Healthy Heart

Keeping your heart healthy is one of the most important ways to stay fit and protect yourself from illness.  Having a healthy heart helps you feel fitter and healthier right now.  Also, heart disease is the biggest reason that we get sick in older age.  You can keep your heart healthy and prevent heart disease (and strokes and high blood pressure) by eating healthily, getting enough exercise and not smoking.

Heart Disease

Heart disease is caused by atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) which blocks up the blood supply to the heart muscle, causing it to become weak or damaged (this damage can cause a heart attack). Atherosclerosis happens when high fat and cholesterol levels in the blood cause a build up of fat and cholesterol in the wall of the artery.  It doesn’t just happen in the heart, but also in the brain and all other organs. Blockages of arteries in the brain cause brain-damage called a “stroke”.  Atherosclerosis starts in childhood and can be prevented by eating healthily, keeping fit and not smoking. So keeping your heart healthy now can keep you healthy for life!

High Blood Pressure

Blood pressure is the force that drives the blood around the body.  Keeping your blood pressure at a healthy level is an important part of keeping yourself healthy and preventing illness.  Blood pressure which is too high (called hypertension) causes heart disease and atherosclerosis. High blood pressure in young people is caused by being overweight, eating too much salt, smoking, too much stress and by kidney infections.

Avoiding It

You can avoid high blood pressure by eating healthily, avoiding becoming overweight and not having too much salt in your diet.  It’s fine for your parents to put a little salt in their cooking but don’t add more on the table, and avoid very fatty and salty foods like chips and crisps. Giving up smoking may also help.  Having your blood pressure checked every couple of years is the best way to prevent problems with hypertension.

Overweight

Being overweight as a young person is very strongly linked to heart problems RIGHT NOW as well as to heart disease and diabetes as an adult.  It’s not  all in the future.  Being overweight makes you more likely to get diabetes and high blood pressure as a young person.  Keeping yourself a healthy weight is one of the most important ways of keeping yourself safe from illness. 

Smoking

Smoking is like pushing the accelerator on heart disease.  Smoking increases hardening of the arteries, and makes you more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke.  Not smoking is one of the most important ways of keeping your heart healthy, now and in the future.

Staying Healthy

Keep your heart healthy by eating healthily, getting enough exercise and not smoking.

Eating Well

Eating healthily is the most important way to keep your heart healthy.  Here are some tips:

1.          Eat a healthy balance of carbohydrates, protein and a small amount of fat.

2.          Try to avoid animal fats (from red meat, butter and cheese) as they are the most dangerous for your heart (they cause Atherosclerosis).  Vegetable fats (called polyunsaturated fats) like those in margarine, are better for you.

3.          Eat fish at least once a week.  Fish oils are good for your heart and reduce heart disease.

4.          Avoid too much salt.  Don’t add salt to your foods as salt raises your blood pressure.

5.          Eat lots of fruit and green vegetables as they are full of vitamins and chemicals called antioxidants that help protect your heart and blood vessels against atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)

Exercise

Every bit of exercise or physical activity you do helps keep your heart healthy.  Playing sport helps, but walking, riding your bicycle and being outside are just as important.  A little physical activity every day helps keep your heart fit and healthy.