3 Things You Can Do This Fall To Prevent Heart Disease

There are many risk factors for heart disease, including things like smoking, diet, age, gender, and family history. Some people think that you either have these risk factors or you don’t and that you have no control over your heart health. That’s very far from the truth; there are plenty of things you can do to prevent heart disease.

Take a vacation

That’s right, taking some time off can actually help lower your risk of heart disease. In fact, according to The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial for the Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease sponsored by the National Institutes of Health’s Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, men who take frequent annual vacations were 21% less likely to die from any cause and 32% less likely to die from heart disease. Plus, men who don’t take vacations are 30% more likely to have a heart attack. By 2011, there were 11,261 private jets registered in the United States. You don’t have to take a private jet to an exotic private beach, but you should take a vacation to help prevent heart disease.

Exercise on a regular basis

Exercising on a daily basis can also help reduce your risk of heart disease. In fact, just two and a half hours per week of aerobic physical activity can decrease your risk of chronic illnesses. In general, you should do moderate exercise, like walking at a brisk pace, for roughly 30 minutes on most days of the week. That can help you reach the recommendation of 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity, set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Get enough sleep

Yes, sleeping can actually affect your health. If you don’t get enough sleep, you raise your risk of high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. Those three things can all increase your risk of heart disease. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep every night. You can achieve this by developing good sleeping habits like going to bed at the same time every night. If you have frequent sleep problems, you should talk to your doctor.

Cardiac catheterization is a valuable tool that helps diagnose and treat heart disease. While it’s important to be able to diagnose and treat heart disease, it’s important to prevent it too. Make sure you practice healthy heart habits to decrease your risk of heart disease. You can also get regular screenings to make sure you’re in good shape.