The human heart is a very vital organ in the body. It’s what keeps you alive by pumping the blood and supplying oxygen and other nutrients to different tissues. And every person has only one, so there’s a need to take extra care of it.
In taking care of your life and, in this case, your heart, you’ll have to change how you operate, especially when you’re living with any terminal disease. From your food choices-what you eat, drink to the amount of sleep you get and how fit you are, all will determine how much you care and need a healthy pumping heart.
Remember, you have the freedom to live your life freely. However, how you choose to live yours could make the difference between life and death.
Thankfully, you won’t have to struggle much in finding the right ways to live a heart-healthy life. Because we have explained every key detail, you have to do to keep your heart healthy, especially if living with a terminal disease.
But first, let’s find out more about some terminal diseases you need to know to help you avoid the risk of getting or worsening their situations.
What are terminal diseases?
These are conditions with no cures which are likely to lead to your death, should you have one. They are also known as life-limiting diseases.
They include diseases such as:
- Cancer
- Lung diseases
- Advanced heart diseases
- Neuron and neurological diseases like Parkinson’s
Life-threatening heart conditions you need to know
Cardiovascular and heart diseases are among the top and most expensive diseases that cause death in the United States. Many people are at risk of developing such complications.
Here are some heart conditions:
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Coronary heart disease/coronary artery disease
It’s the most common heart condition that develops when plagues block the arteries supplying blood.
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Heart attacks and failures
Heart attacks happen when there is a complete blockage of the arteries to prevent blood flow. In most cases, the blockage is a result of accumulated fats and other substances forming a plaque.
On the other hand, heart failure- occurs when the heart muscle fails to pump blood. In other words, it’s the result of the inability of the heart to keep up with its functional demands. And this could be due to certain conditions that weaken the heart muscles, such as high blood pressure.
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Arrhythmia/irregular heartbeat
This is a heart rhythm disturbance. Or a situation where the heart beats fast, sometimes too slow, while other times it gets back to its regular rhythm. This condition affects the electrical conduction of the heart.
Now that you are aware of some of the deadliest heart conditions. You should also know that your choice of life can either be an accomplice to an unhealthy heart condition or a preventing measure for living a heart-healthy life.
Besides, if you have any terminal disease, you wouldn’t want to add heart-related conditions to your health.
That said, let’s look at some of the activities that would help you keep a heart healthy life.
How to keep your heart healthy
Your heart is one critical organ that powers and drives your body, which means it must be kept healthy and functioning. Therefore, ensure you:
Watch your weight
Suppose you’re not aware that your weight is a factor in your heart health. In that case, you must read this! Accumulated weight or obesity would increase your chance of heart-related conditions such as high blood pressure. And most medical research has shown that overweight individuals are at higher risks of heart attack or coronary artery disease.
How’s that?
Being overweight would mean you’ve accumulated too many fats, which implies that your bad cholesterol level is higher than your good cholesterol level. In other words, your bloodstream would be full of bad cholesterol, which increases your chances of heart conditions.
Therefore, it would be best to shed off some weight, something you can do by choosing the best weight loss diet, among other ways.
Get more exercise
Regular exercising can lessen your chances of heart complications. As indicated, most studies have shown that active individuals are less likely to experience heart conditions like a heart attack than less active people.
Here is the reason.
Your heart is a muscle which means it needs some bit of exercise to get moving. So regular exercise would ensure that your cardiac output is maintained. This implies that exercising improves your blood circulation and lowers blood pressure and heart rate. Besides, it’s also crucial in controlling the glucose level in your blood, thus reducing the risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
Make healthy food choices.
You can achieve optimal heart health through your diet. Not all kinds of food are good for your heart health. Foods such as saturated fats like the ones found in fatty meats would be damaging to your health. They contain high cholesterol, which increases your risk of heart conditions like stroke or heart failure, especially when they build up on your arteries.
Therefore, ensure you only take in heart-healthy foods such as:
- More vegetables and fruits are antioxidants and contain vitamins and minerals, which would help regulate your blood pressure and keep your arteries from hardening.
- Eat more grains and berries. Grains are a better source of nutrients or fibers that are key to your blood regulation and heart health.
For a healthy heart, you can also ensure:
You reduce your salt sodium if your meal- too much salt would result in high blood pressure, a risk factor to the heart-related condition.
Conclusion
For you to live longer irrespective of your heart-related conditions like heart attack and failures, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, or arrhythmia. It would be best if you took care of your life. This implies that you make the right choices of foods, practicing the heart of regular exercising while maintaining a standard weight.
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