Everybody knows that cardio/heart health is important, but it can be difficult to know what to do to make sure that your heart is always in the optimum state of wellness. That’s why the American Heart Association has come up with a list of seven steps that everyone should follow in order to protect their wellbeing and reduce their chances of getting cardiovascular disease.
The association points out that only 1 in 1,000 people truly have a healthy heart, according to doctors. Their seven steps should significantly cut your chances of suffering from a heart attack.
Those seven steps are as follows:
1) Don’t smoke.
2) Be physically active.
3) Don’t be overweight.
4) Keep your cholesterol levels healthy.
5) Keep your blood pressure down.
6) Keep your blood sugars in check.
7) Eat healthily.
The number of people who actually meet all seven of these criteria is actually tiny. If you actually look at the criteria and measure the number of people who actually meet each step, it works out around 0.1 percent of the population.
Whilst around 15 percent of the population have reasonable blood pressure and cholesterol levels, when it comes to exercise, the levels are much, much lower. Many people do not take sufficient exercise to keep their heart healthy. It is recommended to get 150 minutes of exercise each week but most people do far less than that.
Fewer still follow a nutritious diet and eat healthily. There is a big discrepancy between how healthily people say that they eat and how healthily they truly eat when they are observed. Similarly, people who claim to take the recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week rarely do.
If all seven steps are followed to the letter, however, the benefits are quite amazing, as heart health can lead to increased longevity.
Comments are closed.