

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. Last medically reviewed on November 5, 2021 There are many benefits to stopping smoking, including lowering your chances of developing: Eating well, exercising, and regulating your levels with medication can help. Keep blood sugars within recommended ranges. Adults with diabetes have a higher risk of heart disease. Maintaining a moderate weight can help with anything from your cholesterol counts to your blood pressure levels. Having overweight or obesity can increase your chances of developing heart disease. Keeping yours in check means eating well, exercising, and taking medications if you need them. High blood pressure often has no symptoms. You can even look for foods with the American Heart Association’s check mark of approval. Eat a diet with lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.Get tested and start medication, if necessary. Sometimes, though, high cholesterol is genetic. Limiting your intake of saturated fats is another lifestyle measure you can take. Keep your LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol counts low.Vigorous exercise should feel very challenging, and you’ll only be able to get a few words out at a time between breaths. Moderate exercise should feel somewhat difficult, but you should still be able to carry on a conversation. Exercise that’s moderate intensity for you may be vigorous for someone else. If you’d rather go hard, you can get the same heart-healthy benefits with 75 minutes of vigorous activity. Exercise moderately for at least 2.5 hours each week.There may be concerns about quality, mislabeling, or contamination. When choosing herbal approaches, research your source of hawthorn, as herbs are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hawthorn is not recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding and should not be given to children. Hawthorn may interact with heart medications, so talk with your doctor before taking hawthorn extract. However, the National Institutes of Health reports that there is conflicting evidence on hawthorn’s effect, and it may increase the progression of heart disease. The study found that those who used hawthorn berry extract on its own had reduced heart palpitations compared with the participants who did not receive hawthorn at all. One would receive hawthorn extract as an add-on therapy, one group would use only hawthorn extract, and the last group would receive therapy without hawthorn. Hawthorn berry extract may also be able to help reduce heart palpitations.Īn older two-year-long cohort study separated 952 study participants with heart failure into several groups. Hawthorn berry extract is a key component of traditional Chinese medicine and has been used to help with digestive issues and high blood pressure.
