Despite different scoring methods, each of these patterns emphasizes higher intake of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts, and lower intakes of red and processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages. The findings also showed that these different healthy eating patterns were similarly effective at lowering risk across racial and ethnic groups and other subgroups studied, and that they were statistically significantly associated with lower risk of both coronary heart disease and stroke.

Eating less salty foods and more potassium-rich foods may significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. But the reverse of eating a lot of sodium-rich foods especially from processed breads, packaged snacks, canned goods, and fast-food meals while skimping on potassium can increase cardiovascular disease risk.

Improving sleep health Research has shown that sleep is an essential component of cardiovascular health. Sleeping for too short or too long a stretch is associated with heart disease and can negatively affect other heart-related risk factors like dietary intake, exercise, weight, blood pressure, and inflammation.

Talk with your doctor if you have frequent restless nights or do not feel adequately rested during the day. Improving sleep habits can make a difference. Examples include setting a sleep schedule and sticking to it, having a calming bedtime ritual like doing stretches or meditating, getting regular exercise, stopping use of electronic devices an hour before bedtime, and avoiding heavy meals, caffeine, and alcohol several hours before bed.

Other factors to consider Along with these five practices, the American Heart Association recommends controlling cholesterol, managing blood sugar, and managing blood pressure as additional factors for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health.

References Lloyd-Jones DM, Hong Y, Labarthe D, et al. Kenfield SA, Stampfer MJ, Rosner BA, Colditz GA. Smoking and smoking cessation in relation to mortality in women. Babb S, Malarcher A, Schauer G, Asman K, Jamal A. Quitting Smoking Among Adults — United States, Morbidity and mortality weekly report.

Willett WC, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, et al. Weight, weight change, and coronary heart disease in women. Bogers RP, Bemelmans WJ, Hoogenveen RT, et al.

Association of overweight with increased risk of coronary heart disease partly independent of blood pressure and cholesterol levels: a meta-analysis of 21 cohort studies including more than persons. Archives of internal medicine.

Berrington de Gonzalez A, Hartge P, Cerhan JR, et al. Body-mass index and mortality among 1. N Engl J Med. Canoy D, Cairns BJ, Balkwill A, et al. Body mass index and incident coronary heart disease in women: a population-based prospective study.

BMC Med. Rimm EB, Stampfer MJ, Giovannucci E, et al. Body size and fat distribution as predictors of coronary heart disease among middle-aged and older US men. American journal of epidemiology. Colditz GA, Willett WC, Rotnitzky A, Manson JE.

Weight gain as a risk factor for clinical diabetes mellitus in women. Ann Intern Med. Huang Z, Willett WC, Manson JE, et al. Body weight, weight change, and risk for hypertension in women.

Maclure KM, Hayes KC, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Speizer FE, Willett WC. Weight, diet, and the risk of symptomatic gallstones in middle-aged women. Zhang C, Rexrode KM, van Dam RM, Li TY, Hu FB. Abdominal obesity and the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality: sixteen years of follow-up in US women.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults: the evidence report. Bethesda, MD; Ford ES, Caspersen CJ. Sedentary behaviour and cardiovascular disease: a review of prospective studies.

International journal of epidemiology. Matthews CE, George SM, Moore SC, et al. Amount of time spent in sedentary behaviors and cause-specific mortality in US adults. The new year is the perfect time to shed those extra pounds!

Start with a modest and achievable goal; even a slight weight reduction can have a significant impact on your health.

While adopting a fad diet might seem like the most ideal solution to shedding some extra pounds, a better way to take control of your weight is to focus on lifestyle modifications, like eating healthy foods, tracking your nutrition intake and regularly exercising.

Balance your diet with physical activity to maintain a healthy weight. A great way to stick to your fitness goals in the new year is to commit to exercising in increments.

Instead of vowing to work out every day for the foreseeable future, commit to doing it for one month then take that success forward another 30 days.

You can also incorporate more appealing workouts into your regime like walking with your dog or dancing with your grandchildren to help motivate you. Stress has a debilitating effect on your body and especially your heart.

Highly stressed people have an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Try incorporating stress relief activities into your day like yoga, meditation, deep breathing exercises, reading a book, walking outside and spending time with your family, friends or pet. Failing to receive enough quality sleep each night can have negative impacts on your heart health, like the following:.

Some tips for a good night of sleep in include putting your phone down at least 30 minutes before bedtime, cutting back on caffeine and sleeping in a cool dark room.

Sugary beverages and sodium-filled snacks are empty calories that tend to do more harm than good. Swap the sodas for fruit-sweetened water or green tea and the salt-loaded snacks for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Heart Disease and Stroke. Overview and Objectives Evidence-Based Resources Healthy People in Action. Goal: Improve cardiovascular health and reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke.

Objective Status 0 Target met or exceeded 2 Improving 2 Little or no detectable change 2 Getting worse 6 Baseline only 7 Developmental 0 Research. Related Objectives The following is a sample of objectives related to this topic.

Baseline only. Getting worse. Little or no detectable change. Other topics you may be interested in Chronic Kidney Disease Nutrition and Healthy Eating.

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