Understanding heart health is the first step toward leading a long, healthy life. Heart health impacts every area of our lives from sleep health to properly functioning immune systems.
Did you know that according to one report, nearly 1 out of 3 adults has some form of cardiovascular disease?
In this article, we’ll take a look at the fastest way to improve cardiovascular health. Hint: it’s not as complicated as you may think. Let’s dive in.
Get a Move On
The best way to begin improving your heart health is to get your body moving. This could be anything from parking farther away at the grocery store and getting your steps in to running a full marathon.
Regardless of the intensity of the activity, regularly getting your heart rate up to a healthy level helps prevent heart disease, strengthens cardiovascular endurance, and reduces inflammation.
Even small changes in your exercise habits can make a big difference. Something as simple as walking a few minutes each day can make a big impact on the health of your heart.
How It Works
The heart muscle, as with any other muscle in the body, is strengthened via exercise. How so?
When we breathe, we’re pulling in oxygen, and filling up our lungs. Some of this oxygen helps us breathe, but that oxygen also transfers into the bloodstream.
This blood, now filled with oxygen, travels through to the heart. At this point, our heart pumps all of this oxygen-rich blood through to the rest of the body including our muscles and other organs.
Working Overtime
When we exercise, the muscles in our bodies require extra oxygen. Thus, our heart works harder to pump that oxygen-rich blood through to the rest of our muscles.
You may be wondering: ‘what’s heart failure?’ Heart failure happens when the heart is not pumping blood as it should. It happens as a result of the heart working overtime to do its job.
Regular exercise helps our muscles work more efficiently by pulling needed oxygen from the bloodstream. This reduces the heart’s need to work overtime pumping extra blood to the muscles.
Ways to Improve Heart Health
While cardiovascular disease is more of an umbrella term that describes a range of conditions, many of the forms can be treated by making a few lifestyle changes.
Working exercise into your daily routine will help your heart become more efficient at pumping blood where it needs to go. Some options may include weight training, tennis, pilates, or even brisk walking.
Another surefire way to improve heart health is to follow a heart-healthy diet. This will look different for everyone, but a heart-healthy diet will generally emphasize avoiding overly processed foods, saturated fats, and excessive sodium.
What is the Fastest Way to Improve Cardiovascular Health?
Fall in love with movement! By exercising regularly, you’ll reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and your heart will be able to do its job properly.
The fastest way to improve cardiovascular health doesn’t necessarily mean you need to move fast, it simply means get moving. It’s good for you and your heart will love it.
If you’re looking for additional ways to improve your health, feel free to browse through any of the health articles we offer in our Lifestyle section!
