National Heart Month: Keeping You Away from Heart Disease
February is National Heart month across the United States. It’s no surprise that this month, we want to focus on having a healthy heart. According to the CDC, approximately 659,000 people in the United States die from heart disease each year, which equals to 1 in every 4 deaths. We want our San Antonio community to live a long and prosperous life, and you can do this by taking care of your heart. By living a healthy lifestyle, and scheduling your yearly wellness exams, you can help keep your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels normal and lower your risk for heart disease and heart attacks.
Stress Management
Stress is linked to heart disease in more ways than one. Normal stress can raise your blood pressure, while extreme stress can trigger a heart attack. You may also find yourself overeating, overdrinking, and heavily smoking to cope, all of which can put additional stress on your heart. Instead, we recommend finding alternatives for managing your stress. Find things such as:
❤️ Exercise
❤️ Listening to music
❤️ Meditation
These all are healthy ways to cope with stress and have a healthy heart. During your wellness exam, ask your HealthTexas doctor for tips on managing stress.
Control Your Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease. It’s important to have your blood pressure checked regularly. This means at least once a year for most adults, and more often if you have high blood pressure. You can take steps to help control your blood pressure by taking your HealthTexas doctor’s advice. If you don’t have a HealthTexas doctor yet, you can find a
HealthTexas doctor near you!
Get Enough Sleep
A good night’s sleep makes a happy heart. Not enough sleep raises your risk of high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. In turn, those three things can raise your risk for heart disease. Most adults need between seven to nine hours of sleep per night, but make sure those are good hours of sleep. If you’re having night terrors or sleep apnea that’s causing issues throughout the night, you may want to make an appointment with a HealthTexas doctor. The doctor will exam you and give you the best advice.
Consult With Your Doctor
Talk with your healthcare team to discuss and come up with a plan to prevent or treat the medical conditions that lead to heart disease. Discuss your treatment plan regularly, and bring a list of questions to your appointments. Ask your HealthTexas doctor about how heart disease and mental health disorders are related.
If you are looking for a primary care doctor to treat you through all your stages of life, HealthTexas is ready to assist, with 17 locations throughout San Antonio and surrounding areas (Boerne, New Braunfels, and Helotes). All of our physicians are experienced and skilled when it comes to managing and enhancing the quality of life of our heart disease patients. Personalized care, instruction, and direction are the core of meeting the needs and enhancing the lives of each patient.
Click the button below and let’s get you started towards a healthy heart!