World Heart Day is taking place today, September 29^th. It’s the largest global awareness and advocacy campaign on heart disease and strokes. This year’s theme is promoting a heart healthy environment in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is a major threat to seniors’ health. 84% of older adults aged 65 and older die from it. Some seniors accept it as a part of growing old, but that is not the truth. Here are some helpful tips to keep your heart healthy and your mind at ease! 

Quit Smoking – This addicting habit has plenty of negative effects on the heart. For starters, tobacco constricts the blood vessels and causes poor circulation. This leads to numerous vascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Secondly, tobacco contains carbon monoxide. This reduces the amount of oxygen your blood can carry to your brain, lungs, and heart. Working against that is nicotine. Nicotine is a stimulant that increases your heart rate and blood pressure. Over time, these two things can create extreme wear and tear on your heart   

Get Exercise – Being physically inactive is a serious risk to your heart’s health. It’s important to get at least 30 minutes of exercise (if not more) each day to obtain a healthy heart. When it comes to exercise there are two types you should do. 

• Aerobic – Otherwise known as cardio workout, is great for your heart. Walking, swimming, and biking fall under this category. Aerobic exercise improves the strength of your heart, in turn making it more efficient at pumping blood to the rest of your body. 

• Anaerobic – Otherwise, known as weight training, is a great way to improve muscle strength. This leads to healthier metabolism and stronger immune system.

Eat Healthy – Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is important as you age. The helpful nutrients of these foods, fiber and vitamin C, can help stave off the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease. 

Drink Less Alcohol – Too much alcohol can increase the amount of fats in the bloodstream. Too much fat in the bloodstream adds to the risk of heart disease as well as a multiple of other defects to the body. If you already drink, make sure it’s limited to one or 2 drinks a night. Anything more could add to the risk of alcoholism.