Heart disease is said to be the #1 cause of death for both men and women in the United States. The good news is that there are things we can do to reduce our risk.
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We can:
- Stay at a healthy weight. Healthy weight is different for everyone. Healthy weight is your height, weight, age, and gender at birth.
- Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke. There are safe programs to help you quit if you are a smoker, and staying away when others are smoking is an easy choice.
- Control your cholesterol and blood pressure. Watch your eating habits or the types of food that you eat daily.
- Drink alcohol only in moderation. Some sources suggest that one drink daily for women and two for men is moderate.
- Manage stress. You can talk with a counselor or someone you trust, remove yourself from the situation, read, listen to music, or engage in prayer and meditation.
- Practice eating a healthy diet.
- Get active. The Mayo Clinic recommends getting at least two and a half hours of moderate aerobic activity weekly. Aerobic activity could be walking a couple of minutes daily or two to three days a week. If you prefer swimming, biking, playing sports, or going to the gym, 75 minutes per week is enough to keep you healthy.
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![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65256d4221b5607142f88762/65d4d04683d903974f91b72b_no%20smoking.png)
Can you reduce your risk of heart disease? The answer is yes. Healthy heart, healthy body.
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Disclaimer: This is not a diet or a medical consultation; neither should it replace the instructions to manage your specific medical condition given by your doctor or registered dietician.