Every day in Australia, around 115 people die from cardiovascular disease – The Heart Foundation (2021).
The biggest contributors to the burden of heart and the blood vessel disease are:
- High blood pressure
- Poor diet
- High cholesterol
For many of us, heart disease risk factors can be addressed with small lifestyle changes:
- Eat a healthy diet – “Eating a poor diet is the largest contributor to the burden of cardiovascular disease.”;
- Quit smoking and e-cigarettes – “Smokers have more heart attacks, strokes and angina (chest pain or discomfort caused when your heart muscle doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich blood) than non-smokers. They also experience these impacts at a much younger age.”;
- Get plenty of exercise:
– Be active on most, preferably all, days of the week
– Get between150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week
– Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week
The Heart Foundation (2021) suggests incorporating into your diet to look after your heart:
- plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and wholegrains;
- minimal processed foods;
- a variety of protein-rich foods, including fish and seafood, legumes (such as beans, lentils and chickpeas), nuts and seeds, eggs and chicken, unflavoured milk, yoghurt and cheese;
- healthy fats and oils, including olive, canola, sunflower, peanut and soybean oil. You can also choose foods that contain heart-healthy fats, such as avocados, olives, unsalted nuts and seeds;
- herbs and spices for bursts of flavour;
To donate to The Heart Foundation, click here – https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/