5 Heart-Healthy Habits for American Heart Month
Did you know February is American Heart Month? While it’s important to practice heart-healthy habits all year long, February is the perfect month to start prioritizing your heart health by implementing these habits into your routine.
Take a Daily Walk
Starting an exercise routine doesn’t have to be a huge chore. For now, you can skip the gym membership and complicated lifting regimen and just try to take a walk every day. Tie in your walk with something you do every day so that it’s easy to keep up the habit. If the weather is keeping you from walking, try heading to a big box store or the mall to do your walking indoors.
Try Meditating
While you may be picturing someone sitting cross-legged on the hardwood floor and chanting, meditating can be casual and fun. Plus, meditating can help alleviate stress, which can exacerbate many heart problems like high blood pressure and heart disease. Don’t know how to get started? There are some great meditation apps for your phone that offer short guided meditations and meditation reminders.
Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
You already know that eating healthier contributes to heart disease prevention but starting to eat healthier can also be overwhelming. Unless your doctor has expressly forbidden certain foods, try getting into better diet habits by eating more fruits and vegetables rather than restricting yourself from foods you love. This is a natural and non-intrusive way to start changing your diet for the better.
Get a Good Night’s Rest
The importance of a good night’s rest is obvious but actually making it happen can be hard. Try healthy sleeping habits like turning off screens an hour before bed, implementing a relaxing sleep routine, and choosing a nightly bedtime and sticking to it. If you suffer from sleep apnea, be sure to use your CPAP machine, as untreated sleep apnea can be detrimental to your heart health.
Follow the Doctor’s Orders
One of the best ways to keep your heart healthy is to follow the doctor’s orders, including everything from maintaining diet restrictions and exercise requirements to making sure you’re taking your heart medications as prescribed. If you’re having trouble affording your pills, Simplefill Prescription Assistance has programs to help pay for medications. In fact, we offer financial assistance for eligible heart medications likes Diovan, Effient, Isordil, Plavix, and Toprol XL. We also provide plenty of resources to help you navigate the health care system and live a healthier life, including our guide to the 2019 Medicare Part D changes and these tips for dealing with chronic medical issues while on Medicare.
If you’re having trouble affording your prescriptions for any reason at all, start an application online or call us at 1.877.386.0206 and a Simplefill Advocate will respond within 24 hours.
blog