How to Keep Your Heart Beating

How to Keep Your Heart Beating...

until we come up with better ways to move your blood along!

Your heart is a seemingly tireless organ that has beat about a billion times by the time you’re 30 years old. When healthy, its rhythm is more like a delicate dance than just a repetitive mechanical pump. It responds, of course, to our physical need for greater blood flow when we exert ourselves, but its patterns are also affected by our moods and emotions, hence its reputation as the organ of love and affection.

Repeated study finds that lifestyle management can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease. In one large study of women, lifestyle reduced their risk by as much as 83%, when combining healthy factors.

Even with a higher genetic risk, good lifestyle choices reduce the risk of heart disease by about half. One study found that “among men with a parental history of premature heart attack, those with a healthier lifestyle were less likely to develop heart failure over two decades.”

The good news is that a few changes can reduce all of your risk factors.

• Attention to nutrition will reduce your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
• Exercise helps maintain cardio fitness, plus alleviates stress and reduces blood pressure. Physical activity can reduce the risk of heart disease by as much as 15%.
• Don’t smoke.
• Make time to manage stress. You don’t have to meditate, if that isn’t your thing. Play with a pet, talk with friends, listen to music, or just sit quietly. Figure out what calms you and allow yourself the time.

These small changes make a big difference. Do even more with free access to Ray & Terry’s chapter of Transcend entitled “How to Keep Your Heart Beating.”