How To Protect Your Heart as You Grow Older

As you cross into your 50s and beyond, it becomes more important to take care of your body’s engine. Like the rest of your body, your heart gradually loses its ability to operate at the peak performance levels you enjoyed earlier in life.

Among the potential age-related changes, according to the National Institute on Aging:

• Your heart won’t be able to beat as fast when you are stressed or exerting yourself physically.
• You may experience an occasional abnormality in your heartbeat (skipping a beat or beating too fast). These may not be harmful but should be examined by your doctor.
• The chambers of your heart can become enlarged, with the muscle walls becoming thicker. This can decrease the efficiency of your heart, increasing your risk for stroke.
• The valves controlling blood flow in your heart can stiffen, decreasing the efficiency of blood circulation, causing fluid to build up in your lungs or lower extremities.

With these changes – and a variety of lifestyle factors – your risk for heart disease increases as you get older. Regardless of your age, you should pay attention to this critical organ. But when you reach 50, it’s a good time to take stock of your heart health.

Heart Health Checkup

To best protect yourself, you should be seeing your primary care doctor at least once a year. This will be a good opportunity to establish a baseline for several important risk factors that need to be monitored. This is particularly important if you have a family history of heart disease. Among the risk factors:

Cholesterol: Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that can build up on the walls of your arteries if you eat more than your body can use. If those arteries become too narrow, it reduces the flow of blood and nutrients to your heart and other areas of your body. There are two main types of cholesterol, often referred to as good cholesterol (HDL) or bad cholesterol (LDL). The only way to know if you have high cholesterol is through blood tests.

Blood sugar: When too much sugar builds up in your blood, it can lead to diabetes, a significant threat to your heart and other systems. Blood tests are needed to measure blood sugar levels.

Blood pressure: One of the most significant threats to your heart is high blood pressure – when the blood is being forced through your arteries with more pressure than your body was designed to handle. You can test your blood pressure at home (with a wrist or arm cuff) or at many local pharmacies. Your doctor can help you understand what the numbers mean.

Weight: When you are overweight, it increases your risk for heart disease and other health problems. Your doctor can help you understand the relationship and develop a plan to lose pounds.

Common Heart Problems

Heart disease is a catch-all term for a group of conditions that can affect your heart and blood vessels. There are many forms of heart disease, with some conditions more serious than others. But they are often life-threatening.

The most common of these conditions is coronary artery disease. This is caused by the buildup of cholesterol and other substances on the walls of your arteries. It decreases blood flow and makes you more vulnerable to heart attack and stroke.

This disease can go undiagnosed until you experience a medical emergency. That’s why it’s important to have regular health checkups to keep an eye on heart risk factors.

Other types of heart disease can be caused by diseased muscle, damaged heart valves and irregular heartbeats.

Strategies for Reducing Risk

The best starting point for a healthier heart is getting your key numbers – blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar – regularly checked. From there, you need to follow your doctor’s guidance to keep those numbers under control. Among the most effective strategies:

Watch your diet: Start by cutting out fast food and processed foods packed with sugar, salt and fat. There are several popular heart-healthy diets to choose from. Among them is the Mediterranean diet, which focuses on plant-based foods and healthy fats. This includes vegetables, fruits, lean meat and fish, whole grains, olive oil and low-fat or dairy-free food.

Exercise: Get your body moving at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Walking is perhaps the easiest, and cheapest, form or exercise you can do. Exercise with a friend or find an activity you enjoy so that you aren’t looking for excuses to avoid it.

Reduce stress: Stress can impact your body in a number of ways. It also prompts people to turn to alcohol, drugs, smoking and bad eating habits as coping mechanisms. Adequate rest, meditation, yoga, exercise and spending time with friends can help.

Stop smoking: Many people who suffer heart attacks are smokers. This is one of those risk factors for which there’s no medicine that helps. So ultimately this is a decision that you must make to improve your health.