It’s American Heart Month! Why not explore human emotions and literature metaphors that tug on the heart strings? Why not?... because this is a health and fitness blog, not a novel or movie designed to evoke teary eyed moments. There are many major heart health actions that we have control over... if we remember to address them. Heart disease is still the leading cause of death in our country even though plenty of information is out there on how to decrease our risk. Know what you can stop, change, or start in order to decrease risk and remember to stay consistent.

What to stop?

The big one here is smoking and tobacco products. Smoking has always taken the brunt of the blame with tobacco use and for good reason. Smoking delivers more nicotine and toxins to the bloodstream resulting in damage and narrowing of the blood vessels. Smokeless tobacco products have resulted in mixed results in studies looking at their effect on cardiovascular function. Although the results vary when investigating smokeless products, there are still associations found between them and cardiovascular events (heart attacks and strokes). Avoiding smoking and limiting smokeless tobacco products is the best path.

Another stop step to take is eliminating or at least limiting alcohol consumption. There isn’t really a “beneficial” amount of alcohol. This thought originated with a study that compared a daily red wine serving to decreased risk of stroke. Although the study did find a decreased risk, one serving of red wine isn’t the norm for most alcohol consumers. The biggest culprit is binge drinking (4-5 drinks within a two-hour period) and alcohol abuse over time. This leads to serious conditions such as cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart muscle.

What to change?

This is another obvious category for heart health. Diet is the first thing to think about. Maybe changes are necessary. Nutrients consumed will enter the blood stream and affect heart health either negatively or positively. Taking a close look at your diet and possibly getting professional input to make better dietary choices can have the most impact.

What to start?

Exercise! You know you need to do it and if you aren’t already, your heart will love you for adding exercise to your life. Exercise has become so prevalent in managing health that itis now prescribed. For the last 40+ years, researchers have studied exercise and its effects on innumerable health topics. Even before science was involved in explaining why exercise is a healthy choice, we knew it was good for us. The great thing about exercise is it encompasses a huge variety of choices. The only thing that is in question is what activity you decide to use for your exercise.

Whether it’s what you should stop, change, or start, the body will adjust. All of the lifestyle decisions you make will have some effect on your heart. Your heart will always remember (be affected by) how you live. It’s up to you to train your mind to never forget and remember to make better choices to stop, change, or start what you need for your heart.