Adopting healthy lifestyle habits can be your best defense against heart disease and may help prevent heart attack and stroke. Here are some of the best things you can do for a healthier heart.

1. Manage your blood pressure. High blood pressure causes constant strain on the heart. If your blood pressure is consistently higher than 130/80, talk to your doctor about the steps you can take to lower your numbers.
2. Control your cholesterol. A healthy diet and exercise can help control cholesterol levels. One way to help keep cholesterol in check is to reduce the amount of fried and processed foods you eat and replace them with more plant-based foods, whole grains and foods low in saturated fat.
3. Lose weight. Even a 10% drop in your weight can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of diabetes.
4. Exercise. Ideally, you should exercise for at least 30 minutes, 5 times a week. But if you are strapped for time, even moving more in 10-minute intervals can help. Every bit counts so take the stairs between floors, dance while you’re cooking or take a brisk walk after dinner.
5. Stop smoking. Smoking is one of the worst things you can do to your heart. Just one cigarette a day increases your chance of developing heart disease, as well as other chronic conditions.
6. Calm down. Stress isn’t healthy. If you’re stressed out, chances are that your heart is, too. In addition to the negative health effects of stress on your body, high levels of stress tend to promote unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, drinking alcohol and overeating.

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