Follow these tips to help live your best life with this common disorder.
Heart failure: It’s a scary name for a reason. But just because you’ve been diagnosed with the disorder doesn’t mean you can’t help manage it.
There are simple lifestyle changes you or your loved ones can make at home to help maintain heart health.
Upgrade your diet
Watching for unhealthy ingredients in your kitchen becomes even more important after a heart failure diagnosis. The American Heart Association recommends that healthy adults consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium a day. To put that in perspective, just one delicious serving of macaroni and cheese can have more than 900 mg. Yeesh!
To cut back on your salt intake:
- Avoid prepared and packaged foods.
- Don’t automatically salt your food.
- Don’t add salt during cooking; let family members season to their own tastes.
Exercise
Busy schedules can make it hard to keep a routine workout, but it needs to become a priority if it isn’t already. Just remember to pace yourself and choose different activities to prevent boredom. Enjoy running? Nashville is home to a variety of running groups that offer a range of days and times to meet up.
Manage stress
High blood pressure affects nearly 1 in 3 Americans. To help keep your heart in tip-top shape, lower your stress.
To start lowering your stress:
- Identify your sources of stress.
- Find healthy ways to manage stress, such as meditation, yoga or talking things out with friends and family.
Considering a new exercise routine? Check out these tips to help you get started.
