Four ways to improve cardiovascular health

Cardiovascular health is the well-being of our heart and blood vessels, ensuring they function properly to deliver oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.

Having good cardiovascular health prevents and manages conditions such as heart disease and stroke, which affect the circulatory system.

When our cardiovascular system plays such a crucial role in our lives and health, it’s important to look after it the best we can.

This can be achieved through exercise, the food we eat or by reducing stress in our lives.

We’re exploring four ways you can improve your cardiovascular health…

What is cardiovascular health?

Our cardiovascular health refers to the health and well-being of our cardiovascular system.

There are some things we can do to improve cardiovascular health, which can involve simple lifestyle changes. Not doing so, can lead to issues, known as cardiovascular disease (CVD). A general term used for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels.

CVD can refer to a number of different conditions including:

• Heart disease
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Arrhythmia 

Cardiovascular disease leads to the death of more than 170,000 people every year in the UK. It's important to look after your heart health and prioritise your cardiovascular system. Simple life changes can be a good place to start.

The good news is, it's possible to recover from CVD and return to a healthy lifestyle.

Here are four ways to improve your cardiovascular health...

1. Regular exercise

Regular exercise can play a big role in improving your cardiovascular health and staying healthy.

Taking part in cardio exercises are most effective in prioritising cardiovascular health. 

Cardiovascular exercise is any physical activity which elevates your heart rate and breathing. Some examples of effective cardiovascular exercises include; walking, running, cycling or swimming. Most of these are easily accessible and can be classed as low-impact exercises making them easier to get started with.

Exercise can improve cardiovascular health by strengthening the heart and circulatory system.

Exercise boosts the amount of blood circulating through your body by up to 25%.  Over time, this encourages blood vessels to expand and become more flexible, allowing for efficient blood flow.

Cardiovascular exercise has also been known to lower blood pressure, particularly beneficial for those with high blood pressure already.

Although even if you don't have high blood pressure, regular cardio can help to prevent it as you age. 

Another benefit of exercise is its ability to reduce high levels of cholesterol, which can be a factor in causing heart disease (and other heart issues).

Exercise can also work hand in hand with other methods to improve cardiovascular health. It can reduce stress as it releases endorphins, can help you to manage your weight and compliments a healthy, balanced diet. All of which contribute to improved cardiovascular health.

2. Prioritise a healthy, balanced diet

The food we put into our body plays a massive role in our overall health and well-being.

A healthy, balanced diet should be prioritised anyway, but if you particularly want to improve your cardiovascular health, or reduce risks of heart related diseases, diet is important.

Lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol supports cardiovascular health. Following a healthy, balanced diet for weight management can also help your heart health. Being overweight can lead to diabetes and high blood pressure.

Whilst it can vary by person and diet choices, you may be wondering what is the best diet for cardiovascular health?

A low-saturated fat, high-fibre, high plant food diet can substantially reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

One of the main recommendations you'll find for a healthy heart is to eat more fruit and vegetables. This is because they’re a good source of vitamins and minerals, low in calories and rich in fibre. They contain antioxidants that can help prevent injuries to the arteries. 

Whole grains are also considered an important component to improve cardiovascular health, as they are a rich source of fibre. Fibre helps to maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

It's also important to avoid fatty foods, high levels of salt, saturated fats and added sugar. A balanced diet is about moderation and what you eat will affect your cardiovascular health.

3. Manage stress

Managing stress can be essential in helping to improve cardiovascular health. You may not realise it, but stress can have a big impact on our health, especially chronic stress.

It’s normal for your blood pressure to increase for a short time if you’re feeling stressed. However, chronic stress is likely to have an affect on our cardiovascular health.

Unhealthy habits can often be influenced by stress levels too, like overeating unhealthy foods and drinking too much alcohol. Drinking too much alcohol can cause long-term high blood pressure. 

So whilst temporary stress isn't likely to be affecting your cardiovascular health, how you respond to stressful situations can.

Furthermore, chronic stress can be a problem for us and our health. Stress could lead to high blood pressure, which can pose a risk for heart attack and stroke. 

Stress can increase the risk of irregular heartbeats, which can be a serious cardiovascular issue. 

Whilst stress is a factor in life and can sometimes can't be avoided, learning to manage stress can be really beneficial to your health and how you deal with situations.

4. Avoid unhealthy habits

There are some habits we may have that can have negative effects on our cardiovascular system and could be increasing our risk of heart disease or other heart related problems.

This mainly includes drinking too much alcohol and smoking. Drinking too much alcohol on a regular basis has been linked to heart and circulatory conditions. These can include; heart attack, stroke and palpitations.

Whilst it may be difficult to cut alcohol out of your life, especially when many social situations involve it, cutting back and only drinking the recommended amount of alcohol or trying to introduce more drink free days into your routine is a great way to start.

Drinking too much alcohol can affect your blood pressure.

When high blood pressure isn’t treated or managed it can lead to more serious implications, such as heart attacks or stroke. Cutting down on alcohol can be a good way to help, if you do already have high blood pressure.

Smoking is another habit that can be good to break to improve your cardiovascular health. Smoking damages your blood vessels and increases heart rate and blood pressure, meaning it directly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease.

Some of the ways smoking affects your cardiovascular system include:

• Increasing the risk of blood clots
• Making blood more prone to clotting due to the chemicals in cigarettes
• Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke reduces the amount of oxygen the blood can carry

According to the British Heart Foundation, at least 15,000 UK heart and circulatory disease deaths are attributed to smoking each year.

Looking after your cardiovascular health is essential in living a healthy lifestyle. It’s essential to the rest of our body and how we function. With CVD affecting more people's lives, it's worth prioritising your heart health.  

Following our suggestions above can be a simple way to make changes that will make a difference to your heart health and cardiovascular system.

You’ll find many health insurers offer a range of advice and support in their policies to encourage you to live a healthier lifestyle, through diet and exercise. They also may offer support for mental health and managing stress.

Ready to put your health first? Why not have a free, consultation with an expert adviser? We compare the UK leading insurers to help you find the best policy for your needs. Our service is completely free of charge and no obligation.

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