For Prince George cardiologist Dr. Haidar Hadi, maintaining a healthy heart is a lifelong pursuit.
From diet to exercise to cutting down on stress, Hadi said there's no shortage of ways to improve the functioning of your heart and reduce your risk for cardiac problems down the road.
Hadi has identified five practical things people can do to help their heart, but rather than tackling them all at once he suggested people work on them one at a time.
"Don't try to do everything together, it doesn't work," Hadi said. "Concentrate on one thing. If you're quitting smoking, do that first, then look to other things like diet and exercise."
1. Stop smoking
Chemicals in cigarettes are known to cause hardening of arteries, which can lead to heart attacks. Hadi said it's never too soon to quit smoking, but also said those who quit even after having a heart attack will see benefits.
Hadi said people can access government resources, which cover the initial cost of some smoking cessation aides and provide one-on-one counselling to help people overcome the mental side of the addiction.
To help avoid peer pressure which can make it more difficult to quit, Hadi suggested finding a partner to quit with.
One incentive is to save up the money otherwise spent on cigarettes and use it to celebrate being smoke-free for a year.
"Put it in a bank account called 'kick the bad habit' and reward yourself because it's a big achievement," he said.
2. Exercise
Like any muscle, the heart gets stronger after it gets worked out.
A stronger heart expends less energy to push blood through the body, which means it generally beats at a slower rate when at rest. Exercise also helps reduce stress by releasing endorphins into the body.
Hadi recommends at least 30 minutes of brisk exercise at least five days a week.
Integrating exercise into a daily routine and involving family will make it easier for people to keep up with their fitness goals.
"In the summer, cycle to work," he said. "In the winter, obviously it's not as easy to cycle, but you can shovel the snow. We have no shortage of snow in the north and shoveling snow for half an hour is good aerobic exercise."
For people with joint problems or back pain, Hadi said swimming is a good alternative.
3. Ditch the table salt
Western food is typically high in sodium to begin with due to processing, so Hadi said there's no reason for people to put table salt on their food on top of that.
The body requires sodium, one of the elements of table salt, but only in small doses. Hadi said one gram of the element a day is enough, which works out to about 2.5 grams (or one teaspoon) of table salt.
Too much sodium can lead to higher blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart attacks.
Other diet tips Hadi offered were to eat more greek salad - the olive oil contains more unsaturated fat - and cut down on red meat.
4. Early screening
Conventional wisdom is to begin screening for heart risk factors when patients reach 40 years of age, but Hadi suggests it could be beneficial to start sooner.
"We're less active so we've noticed over the recent years people will have diabetes at a much younger age," Hadi said, noting diabetes is also a risk factor for heart disease.
Since he's seen patients in their 20s and 30s who have had heart attacks, he recommends people as young as 20 get their blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure checked.
He also said it's important for people to know the specifics of their family medical history because genetics also play a big role in determining risks for heart attacks.
5. Have a laugh
Too much stress is a risk factor for heart disease and Hadi offered a simple solution.
"It's shown that laughing is a stress reliever," he said. "When you have stress it increases your adrenaline and when you have adrenaline it increases your heart rate."
An additional benefit to having a good laugh is a strengthened immune system.
