Tag: heart health

Healthy Heart Tip: Basics of heart health and how you can reduce your risk

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Healthy Heart Tip: Basics of heart health and how you can reduce your risk

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be challenging, particularly with the conflicting advice found online and on social media about what is good or bad for your health. Surveys conducted in the UK revealed 33% of men and 31% of women had at least two unhealthy traits that could be harming their health.

Coronary heart disease is preventable. By minimising your risk factors and eating a healthy diet, carrying out regular physical activity, not smoking and reducing your alcohol consumption, you’re helping to keep your heart healthy. In this healthy tip, we ways you can benefit your heart health and basic ways you can look after your health.

Healthy eating

Following a Mediterranean-style diet has been proven to be great for your heart health. This way of eating highlights plant-based foods, lots of fibre and healthy unsaturated fats.

The Mediterranean diet involves consuming lots of fruit and vegetables, wholegrains including wholegrain pasta and rice and wholemeal breads, nuts and seeds, beans and extra virgin olive oil. Moderate amounts of fish, seafood, poultry, eggs, cheese and yoghurt. Little or low amounts of red meat, processed foods, sweets, butter and sugary drinks.

Physical activity

Carrying out regular physical activity will help to strengthen your heart muscle to reduce your resting heart rate and blood pressure. You should aim to carry out at least 30 minutes of physical activity five times a week, this will help you to meet the recommended physical activity guidelines and keep you healthy.

If you’re new to physical activity, then make sure you gradually introduce it into your lifestyle and don’t run before you can walk. Try making the activities part of your daily routine and make sure it’s something that you enjoy doing, this way you’re more likely to continue doing it.

Quitting smoking

Seeking support to stop smoking from professionals will help you to improve your heart health. Try setting yourself a date within the next two weeks when you’re going to stop smoking and make sure to remove all your lighters, matches, ashtrays, cigarettes and any other reminders of smoking from your house.

Within six hours of quitting, your heart rate and blood pressure will improve and within two to twelve weeks your blood will pump more efficiently through your heart and muscles.

Reducing alcohol consumption

Drinking alcohol on a regular basis can increase your risk of developing heart disease, increase your blood pressure and cause weight gain. The NHS recommends no more than 14 units per week spread over three or more days, or skip drinking altogether where possible.

If you do regularly consume alcohol, then try to have more alcohol-free days within your week and make sure to choose lower alcoholic or non-alcoholic options where possible. If you need support to help you to reduce your alcohol consumption, seek professional help and advice from your GP.

Healthy Heart Tip: Benefits of physical activity on heart health

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Healthy Heart Tip: Benefits of physical activity on heart health

Physical inactivity is one of the main risk factors for heart diseases and is associated with a 24% higher risk of coronary heart disease.

In the UK, it is recommended that adults partake in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week plus two sessions of resistance training.

Over six in 10 adults meet this guideline, if one of these is not you, then why not? Your heart is a muscle too!

This muscular organ also needs to be worked out and increasing the amount of physical activity you do is one of the best things for your heart health. In this healthy tip, we share some benefits of physical activity.

What is physical activity?

Physical activity is any form of movement produced by your muscles that uses energy. A few examples include walking, running, dancing, swimming, and gardening.

Heart health benefits

Partaking in physical activity strengthens your heart muscle and decreases your blood pressure. Regular physical activity can improve your blood sugar control and reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a major cardiovascular risk factor.

Changes in your cholesterol levels will become apparent, with your LDL (bad cholesterol) levels becoming lower and HDL (good cholesterol) levels rising.

Ultimately, physical activity is essential for a healthy heart. It strengthens your heart, reduces your chances of developing heart diseases and increases your lifespan.

Other health benefits

Physical activity benefits both your physical and mental health. If these are in good health, it is likely that your heart is too.

Partaking in regular physical activity will help you build cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and improve your flexibility and balance.

You may find that you have more energy after carrying out physical activity due to the rise in your endorphins, this also helps to improve your mood.

Other benefits include improvements in your sleep quality and duration, improvements in anxiety and depression as well as a reduction in the amount of stress hormones in your body.

These additional health benefits all directly or indirectly help your heart too.

Healthy Heart Tip: Smoking & Heart Health

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Healthy Heart Tip: Smoking & Heart Health

Smoking isn’t good for you, we’ve all heard this by now. We know that smoking is responsible for 76,000 deaths a year in the UK, but what impact does smoking actually have on your heart? If you’re a smoker, why is stopping smoking most likely the most impactful thing you can do to improve your health and reduce your risk of heart diseases?

As we kick off October (commonly known as Stoptober), this week’s healthy tip focusses on the physical impact smoking has on your heart health in an attempt to motivate you to finally ditch the habit that could cost you your life.

Cigarettes contain 4,000 chemicals

Many of these chemicals are extremely harmful to your body and include carbon monoxide, tar, and nicotine. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas which reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood.

Tar is a toxic chemical which accumulates in your lungs, forming a sticky residue. Nicotine is the addictive substance and when consumed it increases your heart rate and blood pressure.

Cigarettes increase your risk of heart diseases

Consuming the above-mentioned chemicals make the walls of your arteries ‘sticky’ which encourages fatty deposits circulating in your blood to stick to the artery walls.

These build up over time and reduces the amount of oxygen-rich blood travelling through your arteries which can result in a heart attack or stroke.

It is time to stop

It is never too late to quit smoking. Even if you have smoked all your life, health benefits can be seen within only a few hours of quitting. After one year of not smoking, you reduce your risk of having a heart attack by 50%.

There is a wealth of support available to help you quit, speak to your GP to discuss your options. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it – good luck!

For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for weekly healthy tips at www.heartresearch.org.uk/health-tips.

Graeme Souness backs Rangers x BHF charity partnership

Graeme Souness urges Scotland football fans to look after their heart health as he backs British Heart Foundation Scotland as Rangers Charity Foundation’s new charity partner   


  Ahead of World Heart Day tomorrow (29 September), former Rangers player and manager, Graeme Souness, is urging Scottish football fans to look after their heart health as he backs British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland as the Rangers Charity Foundation’s new national charity partner. 

The partnership will last for the 2023/24 season with the Foundation pledging to raise £25,000 for BHF Scotland. 

It will also help raise awareness of heart and circulatory diseases – conditions which are some of the nation’s biggest killers, causing around 50 deaths each day, and are estimated to affect 700,000 people in Scotland. 

David McColgan, Head of British Heart Foundation Scotland commented: “We’re delighted the Rangers Charity Foundation has chosen BHF Scotland as its national charity partner for the season. 

“Heart and circulatory diseases are some of Scotland’s biggest killers and we hope this partnership will help us raise awareness in Scotland’s footballing community about the importance of looking after your heart health, while also enabling more people to learn lifesaving CPR skills and raise an incredible amount of money for the British Heart Foundation.” 

Graeme Souness has personal experience of heart disease and understands first-hand how important the lifesaving research the BHF helps to fund is. 

The football legend said: “I was diagnosed with coronary heart disease at 38 and had a triple bypass. When I was diagnosed, I was extremely fit. I never thought I’d be the type of person to get heart disease, but if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. 

“Ten years later, I had a stent fitted as another one of my arteries had become blocked. Then in November 2015, I was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack at home. 

“Thankfully, I’m now OK, but without the research the BHF has helped fund into heart and circulatory diseases, it could have been a different story.” 

The charity partnership will also encourage at least 50,000 people – the capacity of Ibrox Stadium – to learn lifesaving CPR via the BHF’s free online tool, RevivR. 

RevivR allows people to learn CPR in just 15 minutes and aims to give people the skills and confidence to save a life. It teaches people how to recognise a cardiac arrest, gives feedback on chest compressions and outlines the correct steps in using a defibrillator. All people need is a mobile phone and a firm cushion.  

The Rangers Charity Foundation will be spreading the word about the RevivR app, which can be downloaded at www.rangerscharity.org.uk/Revivr, to supporters and the wider public throughout the season.  

Rangers Charity Foundation Chief Executive Connal Cochrane added: “The work of the British Heart Foundation Scotland aligns closely with the Foundation’s strategic priorities in terms of health and well-being and education and we are delighted to be able to combine both these pillars in a project which will roll out life-saving skills to thousands of fans. 

“Our donation this season will support the British Heart Foundation’s RevivR app which is a really simple, easy way to learn key skills in your own home which could save a life. 

“We also look forward to working with the British Heart Foundation on a number of other initiatives over the course of the season, such as providing free blood pressure checks at some home games for fans and sharing important information about heart health and where to go for help and advice.” 

For more information about the British Heart Foundation visit: bhf.org.uk or to find out more about the Rangers Charity Foundation visit: rangerscharity.org.uk