In 2022, around 700,000 people died in the United States due to heart disease. It was the leading cause of death that year. It is such a major cause of death that around $1 billion is spent daily to treat heart disease. A disease that, according to the Journal of American Medical Association, is about 80% preventable.
Preventable means that something can be done for it. If I told you that diet and exercise are two things that can have a major impact on heart disease, I doubt that you would be surprised. I am guessing that most people know this. If that is the case, then why is it still the number one cause of death?
Unfortunately, much like smoking, many people know that their lifestyle is negatively impacting their health, but think nothing major will happen to them… or some people brush it off, saying, “well, you are going to die from something.”
After working with thousands of patients, I think that for many people, until they have a big enough reason to change, they will not do the necessary things to stay healthy.
Why
There are many reasons why someone will finally make that change.
Unfortunately, for many, the reason is a major medical event that forces them to make the change. Do not wait until then, especially with heart health, because that ‘major medial event’ could be a heart attack.
To make the change, you must find your why! Maybe it is for your kids, or maybe you don’t want someone else walking your daughter down the aisle on her wedding, or maybe you want to see your grandkids grow up, or you just want to live a long and prosperous life. For me, it has become about having great stewardship over what God has given me.
No matter your reason, you need to have a big enough “why” to overcome all the things that pull you away from doing the right things.
What
To know how to take care of your heart, it is important to look at all the things the heart does for us.
Our heart is a pump that circulates our blood, which contains oxygen and vital nutrients that our body needs. The heart is made up of cardiac muscle. It is more than a pump though. It is also the seat of certain emotions. Therefore, emotions and spiritual practices are also something we need to consider when pursuing good heart health.
How
Like any muscle, the best way to strengthen a muscle is to stress it. Make the muscle work and it will get stronger. Many of us have heard the term “doing cardio.” Cardio is any exercise that increases the heart rate. I will not get into all the different types of cardio or the different zones of heart training, but I will give some examples of cardio exercises:
- Walking
- Running
- Skiing
- Biking
- Sports such as pickleball
- Dancing
These are just a few examples of cardio. I will also have people ask me if weightlifting is considered cardio. The answer depends. If you have ever done a leg day that included some heavy squats, you know that it is very much a cardio workout as well as a strength workout. If you are just doing some arm curls and taking 2-3 minutes between sets, it may have some cardio benefit, but it is most likely minimal.
When people ask me what I think is the best exercise for cardio, I would say the exercise that everyone can do, that causes very little stress on your joints and can be done anywhere! Walking. This is especially true if you add hills, as it increases heart demand. Just watch the documentary “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.”
It is Like Smoking a Pack of Cigarettes
People underestimate how much stress impacts your heart. Recent studies revealed that chronic stress creates the same risk factors as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
If you are stressed and do not think it is impacting you negatively, you are wrong! You must address your stress. Many things can be done to do so. Reducing your stress, using tools such as prayer, gratitude, meditating on God’s word, seeking counseling, and taking a Sabbath day weekly are all things that can be done to help you with your stress.
We live in a world filled with stressful things. You will never completely eliminate stress, but you can minimize your stressors and help yourself learn to handle the stress you do have better.
My Heart is Black
Recently, I heard a person describing their life that they had green eyes of envy, a yellow belly of fear, and a black heart of anger.
Certain emotions can impact our heart negatively. These emotions can be tied to spiritual reasons. Anger and bitterness will impact your heart negatively. Loneliness and relationships that have ended can also cause heart problems. You may have even heard of someone who has hardened their heart which is caused by turning away from God. All of these emotions could have a spiritual reason.
To solve a spiritual problem, you must address it with a spiritual solution. The spiritual solution is to first see your need for a saviour, that you need to know that you have been forgiven of your sins, and that having that forgiveness allows you to forgive and heal. That healing and forgiveness can allow you to seek His wisdom and heal your heart of anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, loneliness, and a broken heart.
Whole Heart
As you can see there are many things that we need to do to have a healthy heart. We need to address the physical, emotional, and spiritual. When we take this approach, it is not a guarantee that you will not have heart issues, but you will improve your odds!
