Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the United States and each February American Heart Month is observed to raise awareness and encourage heart-healthy habits. While maintaining a heart-healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, OSF St. Mary Medical Center Managing Medical Director Dr. Nathaniel Baker, offers guidance on taking proactive steps to protect your heart:
“The biggest thing is making sure you are seeing your primary care doctor regularly. That is going to impact a lot of these other issues as far as making sure your blood pressure is well controlled. The thing I always like to tell people about blood pressure is that if you are worried about it, take your blood pressure when you are resting for about five minutes and about the same times every day and just record it. Obviously, quitting smoking is you are smoking and don’t start if you haven’t started, keeping a healthy weight, having a heart-healthy diet, especially if you have some heart disease in the past, getting regular exercise, controlling stress; if that is something that is a big problem, talking to a counselor or talking to your primary care doctor if you need medication can be vitally important. Then the other thing I always recommend is learning CPR, so if something happens, sometimes the heart attack can lead to your heart stopping, and somebody knowing CPR can be the difference between life and death.”
As for foods, Dr. Baker reports fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, and health fats like olive oil and avocados are best for maintaining a healthy heart.
