Exercise Your Way to Better Heart Health!

And the beat goes on…

It doesn’t matter what your age, exercise is important for everyone, especially when trying to reduce your risk of heart disease.

In recognition of Heart Month, our in-home care professionals at Qualicare want to share some insight into how to protect yourself from heart disease and why exercise is so important.

Get the Facts on Heart Disease

Heart disease is the second leading cause of death among Canadians, affecting around 2.4 million people. Risk factors associated with heart disease include:

• Being inactive
• Being overweight
• Diabetes
• Family history of the condition
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• History of preeclampsia during pregnancy
• Increased age
• Pre-diabetes
• Smoking

Although some risk factors can’t be changed, like a family history of the condition and your age, lifestyle-related risk factors can. Regular exercise is a key first step in the right direction.

Get Moving!

When you are looking for ways to improve your overall health, including your heart health, you need to make sure exercise is a component of that plan. Let’s take a look at ways exercise can help improve your heart health:

First, when you exercise, you are able to better control your weight. Excess weight puts you at a higher risk of developing many medical conditions, including heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

When you maintain a healthy weight, you are not putting as much stress on your heart, which is important.

Also, stress can increase your risk of heart disease in the future. When you are stressed, you’re more likely to pick up unhealthy habits. For instance, when stressed, you are more likely to eat junk food, not exercise, not sleep as well at night and smoke.

Exercise can help you manage stress so that even during the touchy times, you are still able to live a healthy lifestyle.

And finally, exercise is just plain good for the heart. After all, the heart is a muscle, so it needs to be worked regularly for optimal health.

Are you looking to improve your loved one’s quality of life? Discover how the in-home care providers at Qualicare can help!