ALLISON PRENTICE APRIL 2, 2022

Heart Health
The key to Healthy Aging and Heart Health

Eating Fruits &

Vegetables
Reduces cholesterol
and blood pressure.

Heart Health’s Association with

Healthy Aging Prevention of
Heart Attacks
Age plays a huge part of how your heart can function, along
Don’t smoke,
with all of your other organs. manage stress,
The older we get, the more likely we are to develop heart disease or have a exercise, eat healthy
heart attack. At age 60, 20% of men and 10% of women have heart disease.
At 80 years old, the numbers rise to around 32% of men and nearly 19 % of
women. Here are 3 key ways to prevent Heart Disease:

1 2 3
Get Moving
DO NOT SMOKE EXERCISE HEART-HEALTHY DIET Aim for 30 - 60 mins
Tobacco contains Physical activity helps Diet improves blood of activity daily to
chemicals that damage maintain healthy weight pressure, cholesterol & keep good heart
heart and blood and reduces the strain reduces risk of Type 2 health.
vessels. on the Heart. Diabetes.

ALLISON PRENTICE APRIL 2, 2022

Utilizing these
Strategies to prevent
Heart Disease
Quitting smoking or using smokeless tobacco
is one of the best things you can do for your
Heart. Even if you do not smoke, stay away
from secondhand smoke. Cigarette smoke
decreases the amount and quality of oxygen in
the blood supply. This creates an increase in
blood pressure and heart rate because the heart
will then need to work harder to provide
enough oxygen to the brain and rest of the
body. There is good news if you do quit, within Heart healthy foods are important to
the first year you will already decrease your incorporate in your diet to increase heart
risk of heart disease by half that of a smoker. health. These include fruits, vegetables, beans
and other legumes, whole grains, lean meats,
Exercise on a daily basis can reduce risk of fish, healthy fats (ex: avocado), low-fat, and
heart disease. Physical activity aids in weight dairy free foods. There are some Heart Healthy
management and decrease in stress, which food plans for example the Mediterranean diet
plays a key role in heart health. Weight and the Dietary Approaches to stop
management decreases the risk of developing
Hypertension (DASH). Begin by determining
other heart related conditions which include
high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type how many calories you should be consuming in
2 diabetes. It’s okay if you haven’t been active order to maintain a healthy intake. A typical
for a long period of time. You may need to caloric intake is around 2,000 calories per day.
gradually work your way up to the objective of Depending on Age, gender, and the level of
incorporating exercise in your daily routine. It’s physical activity while depend on how many
important to note however, increasing intensity, more or less calories you require on a day to
frequency, and duration of workouts will yield day basis. “Take care of your
greater results.
heart, it’s the only one you got.”

PAM’S STORY OF REVERSAL OF HEART DISEASE

Pam is 86 years old. She has been exercising since 1991 until she
had a shoulder injury. She participated in physical therapy for 2
months and never went back to the gym after. She had a heart
attack in 2006 which resulted in congestive heart failure (CHF)
and permeant heart damage. She partook in 6 months of cardiac
rehab and started going to the gym after that. 2 years later, she
had her yearly Echocardiogram (Ultrasound of the heart) and she
then discovered she was no longer in heart failure. Exercise and
maintaining a health diet helped Pam recover from the heart
failure. Pam states, “My cardiologist was amazed. Continuous exercise for me was my savior.”

References:

- Kutcher, M. (2019, September 7). Inspiring Seniors Health Stories: Pam’s story - Reversal
of Heart Disease. MoreLifeHealth Seniors. https://morelifehealth.com/articles/reversal-
heart-disease

- Mayo Clinic. (2022, January 14). Strategies to prevent heart disease. Mayo Clinic Heart
Disease Prevention https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-
depth/heart-disease-prevention/art-20046502

- Heart Healthy Foods: Shopping List. (2021, December 2). MyHealthfinder https://
health.gov/myhealthfinder/topics/health-conditions/heart-health/heart-healthy-foods-
shopping-list