{"id":13159,"date":"2021-11-22T00:30:02","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T00:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ovadiahearthealth.com\/old-site\/?p=13159"},"modified":"2022-03-11T06:41:29","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T06:41:29","slug":"5-lifestyle-mistakes-that-are-stopping-you-from-maintaining-a-healthy-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ovadiahearthealth.com\/old-site\/2021\/11\/22\/5-lifestyle-mistakes-that-are-stopping-you-from-maintaining-a-healthy-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Lifestyle mistakes that are stopping you from maintaining a healthy heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does heart disease manifest immediately, or over time?<\/span><\/p>\n

Because it often presents itself suddenly – like a heart attack – many people assume that heart disease develops rapidly. But that\u2019s not the case.<\/span><\/p>\n

Often, it\u2019s been slowly building for the past decade. As <\/span>the symptoms for heart disease can vary widely<\/span><\/a>, it\u2019s very easy to overlook or dismiss them – until they stop you in your tracks one day. This is why it is so important to work to improve cardiovascular health early, and the good news is that <\/span>simple strategies<\/span><\/a> help with heart disease prevention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Deciding to make healthier choices is one thing, but actually doing it is another. The big obstacle is that <\/span>there\u2019s so much misinformation<\/span><\/a> out there,\u00a0 a lot of people make mistakes without even knowing it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To help you avoid that misinformation and make the decisions that will have the biggest positive impact on your health, I\u2019m going to show five of the most common mistakes that people make when it comes to heart health.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not managing stress<\/b><\/h2>\n

Stress is very common, and it manifests in various ways. What\u2019s also common is struggling to manage it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the <\/span>University of Rochester<\/span><\/a>, \u2018Your body\u2019s response to stress is supposed to protect you. But, if it’s constant, it can harm you. The hormone cortisol is released in response to stress. Studies suggest that the high levels of cortisol from long-term stress can increase blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure. These are common risk factors for heart disease.’<\/span><\/p>\n

Needless to say, when it comes to increasing heart health, it\u2019s important to find healthy ways to manage stress. Ideally, you\u2019d eliminate sources of stress but in the real world that\u2019s not always possible, especially if your stress is caused or compounded by things like work and family.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, you\u2019ll need to focus on coping mechanisms. Learning to cope, rather than avoid, will also help you to handle many of life\u2019s obstacles. As much as we may want to, it\u2019s impossible to avoid all sources of stress, and knowing how to cope with them will help you to become stronger and more resilient.<\/span><\/p>\n

My top suggestions for coping with stress are:<\/span><\/p>\n