Keep Your Heart Healthy this Valentine's Day: Tips from a PT

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we wanted to bring some attention to heart health.

Your heart is an AMAZING organ that beats to keep you alive. Did you know your heart beats over 100,000 times per day, pumping out about 1.5 gallons of blood every minute over the course of 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body??

Your heart is hard at work all day long. Here are some of the best ways to keep your heart healthy:

 Check these numbers regularly:

• Blood pressure: normal blood pressure (BP) is 120/80 or below. The top number is your systolic BP which measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The second number, called diastolic blood pressure, measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats. Elevated blood pressure will force your heart to work harder to pump blood through your body. While high blood pressure is usually more concerning, we can’t forget about low blood pressure. Low blood pressure is considered below 90/60. People who experience low blood pressure often do not feel well and complain of low energy. Hang tight for a future blog about potential causes and fixes for low blood pressure. 
• C-reactive protein (CRP): measures widespread (systemic) inflammation. Causes of inflammation include: overconsumption of processed foods and sugar, toxins, poor sleep, lack of exercise, smoking and stress. CRP levels can be tested through a simple blood test. Unless you are concerned about something specific going on, annual blood testing at your physical or as recommended by your MD should be sufficient to keep an eye on CRP levels.  

 Fuel your heart with healthy fats: Healthy fats include cold pressed oils, grass fed meat, grass fed butter (or ghee for my dairy free friends!), wild caught fish and raw nuts and seeds which provide us with essential fatty acids. They are called essential because our bodies do not produce them and we must consume them in order to obtain their important nutrients.

• Contrary to popular belief, fatty acids are the predominant and preferred energy source for the heart. 
• Fatty acids make up our cell walls and arteries. The integrity of our cell walls determine what gets in and out of each cell, like a gatekeeper. Healthy cell walls = healthy cells!
• Recent studies show the consumption of full fat dairy products, unprocessed meat, eggs and dark chocolate do not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, while trans fats (and refined sugars) found in foods like white bread, cookies and hydrogenated oils do increase cholesterol levels.

Mineral balance:

• Magnesium, calcium and sodium are essential for a healthy heart!
• Calcium triggers muscles to contract while magnesium helps balance the calcium and other minerals that control your heartbeat. 
• Old studies show a high salt diet is bad for your body. It can be, since water follows salt, so it will cause cells to swell. On the other hand, with too little salt the opposite happens and cells can shrink. There is good evidence from the Journal of American Medicine that supports daily excretion (relates to the amount of salt consumed) of 2g of salt will decrease risk of serious events. Further, alt excretion between 2 - 4.5-5g further decreases this risk. Once consumption of salt is over 7g, risk begins to increase dramatically. If you want to hear more about this topic, Dr. Andrew Huberman has a great podcast on this topic. Click here to listen! Disclaimer: do not alter your salt intake based on this blog or without knowing your blood pressure and consulting with your MD first!!

Proper Hydration:

• Proper hydration maintains the correct viscosity of your blood and lymphatic fluid. Dehydration will cause the vascular system to close some vessels, causing other areas to work harder and compensate, resulting in high blood pressure.
• Adding electrolytes to your water such as sodium and a squeeze of lemon, or using electrolyte supplementation like LMNT (it includes sodium, potassium and magnesium) will help your body to absorb water and maintain ideal hydration levels.

Cardiovascular activity benefits: 

• Decreased blood pressure, improved cholesterol and improved insulin resistance
• Strengthening for your heart muscle and lungs
• Improved mood
• Pain control: maintaining a steady state heart rate of 70-80% of age predicted max while running produces dopamine and endorphins, and has shown similar pain relief effects to morphine. Aerobic exercise at just 50% of your VO2 max or a heart rate above 120 bpm stimulates your brain to begin producing these “happy” chemicals.
• Choose a cardiovascular activity that you enjoy! Whether you prefer to use a cardio machine, running outside, or HIIT style workouts, you can’t go wrong. All of them will provide you with heart healthy benefits.

Stay tuned for more heart healthy tips this month.

Thanks for reading!

In good health,

Dr. Eliza Cohen, PT, DPT, CPT, NTP 

Conquer Movement - Wilmington, NC