Keeping your heart healthy is crucial for a long and healthy life. From baseline tests to diet changes and regular monitoring tips, our heart health checklist will empower you to improve your heart health.
“Cardiovascular disease isn’t something that only affects the elderly,” says Christopher Huff, MD, interventional cardiologist at OhioHealth. “It’s never too early to develop heart-healthy lifestyle changes that can protect you now and later in life.”
Heart health baseline tests
Starting around age 20, there are a few tests that should be done to assess your risk of developing heart disease.
Your testing program might involve the following:
- Cholesterol screening: Measuring your cholesterol is an important and easy way to assess your risk of developing heart disease. Also known as a lipid panel, your test will measure your total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol), LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) and triglycerides. Most healthy young adults should have their cholesterol checked every four to six years. Your provider will determine if you need the test more often.
- Specialized cholesterol screening: Regarding coronary heart disease, LDL is not the only bad player. There are other lipoproteins capable of carrying cholesterol into the walls of your arteries, and it turns out that the number of these particles is super important for predicting heart disease. Since each of these lipoproteins contains one copy of a protein called apolipoprotein B (ApoB), Dr. Huff recommends checking ApoB levels to determine the number of these heart disease-causing particles in the bloodstream. This number can be used to guide therapy. In addition, Dr. Huff recommends checking the level of a particularly risky cholesterol-carrying lipoprotein called lipoprotein (a) or Lp (a). Lp(a) is the most common genetic cholesterol abnormality and can play a significant role in the development of heart disease.
- Blood pressure and waist circumference: Your blood pressure and waist circumference should also be monitored. High blood pressure often does not cause symptoms and can significantly increase your risk of heart disease. An increased waist circumference suggests high visceral fat (fat that builds up around internal organs), which is strongly associated with heart disease.
- Blood sugar testing: Because diabetes can increase your risk for many chronic health conditions, including cardiovascular disease, annual screening for diabetes should be performed.
Preventive heart care
How often you see your provider for cardiac health screenings depends on the health of your heart. In general, healthy people with no personal or family history of heart disease can see their primary care provider once a year for routine risk assessment.
People with a diagnosis of heart disease will likely need to see their cardiologist at least once a year. Those who need medication titration, testing, or procedures for heart disease may need more frequent visits. Cardiac testing might include an EKG, calcium score, echocardiogram, stress test and/or CT scan.
In addition to regular screening for cardiovascular disease, Dr. Huff says it’s important to understand the warning signs and symptoms of serious heart issues.
Seek medical evaluation if you experience any of the following symptoms: new onset of shortness of breath, pain, burning or tightness in the chest with exertion that resolves at rest. Unrelenting symptoms at rest require emergency evaluation.
Dr. Huff says that wearable devices like smartwatches and rings can help you monitor your heart health. People with conditions including atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) who need to track their heart rate may find these devices especially helpful. Anyone who has been diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) should have a home blood pressure cuff.
Heart healthy lifestyle changes
A healthy lifestyle is crucial to keeping your heart, body and mind healthy. An optimal heart health strategy includes regular exercise, a heart-healthy diet, plenty of sleep and methods to reduce stress levels.
“No medication, supplement or intervention is as powerful as exercise when it comes to improving your cardiovascular health,” says Dr. Huff. “Heart-healthy lifestyle changes, including regular cardiovascular exercise, can reduce your risk of heart disease dramatically. Excluding high-risk genetic disorders, most heart attacks are preventable if you make a heart-healthy lifestyle a priority early in life.”
In addition to cardiovascular benefits, regular exercise can boost your mental health and reduce your risk of dementia. Dr. Huff recommends alternating frequent aerobic exercise with strength training. Setting realistic goals to achieve early wins can be very motivating, as can finding a partner to join you on your journey to cardiovascular fitness.
A heart-healthy diet not only reduces your risk of developing cardiovascular disease, but also helps you shed excess weight. Along with limiting saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, sugar and processed food, a heart-healthy diet includes:
- Plenty of fruits, vegetables and other high-fiber foods
- Lean protein from fish, chicken and turkey, as well as legumes such as beans, chickpeas and lentils
- Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa and farro
- Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats from olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds and fish
Dr. Huff explains that more than body mass index (BMI), it’s body shape that affects your risk for cardiovascular problems. Reducing your waist circumference is a sign of improved metabolic health and a reduction in visceral fat, both of which have been linked to heart disease.
Stress is a well-known risk factor for a heart attack or stroke. Dr. Huff says that regular exercise, a healthy diet and plenty of sleep can help reduce your stress and anxiety levels, in addition to improving your heart health. Limiting alcohol and caffeine may help. Meditation, journaling and breathing exercises can also help you manage your stress levels.
Work with your doctor
While there are many ways to reduce your risk of developing heart disease, there are some risk factors that cannot be controlled with lifestyle modification alone. Dr. Huff understands that some people are resistant to taking cholesterol-lowering medications. He recommends an open-minded discussion with your doctor regarding the risks and benefits.
“If you have a strong family history of premature coronary artery disease, your risk is elevated because you swim in the same genetic pool,” says Dr. Huff. “You may have a genetic lipid abnormality such as familial hypercholesterolemia or an elevated Lp(a). These inherited lipid disorders cannot be adequately controlled with good nutrition and exercise. The good news is that there is effective medical therapy to treat these disorders.”
