Even though February is officially American Heart Month, making sure the heart is healthy is a year-round activity.
But how do you know if your heart isn’t functioning properly?
Registered nurse Linda Perkins of CCA Health Michigan offers three things to know about heart aging.
1. What are signs of heart aging?
Perkins said heart disease has been the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. for over 70 years.
The term heart disease can refer to several types of heart conditions. The most common is coronary heart disease, which affects the blood flow to your heart and can lead to a heart attack.
Some of the most common risk factors for heart disease are smoking and drinking, poor eating habits, lack of exercise, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
While chest pain and shortness of breath are the most common signs of heart attack, some people, particularly women, have reported additional, less-known symptoms such as:
- Pain in the upper back, neck and jaw
- Nausea or vomiting
- Indigestion
- Loss of appetite
- Weakness or fatigue
- Cough
- Dizziness, and heart palpitations
2. What are steps to take to make sure the heart is in good shape as you age?
According to Perkins, there are ways to keep your heart healthy.
- Eat healthier meals with variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. Minimize foods and beverages with added sugars. Moderation is the key.
- Get active. Exercising is not only good for your heart but for the rest of your body. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate physical activity each week, but you don’t need to commit to intense workouts to get started. Go for a 30-minute walk daily or find some other way to move such as yoga classes or gardening.
- Limit your salt intake. Prepare foods with little or no salt and consume fresh foods instead of processed as much as possible.
- Live tobacco and alcohol free. When you’re eating well and exercising, it’s much easier to quit smoking and limit the amount of alcohol you drink, which are also crucial for managing and preventing heart disease.
- Regularly monitor your numbers. Weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose if you have diabetes are all important numbers to check regularly. Make a habit of writing those numbers down in a journal or small notepad you can take with you to your doctors’ appointments. This will make it much easier to have a productive conversation about what steps you need to take to manage your health.
3. How often should you get the heart checked by a doctor?
Perkins said the first place to start is making sure you take advantage of the benefits in your health plan and schedule your regular annual check-ups with your primary care provider. Being prepared with your numbers in a journal or notepad can go a long way in helping to manage your health.
CCA Health Michigan is a health plan that offers an uncommon care model, which supports members with significant medical, mental health, and social support needs and provides a tailored approach that helps remove the barriers that lead to a healthier life. To learn more, visit this website.