02/21/2025
Heart disease rarely just happens! Your diet and activity level play a crucial role in the prevention and management of heart disease, but don’t forget there are other factors at play.
1. Manage air pollution exposure: Air pollution is a health concern for anyone living in a crowded city, near industrial pollutants, or in proximity to wildfires- this means that air pollution is a health concern for pretty much all of us. Short-term exposure to pollutants can lead to oxidative stress and inflammation while long-term exposure can raise your blood pressure, increasing your heart disease risk.
2. Reduce heavy metal exposure: Heavy metals (like lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and thallium) can increase your blood pressure. Reduce your exposure by limiting consumption of contaminated fish, using water filters, and choosing lead-free glassware.
3. Lower your stress levels: High cortisol levels can increase your blood pressure, inflammation, stroke risk, and coronary heart disease risk.
4. Invest in your relationships: Cultivating strong relationships helps to reduce inflammation and stress. In fact, poor social connections can increase heart disease risk by 29% and stroke risk by 32%.
5. Improve your sleep: Poor sleep quality can have an impact on your cholesterol, blood sugar, and inflammation levels. Sleep issues have been shown to increase heart disease risk by 75%, heart attack risk by 105%, and stroke risk by 78%.
6. Stop smoking: Smoking increases your heart disease risk by raising your blood pressure. Quitting can actually reduce your risk of a heart attack in as little as one day.