How You Can Improve Heart Health to Celebrate Heart Health Month

In this article:

• February is American Heart Health Month. It draws attention to heart disease, which is the leading cause of death among men and women in the U.S.
• Risk factors for heart disease include older age, tobacco use, being overweight or obese, being physically inactive, and having diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, or a family history of heart disease.
• Losing extra pounds, eating a more nutritious diet, and increasing physical activity can help lower your risk of heart disease.
• Other choices to lower heart disease risk include quitting tobacco if you use it, getting adequate sleep, and managing stress.
• You can use Heart Health Month as inspiration to make a healthy change.
• Lark offers support 24/7 to help you reach weight and health goals with or without GLP-1 medications.
  

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among Americans each year. During Heart Health Month each February, organizations like the American Heart Association spotlight this epidemic, including its devastating effects, but also bright spots like lifestyle choices that can dramatically reduce its impact. Here's what you should know about heart disease, why lifestyle matters, and what you can do now to lower your risk.

Why Heart Health Matters

Heart disease kills about 700,000 Americans annually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that heart disease accounts for 1 in 5 deaths, edging out cancer as the leading cause of death for both men and women. The most common form of heart disease is coronary artery disease, which affects the flow of blood to the heart and can lead to heart attacks.

Are You at Risk for Heart Disease?

Your risk factors determine whether you’re likely to have heart disease or if you’re at increased risk of having an adverse event like a heart attack or stroke. The American Heart Association lists the following risk factors.

• Smoking or tobacco use
• Being male
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• High total or “bad” LDL cholesterol
• Having diabetes
• Being overweight or obese
• Having a family history of early atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
• Having metabolic syndrome
• Having certain chronic conditions like chronic kidney disease (CKD), rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, or HIV/AIDS
• Having a personal history of preeclampsia or early menopause
• Being of a high-risk ethnicity such as South Asian ancestry
  

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) provides the ASCVD Risk Estimator that uses information like age, gender, smoking history, and calculates your risk of having a cardiovascular event like a heart attack or stroke within the next 10 years.

Talk to your healthcare provider if you have any concerns about your heart disease risk. Your healthcare provider can assess your risk and a possible prevention or treatment plan based on your risk factors and lifestyle.

Ways to Lower Your Risk for Heart Disease

You can’t change certain risk factors like age or family history, but there are many risk factors that you can change. Here are five ways to lower the risk of heart disease.

1. Lose extra pounds

The American Heart Association reports that 71.2% of Americans are overweight or obese. Losing weight can lower your risk of heart disease and other risk factors like hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Here are some changes that can help with weight loss or management.

• Serving larger portions of green salads and other raw or cooked vegetables, and smaller portions of high-calorie foods like desserts, butter, and pasta
• Drinking more water and low-calorie beverages while reducing sugar-sweetened and alcoholic beverages
• Exercising more
• Taking weight loss medications like GLP01s if you’re eligible, and you and your healthcare provider decide that it’s a good idea

Talk to your healthcare provider about lifestyle modifications and other strategies for losing weight. Lark can support your weight loss goals with or without medications.

2. Move more and sit less

Being active and reducing sedentary (“sitting”) time both have cardiovascular health benefits. The AHA says 1 in 4 adults meet recommendations for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. In addition, sitting time is nearly 6 hours daily. Physical activity reduces cardiovascular risk, burns calories, increases “good” LDL cholesterol, and lowers blood pressure and blood sugar. Whereas too much sitting has negative metabolic effects.

• Aerobic exercise guidelines say to get at least 150 minutes per week of at least moderate-intensity activity
• Muscle-strengthening goals are to work major muscle groups at least twice weekly
• Break up sitting time with 1-2 minutes of light activity for at least every 30 to 60 minutes that you sit
  

3. Stop smoking

More than 1 in 10 adults smoke, and far more use other tobacco products. Tobacco use is among the leading causes of preventable death worldwide, including certain types of cancers and respiratory conditions. It increases heart disease risk and raises blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Here are some tips for quitting.

• Set a quit date so you can prepare.
• Think about strategies to cope with cravings, such as being prepared for feelings that may happen and having plans for what you might do instead when cravings strike.
• Build a support network so that you can always reach out no matter when or where cravings happen.
• Be prepared for setbacks and restarts.
  

Ask your healthcare provider for resources for quitting. In addition, find out about Lark’s program to support quitting.

4. Eat better

A more nutritious diet can improve heart health, but most Americans fall short in many categories. The AHA says that only 10-25% of adults, for example, meet recommendations in categories like daily consumption of whole grains, fish, and non-starchy vegetables. Nutrients like fiber, potassium, calcium, omega-3 fats, antioxidants, and B vitamins are just a few that are critical for heart health, and present in a diet that includes a wide variety of nutritious foods.

A body of evidence supports heart health benefits of Mediterranean-style diets and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. These diet patterns are flexible and easy to

modify to meet your preferences. Here are some tips to shifting towards a heart-healthy diet pattern and away from a typical American diet.

• Add vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, and low-fat dairy products
• Reduce red meat, processed meat, fried foods, sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, and fast foods
• Select sources that are lower in saturated fats like oil, avocado, peanut butter, and nuts instead of cream, butter, and animal fat
  

5. Manage health conditions and sleep

Other health conditions and behaviors can affect heart disease risk and progression. Diabetes, high blood pressure, stress, and sleep are examples. Though you may already have certain health conditions that raise heart disease risk, how you manage these conditions can impact heart health.

Here are some tips for reducing heart disease.

• Take medications as prescribed. Understand why and how to take them, and be sure you get refills as prescribed
• Follow through with your doctor’s instructions for managing chronic conditions, as well as any follow-up care or monitoring like lab tests, home blood pressure, or blood sugar monitoring.
• Get adequate sleep with proper sleep hygiene.
• Manage stress with techniques like deep breathing, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, socializing, and exercising.
  

Take a Step Now for Your Heart Health

Take this opportunity to improve your heart health. Think of a small change you can make that feels doable and not too daunting.

• Have shredded wheat or oatmeal instead of granola
• Snack on veggie chips and hummus instead of potato chips and dip
• Order grilled chicken instead of fried chicken
• Drink water or unsweetened tea instead of soda or sweet tea
• March in place for 1 minute every hour throughout the day
• Cook with cooking spray or olive oil from a spritzer instead of butter
• Eat from a plate or bowl instead of from the bag
  

See if you can keep up your change for a week or more. Eventually, it can become a habit and you can add more changes to it for heart health.

How Lark Can Help

Small changes can help you improve heart health, lose weight, and manage or prevent chronic conditions. Lark can help you make positive choices on a daily basis. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking.

Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications.

Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!