The Heart Research Institute found that one Australian dies every 12 minutes from poor cardiovascular health, so it’s incredibly important to look after your heart. You can improve your cardiovascular health by adjusting your diet and exercise regime and monitoring your heart rate. There are also plenty of therapies that might be able to improve cardiovascular health, including saunas, red light therapy, and steam rooms. Keep reading to learn more about improving your cardiovascular health.
Understanding Cardiovascular Health
Cardiovascular health refers to the health of the heart and the blood vessels surrounding it. Cardiovascular disease is a group of diseases that affect the area, including stroke, heart failure, coronary heart disease, arrhythmias, heart valve problems, and more. There are several risk factors that might increase your chances of developing heart disease, including high blood pressure, smoking, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Cardiovascular disease can also be hereditary, with your risk being increased slightly if you have a family history of it. You’re considered to have a family history if your:
- father or brother was diagnosed with cardiovascular disease before the age of 55
- mother or sister was diagnosed with cardiovascular disease before the age of 65
Cardiovascular can also be associated with damage to the arteries in organs including the brain, kidneys, heart, and eyes, leading to complications down the line. It’s one of the main causes of disability and death all over the world, but there are ways you can prevent it through lifestyle changes.
Signs You Need To Improve Your Cardiovascular Health
Heart disease often develops over time, but you might have early signs and symptoms long before you’re diagnosed with any serious heart problems. Some of the earliest warning signs might include:
- Chest pain
- Coughing or wheezing
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling of the legs, ankles, and feet
- Fast or uneven heartbeat (palpitations)
There are plenty of ways you can check to see if your heart is performing as it should, or if there are any warning signs you need to take care of. Here are a few of the ways you can check your cardiovascular health:
Blood Pressure
You can check your blood pressure at home, or your doctor can do it for you at a routine appointment. High blood pressure can damage your arteries and make them less elastic, which decreases the blood flow and oxygen to your heart. This can lead to chest pain called angina, along with heart disease.
Heart Rate
Keeping an eye on your heart rate will help tell you how your heart is performing. You can check this by feeling your pulse or by using a fitness tracker like a Fitbit or Apple Watch. A normal heart rate for most adults is anywhere from 60 to 100 beats per minute, so if you find that it’s higher than this while you’re resting, you may want to check with your doctor.
Portable EKG Device
There are plenty of EKG devices on the market that you can use to check your heart if you’re feeling symptoms of an irregular heart rhythm. They can help you see if you are having palpitations, although they can’t identify specific diseases such as heart attacks.
Improving Cardiovascular Health Methods
The good news is that there are plenty of ways you can improve your cardiovascular health before developing any worrying diseases, such as:
1. Get Into An Exercise Routine
Your heart is the most powerful muscle in your body, and you’ll need to exercise it to strengthen it. Work with your doctor to find your target heart rate, and then choose an exercise activity that you enjoy so you’ll stick with it in the long run.
2. Quit Smoking
We’re sure you’re sick of people telling you to stop smoking, but this really is one of the best ways to prevent developing heart disease in the future. Quitting smoking might be difficult, but the benefits are more than worth it – and you’ll be able to brag about your self-control and healthier cardiovascular system.
3. Eat Heart-Healthy Foods
There are plenty of foods out there that are full of healthy unsaturated fats, which are also good for the heart. Here are some of the best to choose from:
- Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids
- Lean meats
- Eggs
- Nuts, seeds, and soy products
- Legumes
Alcohol and cocoa have antioxidants that have been shown to increase good cholesterol and improve blood clotting function, so you might be happy to know that wine and chocolate are great for the heart – in moderation.
4. Don’t Overeat
Did you know that heart attacks spike around the holidays because of the copious amounts of food being eaten? While this is sound advice for not eating too much around the holidays, it’s also relevant all year round. Eating too much can lead to your blood shifting from the heart to the digestive system and irregular rhythms, which can lead to heart attacks or failure.
5. Prevent Stress
Your body has more than 1,400 biochemical responses to stress, including a rise in blood pressure and quicker heart rate. Plus, not managing your stress can trap you in a stress cycle, which makes you even more stressed and puts even more pressure on your heart. The best thing to do here is to reduce stressors as much as possible and try to keep calm, working on yourself to prevent your body from reacting too strongly or negatively to less-than-favourable circumstances.
Equipment At TH7 That Can Help Improve Your Cardiovascular Health
Along with lifestyle changes, there are also plenty of therapies you can use to improve your cardiovascular health. TH7 offers plenty of equipment options for you to choose from that have been backed by science to improve heart health, including:
Infrared Saunas
Infrared saunas can contribute to enhanced cardiovascular health by increasing your heart rate to around 100 to 150 beats per minute. This mirrors the rise seen through moderate-intensity exercise, which can gently exercise your heart and keep it healthier than if you weren’t to have the session. Similar to exercise, regular infrared sauna use can improve blood pressure, endothelial function, and left ventricular function, and reduce inflammation.
Research into the long-term effects of infrared sauna use on cardiovascular risk factors shows promising results. The authors of one study concluded that infrared treatment improved cardiovascular function and clinical symptoms in those with chronic heart failure, which was due to improved vascular endothelial function.
Steam Rooms
Steam rooms use wet heat to detoxify, improve skin health, and relieve pain after exercise. However, they can also help improve cardiovascular health by reducing stress and improving circulatory function, both of which can lower blood pressure and put less strain on your heart.
A randomised control trial with 80 participants from India found that a steam bath could potentially improve cardiovascular function by reducing blood pressure in normal, healthy subjects. Regular steam room sessions can reduce the levels of cortisol in your blood, helping you respond to stressors without damaging your heart.
Traditional Saunas
Traditional saunas have plenty of benefits, one of the most intriguing being that they can improve cardiovascular health and reduce stress. They have been used in Finland for decades, and many believe this is one of the main reasons why the country has a higher life expectancy average than other European countries.
A long-term study of over 2,300 Finnish men showed that 2-3 sauna sessions a week reduced the risk of sudden cardiac death by 22% and cardiovascular-related death by 27%. Moreover, 4-7 sessions a week reduced the risk of sudden cardiac death by 63%, cardiovascular disease-related death by 50%, and coronary heart disease-related death by 48%.
Red Light Therapy
Red light therapy uses low-wavelength red light to improve a number of the body’s processes. While it’s mostly known for the improvements it can offer to skin, research has also shown that it might be able to help reduce the risk factors of certain medical conditions.
While this therapy is rather new, and therefore, there aren’t too many concluded studies on red light therapy, one study from 2021 showed that mice with heart failure saw a thickening of their ventricular walls, better heart functionality, and improved cardiac function in single ventricular cardiomyocytes. Heart failure is characterised as a reduction of these cardiomyocytes, suggesting that red light therapy could be a good treatment for cardiovascular diseases.
Final Thoughts
Cardiovascular diseases are serious and need urgent medical attention, so they shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you’re starting to experience the early signs of cardiovascular diseases, it’s essential that you begin working on your heart health before it’s too late. Diet, exercise, and stress all play big factors in heart health, and there are also several therapies you can take advantage of, too. TH7 offers plenty of these for you to try, including infrared and traditional saunas, steam rooms, and red light therapy.
