Why aorta work out more

Pay attention to your heart and start living a healthier lifestyle

February is known for Valentine’s Day but it is also National Heart Month.

The British Heart Foundation is asking everybody to pay attention to their hearts and start living healthier lifestyles and one local fitness expert has a great idea to combine the two big events.

Coronary heart disease is the UK’s single biggest killer causing around 82,000 deaths a year and around one in five men and one in eight women die from the disease.

Doing their bit for both causes this month local health and fitness expert Karen Austin is calling on couples in Rochdale to focus on their health and work together to help prevent them being affected by heart disease.

“I know a lot of guys who get a lot of exercise on Valentine’s Day by running around at the last minute trying to get a gift for their partners but if they were to do that every day it would really improve the health of their heart”, adds Karen.

“When couples work together they can achieve more having a strong support for each other can help you quit smoking, work out together and change eating habits.”

To help prevent heart disease Karen has come up with five tips to change your lifestyle and take better care of your heart.

• A 2013 study showed the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by 30% and prevents weight gain which puts pressure on your heart, the diet also helps to prevent further worsening of existing heart disease and it’s never too late to start eating healthily.
• Too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease. Check the salt content of any pre-packaged food you buy.
• There are lots of hidden saturated fats, sugars and salts in processed food, fast food, and ready meals. I would strongly advise people to check the content of the ingredients of any food they buy and start cooking from scratch together.
• Smokers are twice as likely as non-smokers to have heart disease with all the health issues it causes it is the most important thing you can do for your heart.
• The heart is the most important muscle and just a small amount of intense exercise will keep it functioning properly. Workouts as little as ten minutes a day can make a huge difference.”