MAKE A PLAN AND MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS
February is American Heart Health Month. This is a gentle reminder each year to pay attention to your cardiovascular health and review progress you have made on your health journey over the last 12 months.
HOW YOU CAN STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART
Improving your overall health and lifestyle will also have a positive effect on your heart. Here are some steps you can take:
- Move! Raising your heart rate through exercise 30 minutes or more a day for at least five days a week. This can be anything from a brisk walk, to a workout routine, playing sports, a class, and more. Do what you enjoy and you are more likely to stick with this routine. Here are some tips to help you maintain an active lifestyle.
- Quit smoking. We all know that smoking isn’t good for our bodies. Smoking is linked to heart disease so work on cutting out this habit. If you are struggling with eliminating smoking, talk to your doctor about options that you might consider.
- Strive for a healthy weight. If you are overweight, work on a plan to lose weight. Discuss with your doctor your ideal weight and work to stay within this healthy range.
- Eat healthy. Be sure to include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Monitor your fat intake and strive to make those fats healthy fats.
- Don’t overeat. Eating slowly allows your body to give you signals when you are full. Strive to eat planned meals rather than snacking throughout the day which can result in eating more than you intend.
- Reduce your stress. Stress can raise your blood pressure. Too much stress is bad for your heart.
MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS
Healthstar Premier Medical has a special tool to help you measure results and you work to improve your health. Our Body Composition Scan measures your bone density, fat tissue and lean muscle. This is a much better measure of your success rather than just a number on a scale. Improving these metrics will have a positive impact on your heart health.
We recommend you start with a baseline scan. This will show your starting point. All of our scans are elective procedures and take 30-45 minutes which includes the scan itself and the discussion with one of our doctors to review your results.
After you have worked for 3-6 months to improve your health, then you can schedule a second scan. This one will show how you have converted fat into muscle. Seeing your hard work paying off will give you motivation to continue on your health journey.
We love seeing our patients work to improve their health and support them each step of the way. Our team at Healthstar Physicians Premier Medical is here for your family and loves to help you establish healthy habits. We’re Newport’s compassionate and experienced healthcare provider. We’re accepting new patients, and we accept most forms of health insurance. Contact us to find out more.
