1 in 4 deaths in the United States is related to heart disease. That’s not hyperbole. 630,000 deaths per year are caused by heart disease. In this edition of Ask A Dieititan, we’ll show you how to be heart healthy.

Heart Diesease Hits Home

Heart disease is a scary thing, and once you have it you are stuck with it. It cannot be cured or treated with medication or surgery. It can be abated, but the damage is done and the artieries cannot be replaced.

Symptoms

While looking up symptoms online may lead to unnecessary stress, it is important to know what to look for when talking to your doctor at your routine physical. Symptoms can include chest pain or tightness, shortness of breath, pain in your jaw, neck or throat. Here is a full list from the Mayo Clinic.

Your best cure is prevention.

An Ounce Of Prevention = A Pound Of Cure

Prevention is the only way to stave off heart disease and strokes. Eating healthier at any age is a good place to start, as well as light exercise. We have plenty of tips to help you along in our articles on nutrition for men and women. Start there.

Start small. Literally.

Portion control is a big part of beginning a nutritional and heart healthy lifestyle. That’s how you should think about it. Not a diet, not a competition, but a lifestyle. And take baby steps. Don’t dive feet first. That can set you up for failure and not staying on the path to eating healthy. In the beginning you won’t be modifying your diet very much, just how much you’re eating. Instead of eating the whole burger, cut it in half and save it. Save some fries too. Good news, you’ve got lunch for work too!

heart healthy walk

Walk It Out

When’s the last time you went for a walk? Just a quick one around the block or down to the end of your street? You don’t have to start running to be healthy. This is about baby steps, not running a marathon. Walking does great things for your body. Get with some friends. Walk a bit, have a conversation. Walking with friends helps you both physically and psychologically.

We hope this is the first step to keeping yourself heart healthy. If you have a question you’d like one of our registered dietitians to answer, send an email to ask@taher.com.