Ahhhhhh

Happy weekend!

Today begins a two-day blog special on tips and tricks to learn to relax and pamper yourself to improve your heart health. Make sure you check back tomorrow for the next episode!

How does stress affect your heart?
We're really not sure. But it does. Research shows that stress definitely does have an affect on the condition and health of your heart and cardiovascular system, but science has yet to figure out exactly why or how. High levels of stress may exaggerate other risk factors like high blood pressure- like when you're super stressed and your heart rate increases, your blood pressure increases. Researchers do know that chronic stress does increase levels of certain hormones that may have a detrimental affect on your heart- for example stress has been linked to changes in the way blood clots, which may lead to heart attack.

Either way, even if I can't explain it, it's Valentine's Day weekend, so take a little time to relax with yourself or with your spouse or partner this weekend!

Here are three tricks:
Get a pet- Or if you can't have a pet, borrow someone else's. A 10-year study confirmed that having a pet can reduce your risk of having a heart attack by almost one third! This is because of the relationship between stress (here in the form of anxiety) and cardiovascular events like heart attacks. Stress can trigger a chain of events that leads to cardiovascular events. If you can't get a pet, you're still able to reduce your risk- visiting with a dog for 12 minutes improved the heart and lung function of patients with heart failure in one study! Grab Fluffy and start cuddling!

Visit- According to one study, loneliness leads to a higher risk of fatal heart attacks and high blood pressure. Even if you're single, reach out and spend time with someone this weekend. If you're friends are paired up, try visiting Extended Care at Sidney Health Center- these residents can always use a quick visit!

Spend time with yourself- although you may feel silly (I always do), meditation has been shown to reduce rates of cardiovascular episodes by half in coronary artery disease patients. Even if you're not sitting cross-legged singing "Ohm", try sitting for about five minutes a just breathing. I usually spend a few extra minutes in the morning just laying in bed. It'll set you up for a more relaxed, heart healthy day.

From my heart to yours,
Red in Richland County