There’s a lot of conflicting information out there when it comes to improving heart health, even among the medical community. Not a week goes by without someone telling me they’re so confused they end up doing nothing, or they believed they were making healthy decisions only to later find out they weren’t.
We live in a noisy world. That can be beneficial at times, but it also makes it incredibly easy to get overwhelmed.
The media tells you one thing on Monday and the opposite on Thursday. Your friends and family all gladly tell you “the best thing you can do is XYZ,” even if they don’t have the science to back it up. And social media can have you trying every diet variation under the sun: veganism, carnivore, paleo, keto, low fat, or throwing out real food entirely and knocking back a powdered drink a couple of times a day.
It’s impossible to get clarity with so much conflicting information. That’s why I believe it’s better to have the heart health conversation with a trained, experienced professional.
If you want to increase heart health and stay fit and healthy for as long as possible, here are three questions I recommend asking your cardiologist, either in person or through an online consultation.
1. Can heart disease be prevented?
In many, if not most, cases, the answer is yes – and you don’t have to give up butter!
For years, saturated fat and high cholesterol have been blamed for heart attacks and heart disease. And when statins became available, many people simply stopped worrying about preventing heart disease because they could just take a pill and reduce their cholesterol.
The truth is that focusing on cholesterol is a fool’s errand. Many victims of heart disease do not have high cholesterol, and many people with high cholesterol never develop heart disease.
The best form of heart disease prevention begins with changing your lifestyle and improving your metabolic health. Eat real foods: things that grow in the ground or which eat what grows in the ground. Avoid foods made in a factory – yes, even that box of cereal promising you that it’s “heart healthy” (it isn’t). This simple decision can help reduce inflammation in your body, which can help you feel more satisfied and not always hungry. If you’re overweight, you may find that your body naturally starts to shed pounds.
Exercise is also essential. Anything is better than nothing, so don’t obsess too much about the type or amount of exercise. Just move regularly and have fun doing it.
If you still want my recommendation, I’m a fan of HIIT-style workouts and strength training. Just a half-hour per day of moderate exercise can work wonders on your heart health.
2. What are the symptoms of heart disease?
Your cardiologist should be able to answer this thoroughly. If their only answer is “high cholesterol,” it’s time to find a new doctor.
There are multiple types of heart disease, and symptoms can vary widely. Unlike something like the flu, which has very obvious symptoms, it’s often easy to overlook symptoms of heart disease because they can be mild or dismissed as something else.
A few of these include:
- Swollen ankles and feet
- Shortness of breath
- Fainting
- Fatigue
- Irregular heartbeat
- Chest Pain
- Dizziness
If you notice any of these symptoms, particularly on a recurring basis, it’s worth visiting your cardiologist for a check-up.
Sometimes there may not be any symptoms at all, which is why taking steps to reduce the risks in the first place is so important.
3. Are there tests to check my heart health?
There are a couple of ways you could approach this. One option is to undergo the tests that diagnose heart disease, which can range from scans to blood tests that can show if you’ve previously had a heart attack.
This may not be necessary if you just want to see your current health levels. In this case, I recommend getting a blood panel to check your:
- Fasting glucose level
- Triglyceride:HDL cholesterol ratio
- Insulin level
You can also observe additional markers from your blood test, including C-reactive protein (CRP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Both of these indicate stress on the heart, and may prompt you to look a little closer at your numbers.
Improving heart health can be simple
Lifestyle is the single most powerful way to increase your heart health. Of the top 10 causes of death in America, more than half are from metabolic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. It stands to reason that making lifestyle changes to enhance your metabolic health is the best thing you can do for long-term results.
How can you do this?
First, you should start with a baseline assessment to find out how metabolically healthy you currently are. Don’t assume that just because you’re slim you’re metabolically healthy.
Now with your baseline assessment completed, your steps to becoming healthier are:
- Eat an appropriate diet. I always champion whole, real foods.
- Exercise regularly. Even 30 minutes a day can make an enormous impact on your health.
- Don’t smoke, and drink alcohol in moderation. Remember: alcohol is not a harmless substance.
It can take up to a decade for poor metabolic health to show itself through disease. This means it’s essential to take steps while you feel healthy – don’t wait for illnesses to appear!
The good news is that once you do start making changes, your health markers can improve quickly. My patients often see improvements in as little as one month, and significant changes by their 90-day follow-up.
If you don’t yet know your metabolic health markers, take my free quiz to find out. Then, you can start to take appropriate action for increasing your heart health with lifestyle changes.