrient-rich foods with fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Make sure to eat low-calorie food. Increase intakes of fruits, whole grains, and vegetables, such as nuts, vegetable oils (nontropical), legumes, fish, poultry, and dairy products (low fat), red meats and sugar-free beverages. Limit the intake of sweet beverages. Coordinate your healthy diet with physical activities to maintain your healthy weight. Choose suitable physical activities that allow you to use up maximum calories.

Blood Cholesterol

Fat lodging in human arteries can be a disaster for you. Ultimately, it will trigger a stroke or heart attack. If you want to avoid this situation, decrease the intake of trans fats, cholesterol, and saturated fats. Your routine must have some physical activities. If physical exercise and diet alone don't work for you, you will need a particular medication. Consult a doctor to get medicine for high cholesterol or cardiovascular problem. Before going to a doctor, make sure to explore your health insurance options.

You can calculate your score with the use of this equation: LDL + HDL + 20 percent of triglyceride level. LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is bad cholesterol, so it is good to keep this cholesterol low for your heart. A diet high in trans fats and saturated fats can increase LDL cholesterol.

The good cholesterol is HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. You have to maintain a good level of this cholesterol. The low HDL cholesterol can increase the risk of heart diseases. People with high triglycerides in the blood often have lower HDL cholesterol. Genetic factors like obesity, smoking and type II diabetes may result in lower HDL cholesterol.

Moreover, triglycerides are common fat in human body. A normal level of this fat may vary by sex and age. A high level of triglyceride combined with high LDL and low HDL cholesterol is linked with the buildup of fats in arteries and atherosclerosis. This situation can increase the risk of stroke and heart attack.

Decrease High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Stroke recovery can be painful and make you disable for your whole life. Decrease the consumption of salt because salt can affect your blood pressure. Normal blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg.

Healthy Weight

You have to be physically active regularly. Make sure to include a moderate physical activity of 150 minutes per week in your life to decrease blood pressure. If you are following an inactive lifestyle, make sure to start slow and gradually increase your physical activity. Physical activity and healthy life can be an excellent method to maintain a healthy weight. Obesity can increase the risk of high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and high cholesterol.

Studies show that stress and heart diseases have a healthy relationship. Stress can be a significant cause of stroke and heart diseases. Make sure to avoid stress in your life to stay healthy. Limit the consumption of tobacco and alcohol to stay away from doctors.