How living a healthy lifestyle with exercise helps to fight heart disease
To help fight heart disease we have put together a range of facts and exercises.
What happens if we neglect our heart health?
It’s a bit of a scary thought, but heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women in Australia. In fact, 1 Aussie dies of heart disease ever 12 minutes.
It’s a serious problem, with a preventable solution. Exercise, a balanced diet and quitting smoking are the best ways to reduce your risk of developing heart disease.
What exercises can I do to boost my heart health?
Cardio
Cardio exercises are designed to activate your blood flow, get your heart pumping and breaking a sweat. Activities such as walking, running, dancing, swimming are extremely beneficial and will increase your heart rate allowing you to breathe deeper and strengthen your heart muscles.
If you don’t enjoy cardio, make sure you stay moving by doing activities such as gardening, cleaning and do-it-yourself projects. These are sneaky ways of getting your heart pumping without evening knowing it!
To get your cardio workout in check out Jacqueline’s Full Body HITT Workout here, or Mathew’s Full Body Workout with a Backpack here. For something different you could also try our Shadow Boxing session here.
Yoga
Yoga is so much more than a stretch; it’s a great way to lower blood and cholesterol levels helping you maintain a healthy heart.
Not all heart-boosting exercises have to be high intensity. In fact, in a recent study in America, patients with heart failure were made to do an eight-week yoga program to boost their heart health. The results were dramatic! All patients had lower blood pressure levels and less marks of inflammation.
If that’s not enough to sell you, yoga is a proven stress reliever. Stress changes the way your blood clots and is a big contributor to heart disease. Yoga is great to manage your worries and stresses of the day, focusing on your breathing and relaxation.
Try Tracy’s Heart Opening Yoga session here, or Carolyn’s Afternoon Yoga class here. Our classes are tailored for all levels of fitness and experience, making it the perfect exercise to boost your overall wellbeing.
What major lifestyle changes can I make?
Control your blood sugar
Keeping your blood sugar levels under control is extremely important, especially for people with diabetes. A large proportion of people may not even realise they even suffer from type 1 or 2 diabetes as often there are no symptoms! Diabetes causes damage to your blood vessels, making you 4 times more likely to suffer from heart disease.
Cutting back on caffeine and alcohol are a good way to lower your blood pressure. Exercise and a healthy diet are also key to keeping your blood sugar levels under control.
Your GP can test your blood sugar levels and determine whether or not you have diabetes. It’s extremely important to get this checked out especially if you are showing any symptoms or have family history of diabetes.
Stop smoking
If you smoke, you are 2 x more likely to suffer a heart attack and 3 x more likely to suffer a stroke. Think about getting help to quit by talking to your health practitioner. Your heart will thank you! Studies have shown that just after one year of quitting, your risk of a heart attack or stroke is halved.
We hope this has inspired you to think more about your heart health!
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Live Life Get Active is a registered health promotion charity that offers FREE outdoor activity camps and wellbeing and nutritional programmes to help address obesity, diabetes and mental health. Our vision is to build fitter, healthier and happier communities right across Australia. Our in-park offering is supported by a comprehensive digital offering.
