In honor of Heart Awareness Month – thought I’d give you five ways to keep your heart healthy!

Just like any muscle the more you work it out, the stronger it gets and the same goes for you heart. When you exercise regularly, your heart can recover faster after your heart rate is up from an activity.

Here are five exercises for your heart:

1) Swimming: The effect of immersing one’s body in water itself reduces stress. Swimming enables one to use the muscles in one’s body that might never be used otherwise. It can lead to a host of other benefits, such as:

• Reduced heart rate
• Improved breathing
• Improved circulation
• Better blood pressure
• Weight control, etc.

2) Cycling: To counter the sedentary lifestyle of an individual, cycling is a healthy and low-impact exercise. It can be enjoyed by all ages and it gives the heart, blood vessels and lungs a good workout. Regular cycling reduces the risk of health problems such as stroke, heart attack, etc.

3) Brisk walking: It is said that every step an individual takes is a part of their journey to good heart health. Brisk walking increases the heart rate. Regular brisk walking can reduce the risk of a heart attack, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, and raise (good) HDL cholesterol, lower blood pressure, help manage weight, and improve one’s mood.

4) Running: Running can build up the fitness and endurance of the heart. It can also reduce the fat content surrounding the heart and inside the blood vessels. Running provides long term strength training to the heart, which helps in maintaining and increasing the fitness level of the heart.

5) Aerobics: Aerobics helps the heart muscles become stronger due to exercise, which makes it pump more efficiently. Therefore, one’s resting heart rate is reduced and the heart does not need to work as hard. It needs added oxygen to be pushed through the body to one’s muscles, and the heart being one of the biggest and hardest working muscles, benefits the most from this.

Be sure to take care of your heart – it’s the only one you got!

Congenital Heart Defects are the #1 killer of all children, more than all childhood cancers combined, yet the research is grossly underfunded. 1 in 5 children with a CHD will not make it to their first birthday. My friend’s baby, Luca was that 1 in 5. If you would like to donate to help those with heart conditions I encourage you to visit Hopeful Hearts.

Reference here – www.healthmeup.com