Cardiologist gives tips to keep your heart healthy – 06/13/2023 – Balance

At 66, Hugh Calkins, professor of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University (USA), knows that a healthy lifestyle is important for heart health.

Here are six things he does to keep his in shape.

Physical exercise

Regular exercise strengthens the heart muscle, which helps the heart pump blood to the lungs and the rest of the body.

Calkins swims for 45 minutes five days a week and uses the elliptical for 30 minutes three times a week. He also takes his dog for a 3 km walk daily. Adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise and two days of muscle-strengthening activity every week.

To sleep

Calkins guarantees at least 7 hours of sleep every night. Insufficient sleep is linked to high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

‘No’ to cigarettes, ‘sometimes’ to alcohol and ‘yes’ to caffeine

Smoking is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease. Alcohol is not good for the heart, so he limits his intake to 1 to 3 drinks a week. Some people think that caffeine is bad for the heart, but no scientific studies have proven this.

Blood pressure

Check your blood pressure once a month. If it starts to get above normal levels, he says, it could be a sign to make some lifestyle changes. People usually don’t need to monitor their blood pressure this way, but it can help them predict potential heart problems.

power application

Calorie counting isn’t helpful or even recommended for everyone, he says. But Calkins likes to monitor what and how much he’s eating to make sure he’s eating a balanced diet.

He avoids consuming more than 2,000 calories a day to avoid weight gain, which can increase the risk of heart problems.

Medicines

There are some heart conditions that you cannot control with lifestyle changes alone. This includes high cholesterol. To lower his cholesterol, Calkins takes statins. He encourages others to consult their doctors about medications that are right for them.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves