Avoiding tobacco is one of the best. In fact, smoking is one of the top controllable risk factors for heart disease. If you smoke or use other tobacco products, the American Heart Association AHA , National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute NHLBI , and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC all encourage you to quit.

It can make a huge difference to not just your heart, but your overall health, too. That is, focus on your middle. Research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has linked excess belly fat to higher blood pressure and unhealthy blood lipid levels.

Eating fewer calories and exercising more can make a big difference. Or you can play on top of the sheets! Sexual activity may add more than just pleasure to your life. It may also help lower your blood pressure and risk of heart disease.

Research published in the American Journal of Cardiology shows that a lower frequency of sexual activity is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease. Put your hands to work to help your mind unwind.

Engaging in activities such as knitting, sewing, and crocheting can help relieve stress and do your ticker some good. Other relaxing hobbies, such as woodworking, cooking, or completing jigsaw puzzles, may also help take the edge off stressful days.

When paired with low-fat chips or fresh veggies, salsa offers a delicious and antioxidant-rich snack. Consider mixing in a can of black beans for an added boost of heart-healthy fiber. Whether you prefer a rumba beat or two-step tune, dancing makes for a great heart-healthy workout.

Like other forms of aerobic exercise, it raises your heart rate and gets your lungs pumping. It also burns up to calories or more per hour, reports the Mayo Clinic. Eating a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can also help ward off heart disease. Many fish, such as salmon, tuna, sardines, and herring, are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

Try to eat fish at least twice a week, suggests the AHA. Laugh out loud in your daily life. Whether you like watching funny movies or cracking jokes with your friends, laughter may be good for your heart. Yoga can help you improve your balance, flexibility, and strength.

It can help you relax and relieve stress. Moderate consumption of alcohol can help raise your levels of HDL, or good cholesterol. It can also help prevent blood clot formation and artery damage.

According to the Mayo Clinic , red wine in particular may offer benefits for your heart. The key is to only drink alcohol in moderation. If the entire U.

population reduced its average salt intake to just half a teaspoon a day, it would significantly cut the number of people who develop coronary heart disease every year, report researchers in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The authors suggest that salt is one of the leading drivers of rising healthcare costs in the United States. Processed and restaurant-prepared foods tend to be especially high in salt. So think twice before filling up on your favorite fast-food fix.

Consider using a salt substitute, such as Dash, if you have high blood pressure or heart failure. No matter how much you weigh, sitting for long periods of time could shorten your lifespan, warn researchers in the Archives of Internal Medicine and the American Heart Association.

Couch potato and desk jockey lifestyles seem to have an unhealthy effect on blood fats and blood sugar. If you work at a desk, remember to take regular breaks to move around. Go for a stroll on your lunch break, and enjoy regular exercise in your leisure time. Keeping your blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides in check is important for good heart health.

Learn the optimal levels for your sex and age group. Take steps to reach and maintain those levels. And remember to schedule regular check-ups with your doctor.

If you want to make your doctor happy, keep good records of your vitals or lab numbers, and bring them to your appointments. Dark chocolate not only tastes delicious, it also contains heart-healthy flavonoids. These compounds help reduce inflammation and lower your risk of heart disease, suggest scientists in the journal Nutrients.

Eaten in moderation, dark chocolate — not oversweetened milk chocolate — can actually be good for you. The next time you want to indulge your sweet tooth, sink it into a square or two of dark chocolate. No guilt required. Vacuuming or mopping the floors may not be as invigorating as a Body Slam or Zumba class.

But these activities and other household chores do get you moving. They can give your heart a little workout, while burning calories too.

Put your favorite music on and add some pep to your step while you complete your weekly chores. Almonds, walnuts, pecans, and other tree nuts deliver a powerful punch of heart-healthy fats, protein, and fiber. Including them in your diet can help lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Remember to keep the serving size small, suggests the AHA. Let your inner child take the lead by enjoying an evening of roller skating, bowling, or laser tag. You can have fun while burning calories and giving your heart a workout.

Our pets offer more than good company and unconditional love. They also provide numerous health benefits. Studies reported by the National Institutes of Health NIH suggest that owning a pet may help improve your heart and lung function.

It may also help lower your chances of dying from heart disease. Start and stop, then start and stop again. During interval training, you alternate bursts of intense physical activity with bouts of lighter activity.

The Mayo Clinic reports that doing so can boost the number of calories you burn while working out. Slicing your saturated fat intake to no more than 7 percent of your daily calories can cut your risk of heart disease, advises the USDA. Put down your cell phone, forget about the driver who cut you off, and enjoy your ride.

Eliminating stress while driving can help lower your blood pressure and stress levels. The first meal of the day is an important one. Eating a nutritious breakfast every day can help you maintain a healthy diet and weight.

To build a heart-healthy meal, reach for:. If you don't smoke now, keep it that way. Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. Heavy alcohol use is detrimental to your heart health.

Although some research indicates moderate consumption of certain alcoholic beverages may have positive health effects, limiting your intake to a maximum of one drink per day or abstaining from alcohol altogether is best. Be active. Try to do aerobic exercise for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day, three to five times per week.

Work your way up to minutes of cardio each week. Get your heart rate up by a simple activity like walking at a brisk pace. Your daily movement doesn't need to be overly strenuous. Maintain a healthy weight. Like your checkbook, your weight is a matter of deposits and withdrawals.

You need to exercise regularly and lower portion sizes and calorie intake at meals to lose weight or maintain a healthy size. Simply put, to lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume.

Eat a nutritious diet. Healthy and fresh food choices — such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes — lower your risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes, as well as make you feel better than when you eat processed and junk food.

Learn about key elements of a heart-healthy diet. Control your risk factors. Get physical examinations or checkups at least yearly. Doing so will help you monitor health conditions and allow your provider to examine you for high blood pressure hypertension , high cholesterol and diabetes.

If you have these conditions, talk to your health care team about medicines and lifestyle changes to help you control them, which will lower your risk for heart disease. Family history While neglecting the prevention tips poses major risk factors, family history — although uncontrollable — can be problematic.

Complications of heart disease Heart disease can result in significant complications and death. Related Posts Heart-healthy tips from the front line. Healthy lifestyle changes easier with support of co-worker, teammate.

Here are strategies to help you protect your heart. Heart disease is a leading cause of death. You can't change some risk factors for it, such as family history, sex at birth or age.

But you can take plenty of other steps to lower your risk of heart disease. One of the best things you can do for your heart is to stop smoking or using smokeless tobacco.

Even if you're not a smoker, be sure to stay away from secondhand smoke. Chemicals in tobacco can damage the heart and blood vessels. Cigarette smoke lowers the oxygen in the blood, which raises blood pressure and heart rate. That's because the heart has to work harder to supply enough oxygen to the body and brain.

There's good news though. The risk of heart disease starts to drop in as little as a day after quitting. After a year without cigarettes, the risk of heart disease drops to about half that of a smoker.

No matter how long or how much you smoked, you'll start reaping rewards as soon as you quit. Regular, daily physical activity can lower the risk of heart disease. Physical activity helps control your weight.

It also lowers the chances of getting other conditions that may put a strain on the heart. These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

If you haven't been active for a while, you may need to slowly work your way up to these goals. But in general, you should aim for at least:. Even shorter bouts of activity offer heart benefits. So if you can't meet those guidelines, don't give up.

Just five minutes of moving can help. Activities such as gardening, housekeeping, taking the stairs and walking the dog all count toward your total. You don't have to exercise hard to benefit.

But you can see bigger benefits if you boost the intensity, length and frequency of your workouts. A healthy diet can help protect the heart, improve blood pressure and cholesterol, and lower the risk of type 2 diabetes.

A heart-healthy eating plan includes:. Two examples of heart-healthy food plans include the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension DASH eating plan and the Mediterranean diet. Being overweight — especially around the middle of the body — raises the risk of heart disease.

Extra weight can lead to conditions that raise the chances of getting heart disease. These conditions include high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

The body mass index BMI uses height and weight to find out whether a person is overweight or obese. A BMI of 25 or higher is considered overweight. In general, it's linked with higher cholesterol, higher blood pressure, and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

Waist circumference also can be a useful tool to measure how much belly fat you have. The risk of heart disease is higher if the waist measurement is greater than:. Even a small weight loss can be good for you.

It can lower blood sugar, also called glucose. And it can cut the risk of type 2 diabetes. Losing even more helps lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. People who don't get enough sleep have a higher risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack, diabetes and depression.

Most adults need at least seven hours of sleep each night. Children usually need more. So make sure you get enough rest. Set a sleep schedule and stick to it. To do that, go to bed and wake up at the same times each day. Keep your bedroom dark and quiet too, so it's easier to sleep.

Talk to a member of your health care team if you feel like you get enough sleep but you're still tired throughout the day. Ask if you need to be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnea. It's a condition that can raise your risk of heart disease.

Symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea include loud snoring, stopping breathing for short times during sleep and waking up gasping for air. Treatment for obstructive sleep apnea may involve losing weight if you're overweight.

It also might involve using a device that keeps your airway open while you sleep. This is called a continuous positive airway pressure CPAP device. Ongoing stress can play a role in higher blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

Some people also cope with stress in unhealthy ways. For example, they may overeat, drink or smoke. You can boost your health by finding other ways to manage stress. Healthy tactics include physical activity, relaxation exercises, mindfulness, yoga and meditation.

If stress becomes overwhelming, get a health care checkup. Ongoing stress may be linked with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. These conditions also are tied to heart disease risk factors, including higher blood pressure and less blow flow to the heart.

If you think you might have depression or anxiety, it's important to get treatment. High blood pressure and high cholesterol can damage the heart and blood vessels.

Eat an overall healthy dietary pattern that emphasizes: a wide variety of fruits and vegetables whole grains and products made up mostly of whole grains healthy sources of protein mostly plants such as legumes and nuts ; fish and seafood ; low-fat or nonfat dairy; and, if you eat meat and poultry, ensuring it is lean and unprocessed liquid non-tropical vegetable oils minimally processed foods minimized intake of added sugars foods prepared with little or no salt limited or preferably no alcohol intake Apply this guidance wherever food is prepared or consumed.

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Learn more about Lipton. Egg Nutrition Center. Learn more about Egg Nutrition Center. Sorghum Checkoff. Our pets offer more than good company and unconditional love. They also provide numerous health benefits.

Studies reported by the National Institutes of Health NIH suggest that owning a pet may help improve your heart and lung function. It may also help lower your chances of dying from heart disease.

Start and stop, then start and stop again. During interval training, you alternate bursts of intense physical activity with bouts of lighter activity.

The Mayo Clinic reports that doing so can boost the number of calories you burn while working out. Slicing your saturated fat intake to no more than 7 percent of your daily calories can cut your risk of heart disease, advises the USDA.

Put down your cell phone, forget about the driver who cut you off, and enjoy your ride. Eliminating stress while driving can help lower your blood pressure and stress levels. The first meal of the day is an important one. Eating a nutritious breakfast every day can help you maintain a healthy diet and weight.

To build a heart-healthy meal, reach for:. Exercise is essential for good heart health, so why not sneak it in at every opportunity? Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park on the far side of the parking lot. Play with your dog or kids at the park, instead of just watching them.

Every little bit adds up to better fitness. No magic is needed to brew up a cup of green or black tea. Drinking one to three cups of tea per day may help lower your risk of heart problems, reports the AHA. Good oral hygiene does more than keep your teeth white and glistening.

According to the Cleveland Clinic , some research suggests that the bacteria that cause gum disease can also raise your risk of heart disease. The next time you feel overwhelmed, exasperated, or angry, take a stroll. Even a five-minute walk can help clear your head and lower your stress levels, which is good for your health.

Taking a half-hour walk every day is even better for your physical and mental health. The more muscle mass you build, the more calories you burn. That can help you maintain a heart-healthy weight and fitness level.

A sunny outlook may be good for your heart, as well as your mood. According to the Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health , chronic stress, anxiety, and anger can raise your risk of heart disease and stroke. Maintaining a positive outlook on life may help you stay healthier for longer.

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Men and women may experience different symptoms of a heart attack. Coronary heart disease CHD is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States.

Learn about the causes and risks factors of CHD. Follow these tips to prevent heart disease. A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic?

How Well Do You Sleep? Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by University of Illinois — By The Healthline Editorial Team — Updated on August 12, Slim down Have sex Engage in hobbies Eat fiber Listen to music Eat fish Laugh Stretch Drink alcohol in moderation Avoid salt Move Know your numbers Eat chocolate Do housework Eat nuts Have fun Own a pet Interval train Avoid fat Enjoy your ride Have breakfast Take the stairs Drink tea Brush your teeth Walk Lift weights Find your happy place Stop smoking—no ifs, ands, or butts.

Focus on the middle. Play between the sheets. Knit a scarf. Power up your salsa with beans. Let the music move you. Go fish. Laugh out loud.