Matters of the Heart ❤️ Managing Your Risks

A part of living a healthy life is knowing our risks as women for developing heart disease. There is this myth that heart disease only affects older women. Well, that is not true. You can be young, active and you can be impacted by heart disease. You can be 20, 30, 40, 50 and up. Age does not matter. Risks increases as we age but young women also have risks of developing heart disease as older women. Through your age, you must know what your risk factors are. As we age, that’s a risk factor for developing heart disease. If you have a family history of heart disease, it’s very important to know that. Find out from your relatives if anyone in the family, any women in the family had heart disease if anyone died from heart disease. If so, at what age? It’s very important to be aware of your family history.

Heart disease is the NUMBER 1 killer of women. That is more deadly than other forms of cancer combined. So heart disease is very prevalent among women and it impacts us at a significant rate.

Four Tips to Manage the Risk for Developing Heart Disease

1. Don’t Smoke
– If you’re not a smoker, avoid secondhand smoke. If you are a smoker, you need to start the process of quitting your habit of smoking. Tobacco is so harmful. According to a report, non-smokers are 30% more likely to develop heart disease or even lung cancer from secondhand smoke exposure. Start taking some actions and start kicking that cigarette habit.

2. Drink in Moderation
-Heavy drinking cause an increase in blood pressure. That is why ladies, we need to stick to one drink a day. That is what moderate alcohol intake looks like. That is a 4-ounce pour of wine or 1 cocktail or 1 beer

3. Reduce your Stress
– Stress can make you a complete mess and it can make your health a mess as well. Long term stress can be bad for your health. It raises your heart rate and your blood pressure. And your heart rate and blood pressure increasing both and lead to the damage of the walls of the arteries over time. Manage your stress. What can you do to manage stress? Deep breathing; taking a few deep breaths. Yoga. Gardening or anything that makes you happy or bring you joy.

4. Don’t skip on self-care
– Life is challenging. Life is complicated and busy. Life is fast-paced. Life is hectic and a lot of times, we, women, put ourselves less. Get physical activity. Make sure to have a full night sleep. Eat healthily.