We should look after our heart at any age, but our risk of serious conditions such as heart disease increases in our senior years, so this period of our life is especially important to start thinking about ways you can take better care of your heart. Even if you’re in good health now, focusing on your heart health makes good sense, helping you prevent problems rather than having to react to treat problems further down the line. Here are some simple changes you can make to look after your heart in your senior years.

Stay active

Regular exercise helps to make your heart more efficient at pumping blood and delivering oxygen. It also helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which can both be risk factors for heart conditions. Staying active can also help you maintain a healthy weight, taking some of the pressure off your heart and the rest of your body. Even light exercise like walking or physical activities like gardening can be enough to keep you active.

Heart-healthy foods

Eating a balanced diet also helps you to maintain a healthy weight, and can contribute to your heart health by choosing the right foods and cutting back on things like added sugar and saturated fat. Get plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet, get enough fiber, and consider cutting back on red meat.

Manage stress

Stress isn’t just a mental condition, but it also affects you physically, especially when it comes to your heart. We may not experience as much stress in our senior years due to retirement, but it’s still important to be aware of any stressors in your life and figure out how to either avoid them or manage them more healthily. Meditation can help if you are finding it difficult to manage stress.

Cut back on smoking and drinking

Drinking too much alcohol and smoking cigarettes or other tobacco products can do a lot of damage to your heart over time. If you do smoke, try your best to quit completely or at least cut back, and also try to cut back the amount of alcohol you drink on a regular basis.

Get regular check-ups

Seeing your doctor for check-ups and physicals on a regular basis can help to identify any concerning symptoms or problems early, hopefully allowing you to make the required changes in order to prevent anything serious or at least stop your condition from getting worse. This is especially important if you have any risk factors, such as diabetes or a family history of heart conditions.

At Brookstone of Clemmons assisted living, you get the care and medical support that you need as you age, with care services adapted to you. Get in touch to find out more about your assisted living options in Clemmons, NC.