Strategies to prevent heart disease
5. Get enough quality sleep
5. Get good quality sleep
7. Get regular health screenings
Content
1. Don't smoke or use tobacco
2. Get moving: Aim for at least 30 to 60 minutes of activity daily
3. Eat a heart-healthy diet
4. Maintain a healthy weight
5. Get quality sleep
6. Manage stress
7. Get regular health screening tests
8. Take steps to prevent infections
4. Maintain a healthy weight
Being overweight — especially around the middle of the body — raises the risk of heart disease. Extra weight can lead to conditions that raise the chances of getting heart disease. These conditions include high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.
The body mass index (BMI) uses height and weight to find out whether a person is overweight or obese. A BMI of 25 or higher is considered overweight. In general, it's linked with higher cholesterol, higher blood pressure, and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
Waist circumference also can be a useful tool to measure how much belly fat you have. The risk of heart disease is higher if the waist measurement is greater than:
- 40 inches (101.6 centimeters, or cm) for men.
- 35 inches (88.9 cm) for women.
Even a small weight loss can be good for you. Reducing weight by just 3% to 5% can help lower certain fats in the blood called triglycerides. It can lower blood sugar, also called glucose. And it can cut the risk of type 2 diabetes. Losing even more helps lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels.
