5 Powerful Ways Seniors Can Quickly Improve Heart Health

Did you know that every 33 seconds, someone in the U.S. dies from heart disease? This equates to roughly one in every five deaths.

These statistics from the Centers for Disease Control are disturbing. Add to that the fact that your risk for heart disease can increase dramatically as you age, and you can understand why it’s vital for seniors to do all they can to improve their heart health.

As your community medical center, we’re here to help you overcome or prevent heart disease by providing useful health tips.

Conway Medical Centers’ Chest Pain Center Accreditation

At Conway Medical Center, we believe it’s vital to provide resources and treatment for those who are facing heart disease. We also know it’s crucial to do all you can to prevent and manage cardiac diseases.  That’s why we combine the latest in evidence-based medicine with our longstanding commitment to compassionate, high-quality care.

This is reflected in our recognition by the American College of Cardiology. We received accolades for our expertise and commitment to treating patients with chest pain. We have a Chest Pain Center Accreditation with Primary PCI. Our fellowship-trained cardiologists are ready to help you.

If you are experiencing chest pains or other symptoms of a heart attack or a heart-related problem, call 9-1-1.

How to Improve Heart Health: 5 Powerful Ways

1. Heart-Healthy Activities for Seniors

We know you’ve heard it over and over again—but there’s a reason. Exercise remains one of the best ways to maintain a healthy heart and to improve your heart health.

Before you begin a routine, check with your doctor to ensure it is appropriate and safe for you.

We want you to realize that exercise doesn’t necessarily mean running a marathon or even running around your neighborhood. There are useful exercises for those in their 60s, 70s, and 80s that can go a long way toward helping you.

The most effective routines involve both activity and stretching.

These exercises include:

• Moderate aerobic exercise. This may include:
  • Brisk walking
  • Cycling
  • Dance
  • Zumba
  • Water aerobics–often these pools are warmed, and the water allows you to exercise your joints without risking a fall
• Resistance training exercises. These not only increase their core muscle strength, but they also improve balance. This means those who participate are less likely to fall.
  • Push ups
  • Squats
  • Arm reaches
  • Lifts

Yoga can also be a very effective exercise if you are careful to adjust it to what you feel comfortable with. Again, your doctor is the best and most reliable source of information to help you with an exercise plan.

2. Stop Smoking

If you’ve never smoked a day in your life—or if you’ve quit—then good for you! You’ve taken a huge step toward helping your heart and your lungs.

If you’re still struggling to quit, don’t worry. There are lots of resources available to help you, including useful apps and support groups. We also offer a class to help you gain freedom from smoking.

3. Maintain a Healthy Weight

We’ll be honest: Most diets don’t work. The reason? Often, they concentrate on the latest “fad” or whatever is popular at the time.

The best way to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight is to have a solid nutritional plan in place.

At Conway Medical Center, we have a comprehensive outpatient nutrition services program to help those who not only want to lose weight, but who also want to live a healthier life.

We’re happy to help you by providing the tools and support you need from our registered dietitians. Want to get started? Just speak with your primary care provider and ask for a referral to our program. Your primary care doctor can fax his or her physician’s order to 843-234-5016.

4. Know (and Monitor) Your Numbers

Do you know what your cholesterol is? How about your blood pressure?

These are two of the factors that can greatly influence heart health. To ensure your cholesterol and blood pressure are at healthy levels, you should schedule regular appointments with your doctor, who will provide healthy ways to lower them if they are too high. This may include a combination of diet, exercise and medication.

What Vitamins Are Good for Heart Health?

The answer to this may surprise you.

According to a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins, clinical trials involving thousands of subjects found that there was no evidence of any benefits. During these trials, some subjects were given vitamins/supplements and others were given a placebo.

The trials showed that most supplements were unnecessary. Even worse, some doctors believe that certain supplements may do more harm than good.

However, there may be one exception, which leads us to our fifth way of improving heart health:

5. Eat Foods Rich in Omega-3 or Take Fish Oil Capsules

These are full of the “good” type of fatty acid that helps the heart. While many people can get enough in two servings of fatty fish a week, for those who don’t, Omega-3 tablets can help.

Examples of fatty fish include:

• Atlantic mackerel
• Sardines
• Salmon
• Herring
• Trout
• Cod
• Canned light tuna (in water)

It’s important to try to avoid fish that have high levels of mercury, such as swordfish. Check with your doctor for more information.

How to Check Heart Health

First, the best way to check your heart health is to have regular appointments with your primary care physician or cardiologist. Communication and compassionate care are at the heart of who we are. We’ll help you address any health issues before they develop into something more serious.

Second, know and understand your risk of developing heart disease.

Heart disease does not always come with symptoms, and in certain cases, women have different heart attack symptoms from men. Because there may not be any symptoms before a heart attack, it helps to be proactive by evaluating your risk for heart disease.

What Are the Risk Factors for Heart Disease?

The risk factors for developing heart disease include:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• High cholesterol
• A family history of heart disease
• Smoking
• Being overweight or obese
• Leading a sedentary lifestyle
• Not eating a healthy diet

Your risk of heart disease also increases as you age.

Conway Medical Center Offers the Best Cardiac Care in the Myrtle Beach and Horry County Region

Our experienced, board-certified cardiologists have worked closely with national experts at Duke Health to implement the latest evidence-based guidelines in heart care.  From our state-of-the-art technology to the expertise of our cardiologists, see why Conway Medical Center remains one of the leaders in health care.

Next, we’ll take a closer look at one of the main risk factors for heart disease. Keeping your blood pressure at healthy levels is crucial, as we’ll explore more below.

5 Simple Tips on How to Lower Blood Pressure

Is it true that you can always lower your blood pressure by diet and exercise alone?

What about natural remedies? Do they really work?

What should my blood pressure be to stay healthy?

If you have high blood pressure, the task of lowering your numbers may seem overwhelming. Questions like these are probably racing through your mind. In addition, scanning websites often leads to information overload, and some sources are more reliable than others.

Therefore, we’ve provided safe, simple tips on how to lower blood pressure. By following these guidelines and meeting with your primary care doctor regularly, you can make great strides toward better health.

How to Lower Blood Pressure: 5 Simple Tips

1. Adjust Your Diet

Often, simply changing a few elements of your diet can go a long way toward getting your blood pressure numbers down. Aim for a menu full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products.

It’s also important to limit your salt intake. There are several great alternatives to salt you can use so you won’t have to sacrifice flavor. For example, you may try herbs or citrus fruits. Even a squeeze of lime can make a big difference.

Just be sure to ask your doctor about the right salt substitute for you.

2. Begin (or Continue) An Exercise Routine

Even moderate physical activity can make a difference in your blood pressure.

We suggest 30 minutes of moderate-level physical activity on most days. Whether you just take a brisk walk along your favorite trail or bike around your neighborhood, little changes can make a big difference.

Not sure where to get started? Talk to us! Your primary care doctor will be happy to provide guidance and direction.

3. Lose Weight if You Are Overweight or Obese

You can discover if you are overweight or obese by utilizing a body mass index (BMI) calculator. The BMI calculator utilizes measurements of both your weight and your height to determine your ideal BMI.

If you need to lose weight, a combination of diet and exercise is the solution for many. However, for others, repeated attempts to lose weight may not be successful. 

If you have tried diet and exercise, and you are 100 pounds or more above your ideal body weight, you may qualify for weight loss (bariatric) surgery. 

Other qualifications include a BMI of 40 or more. However, if you have a serious health condition such as diabetes, you may qualify for weight loss surgery with a BMI of 35.

If you qualify, and you’re considering bariatric surgery, read this first. 

4. Limit Your Alcohol Intake

Did you realize that if you drink too much, you can raise your blood pressure by several points? If you are taking blood pressure medicine, you should limit how much alcohol you consume because alcohol limits the effectiveness of the medication.

5. Talk to Your Doctor About Medication

Sometimes, lifestyle changes aren’t enough in themselves to lower blood pressure, and that’s when it’s appropriate to try medication. By working closely with your primary care doctor, we can determine which one is most effective for you.

However, it’s crucial to have an up-to-date list of all the medicines you’re currently taking, including any herbal supplements. Sometimes, herbal remedies or even over-the-counter medications can interact with certain prescription medicines.

What Is Considered High Blood Pressure?

Of course, you can’t discover how to lower your blood pressure if you don’t know you have it. For this reason, some refer to the disease as “the silent killer.” We also believe this is another reason to have regular physicals, so we can determine your blood pressure. At this appointment, we’ll also evaluate your cholesterol and blood sugar.

If you have a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher, then you have high blood pressure. (You may hear your blood pressure readings referred to as one number over another—in this case—“140 over 90.”)

Blood pressure between 120/80 and 139/89 is prehypertension. While this isn’t high blood pressure, it’s an indicator that you’re likely to develop it if you don’t take positive steps for your health.

How to Lower Blood Pressure: What You Can Control and What You Can’t

While we’ve outlined some great steps you can take, there are some factors of high blood pressure you can’t resolve. You are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure if:

• You’re older than 55 for men, or 65 for women
• You have a family history of heart disease or early heart disease.

Instead of dwelling on what you can’t control, we suggest concentrating on the things you can, such as losing weight, getting enough exercise and meeting regularly with your primary care doctor.

Conway Medical Center Can Help You Lower Your Blood Pressure

Whether you have a family history of high blood pressure or you’re just trying to live a healthier life, Conway Medical Center has you covered. Our extensive team of experienced specialists is ready to help you lower your blood pressure, which can dramatically reduce your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

If you don’t have a primary care physician who can help you, we have doctors on staff ready to assist and become partners in your care. Just schedule an appointment at one of our convenient locations.