The Lifeline to Longevity: Essential Tips for a Stronger Heart

For a stronger heart. The body is a well-oiled machine that works 24/7 to keep you alive and functioning. Still, every cell in your body depends on your heart and how healthy it is. The goal of longevity is to keep your heart healthy for as long as you possibly can. This can be done by avoiding those habits that add strain to this important muscle, as well as by implementing smart lifestyle changes that will promote and improve your cardiovascular health. Here are the most essential tips for a stronger heart.

The Heart Muscle

Your heart is the main organ of your cardiovascular system, and its main goal is to supply each and every cell in your body with oxygen and nutrients, while taking away waste. It’s divided into four sections, also known as chambers, that work in unison to pump blood throughout the body. This is done through constant rythmic pumps directed by your brain and nervous system. These pumps involuntary, meaning you’re not able to control their speed or pattern, but there are plenty of different factors that play a role in their function.

The heart is comprised of four heart chambers that work in a circulatory pattern, pumping the blood efficiently through the body:

• Left ventricle – the left ventricle sends oxygen-rich blood into your body which circulates and brings the carbon dioxide and waste into the right atrium.
• Right atrium – your right atrium accepts the blood coming from the upper and lower part of the body and pumps it into the right ventricle.
• Right ventricle  – the right ventricle pumps the oxygen-poor blood into your lungs where it gets refreshed with new oxygen and pushed into the left atrium.
• Left atrium – the left atrium then pumps the oxygen-rich blood into the left ventricle where it gets sent through the rest of your body.

This cycle is never broken or paused, allowing for everything to run smoothly and keeping you alive. In addition to the four chambers, there are other parts of your heart that ensure optimal function:

• Heart walls – these muscles contract and enable the heart to pump blood in an efficient way.
• Blood vessels – your intricate network of blood vessels acts as tunnels through which the blood is carried throughout the body.
• Valves – the valves act as doors between your chambers, allowing the blood to flow freely, but not before each chamber has completed its function.

How Does a Healthy Heart Look Like?

In order for your heart to stay healthy, every part of your cardiovascular system needs to function optimally and without effort, allowing for the blood to flow freely. From your blood vessels to the heart muscle itself, every single part needs to be able to complete its function.

The majority of health conditions that affect your cardiovascular health cause cholesterol deposits in your blood vessels, restricting the blood flow and putting a strain on your heart muscle. Over time, this can cause a variety of heart issues, from elevated heart blood pressure and coronary heart disease to heart attack and stroke.

Early Signs of Heart Disease

Heart disease can manifest itself in a variety of ways, from a simple irregular heartbeat to more severe constrictions of the blood vessels and poor blood circulation throughout the body. It’s important to notice the earliest signs in order to make the necessary lifestyle choices and prevent any long-term cardivascular consequences that can be detrimental to your health. Some heart diseases like congenital heart disease are birth defects or hereditary, and are not caused by lifestyle choices. However, by implementing certain habits, you might be able to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.

Some of the earliest signs of heart disease to look for include:

• Shortness of breath.
• Numbness or pain in your legs and arms.
• Pain and tightness in your chest.
• Fluttering in your chest.
• Unexplained diziness and tachycardia (elevated heart rate).
• Swollen ankles.

These symptoms are the result of the narrowing of your blood vessels and the restricted blood flow, reducing your overall oxygen supply. The main culprit for this occurence is LDL cholesterol, which slowly builds up on your artery walls. This is typically caused by nutrient-poor diet rich in saturated fats and ultra-processed foods, lack of movement (sedentary lifestyle), high stress, sleep deprivation, smoking, and alcohol abuse. Additionally, our bodies need more attention as we age, as aging slows down the production of collagen and the rate of which our cells repair, making inflammation-induced damage harder and harder to heal.

Tips For a Stronger Heart

Knowing how your heart fucntions is crucial in order to understand how to keep it healthy and strong. Here are some of the most important tips for a stronger heart and will ensure it keeps pumping for a very long time:

Stop Smoking

Smoking is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease, resulting in a staggering 30% of all coronary heart disease mortalities every year. The risk of developing cardiovascular disease increases with the number of cigarettes one smokes per day, but even those who smoke the least amount typically show early signs of plaque build up on the artery walls. The chemicals in the cigarettes cause inflammation and swelling of the artery walls, reducing blood flow to every cell in the body. This can cause everything from poor circulation to heart attack and stroke, increasing the risk with every following cigarette. This is why abstaining from smoking is one of the most crucial lifestyle changes that can help keep your heart strong and blood vessels intact.

Increase Your Daily Movement

In addition to smoking, leading a sedentary lifestyle is one of the top causes of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the American College of Sports Medicine, physical inactivity is a major risk factor that you can have control over, but a large number of people still suffer from its consequences. There’s a huge emphasis on increasing daily movement through exercise, stretching, and even simple walking in order to dramatically decrease the risk of cardiovascular dieases.

Avoid Inflammatory Foods

Nutrition is another controllable factor which plays a big role in cardiovascular health. It’s believed that ultra-processed foods that are rich in tran-saturated fats, sugars, and artificial chemicals are directly linked to cardiovascular disease, increasing LDL cholesterol, elevating blood sugar and blood pressure, and causing major clogs in the arteries. By avoiding these foods and adding more nutrient-rich choices into your diet, you will not only decrease the risk of choelsterol build-up, but also add precious fiber, antioxidants, and other plant compounds that will help keep your heart vessels damage-free, and your heart strong. Some of the most researched nutrients that play a big role in improving heart health include CoQ10, Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin D, phytosterols, and red yeast rice extract.

Control Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

Maintaining a healthy body mass index is another great way of protecting your heart and preventing conditions such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes. These diseases can both greatly increase the risk of coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. While implementing healthier food choices and increasing daily energy expenditure, will help you stay on the right track to bringing your weight to a healthy state, dealing with diabetes and other metabolic syndroms will require more help from your physician and might include medications and other treatments. These medications might have an additional effect on your heart health, so it’s important to always consult with your care team and find the best way to manage your condition.

Lower Stress Levels

Stress is known as the silent killer for a reason. It’s one of the main causes of inflammation throughout the entire body, causing swelling in the blood vessels, elevating blood pressure, and putting incredible strain on the heart muscle. By implementing stress-reducing lifestyle habits such as meditation, mindulness, and breathing exercises, you will be able to significantly reduce overall inflammation in your body and with it, the strain it puts on your cardiovascular system.

 

 

Final Thoughts: For a Stronger Heart

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US, and one of the leading worldwide. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways through we can help prevent it, manage it, and even heal. The abovementioned tips are essential for a stronger heart pumping strong and supplying your cells with necessary nutrients to perform all of their daily functions.