We all know the importance of the heart and how important it is to look after your heart health. This essentially requires a healthy lifestyle that includes healthy eating habits, regular exercise and health checks on a regular basis.
Some of our daily habits can take a toll on our hearts without us realizing it until it is too late. Here are seven habits that can destroy your heart.
Excessive alcohol consumption: Having a drink once in a while may not have a major impact on your health. In fact a red wine in the right quantities can be good for your heart health. But make sure that you do not consume alcohol on a regular basis so that you do not have to face a cardiac event in the future. In addition to your heart health, excess alcohol can also have a severe impact on your liver and bones. Quitting alcohol can reduce your risk of developing a heart disease by almost 50%.
Excess salt in diet: We of course need a pinch of salt in our food so that it is nit tasteless. But overuse of salt can put you at a risk of developing high blood pressure, which can even lead to a heart attack, stroke or any other heart cardiac complications. So make sure that you use the salt with care in your meals.
Lack of exercise: Little or no exercise is another reason why you may develop a cardiac condition. The lesser we exercise, the more we stand to gain weight and develop problems related to excess weight. Excess weight and lack of exercise may also lead to Type 2 diabetes.
Ignoring anxiety and depression: A lot of people fail to understand how big an impact anxiety, stress and depression can have on your health, especially your heart. It is important to address these issues so that they are minimized in time and are not left untreated as this can affect your energy levels and have an impact on your nervous system.
Comfort eating: This is a situation when we eat, even when not hungry, and to make it worse, we usually tend to eat unhealthy foods that are rich in sugar, salt and fats. Comfort not only adds to our weight but can also be a risk of developing cardiac diseases.
Smoking: We are all aware of the effects that smoking has on our body. But there are still millions of smokers who add to their risk with cigarettes. Some statistics reveal that nearly 30% of cardiac deaths are caused due to smoking.
Lack of sleep: Lack of sleep often leads to sleep deprivation, which in turn causes hormonal imbalances that can also have an impact on your heart. Stress hormone levels are also increased due to insufficient sleep. An adult should ideally get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night.
For more heart care tips, or to visit our Preventive Cardiology division, please call +91 99201 55000 or visit www.asianheartinstitute.org.
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