A big part of living with heart disease is living an active lifestyle while balancing a heart healthy diet. Here is a link to an article I came upon while researching healthy smoothie/shakes choices. You can add or subtract a few ingredients and build your own heart healthy smoothie. These don’t always have to be for breakfast and can be consumed any time of day and they are great for people on the run or quick fill up after a workout. My personal favorite is the banana ginger smoothie and I add blueberries and on occasion a hand full of raspberries. I have one of these every morning before work. Here is a link to a few drinks you may enjoy.
https://southdenver.com/cardiologists-recommend-5-shakes-smoothies-good-heart-health/
Meditation can go a long way to relieving stress and anxiety.
I never thought about meditation as a tool for helping to keep my stress and anxiety levels down which ultimately helps your overall health. This was a tough one for me as I always have had an anxious personality and stressed very easily (still do at times), even about the small things in life that nobody should waste their energy stressing about. Although this hasn’t been the “be-all end-all” for me it has definitely helped lower my stress and anxiety.
There are a plethora of books and videos that can help you relax and feel a sense of calm. Youtube is packed with some great videos, short and long and this has been a benefit to me. I perform my meditation first thing in the morning and it usually makes for a more positive day overall. Give it a try!
If you have given this a shot and it isn’t for you then an old fashioned walk outside or a hike is huge for me on stress and anxiety relief. To me there is nothing like going on a long hike, blocking out all of your problems and achieving something all at once. Not everyone is the same but just being in the woods, on a ridge or a beautiful mountain top makes all the bullshit of life go away for at least a little while.
Knowledge of family history with heart disease is crucial.
Take it from me. You NEED to know, learn and talk to your doctor about family history of heart disease. Did I have knowledge of family history with heart disease? Yes. Did I take it serious enough in my younger years? Absolutely not. Do I want others (especially my own two kids) to know how important this information is? 100%
I did not take this as serious as I should have when I was younger and even up to the point of finding out that I needed bypass surgery. That is one huge regret I have. Taking care of your health early on can help prevent this from happening. I can’t stress this enough about how I will not let this happen to my kids and although we may not be able to prevent heart disease genetically, we can absolutely slow it down and live a normal life with simple changes in diet and exercise which in turn makes for an overall healthier life both mentally and physically. I am going to do everything in my power to stay on my kids for this. I will get a few eyerolls from time to time but them witnessing what I went through and continue to go through will help them understand the importance of a healthy heart and lifestyle.
I plead to everyone out their with a family history of this disease to learn about your own family history and stay on top of your health. Trust me, you do not want to go through the physical and mental challenges that I am going through. Find out from family about history, get blood tests for signs of high blood pressure, cholesterol and such. Talk to your doctor so you can come up with a plan of any changes needed. You can help yourself so much if you just take these simple steps. DO NOT hesitate. Here is a link to some information on the importance of family history.
Our kids Kyle and Ella pictured on Black Cap in North Conway.
https://www.healthpartners.com/blog/what-to-do-if-you-have-a-family-history-of-heart-disease/
