Heart-Healthy New Year: 5 Resolutions Your Cardiologist Recommends

Around 30% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, and of those, almost 80% concern health. Most people manage to keep their resolutions — for at least a month. 

At Heart & Vascular Institute, we’d like to offer encouragement and a few recommendations to help improve your heart health. Our providers put together a list of five resolutions, along with tips to help you keep them. 

And if you’re among the 70% of Americans who don’t make New Year’s resolutions, these are still good habits to adopt to care for your heart. 

1. Establish an exercise routine you enjoy

It can be tough to maintain an exercise habit if you don’t like the activity. For example, if you hate being cold, deciding to walk outside for an hour every day beginning in January — in Michigan! — may be the wrong choice. 

We suggest finding a physical activity that you enjoy. For example, join a recreational sports league, go to a gym with a pool, or meet your friends at a mall to walk indoors. 

2. Focus on adding instead of subtracting

Perhaps you want to make your diet more heart-healthy by limiting your intake of sodium, sugar, and saturated fat. That’s a worthy goal, but one that involves taking things away that you may enjoy. 

Instead, start by adding nutritious foods to your routine. Maybe eat a piece of fruit for breakfast, include a side salad with your lunch, or have fish or chicken once or twice a week for dinner. 

Over time, you may find that you eat less of the foods you want to limit and more of those you want to add. By focusing on adding instead of subtracting, you’re less likely to feel you’ve failed when you enjoy a treat; that, in turn, may help you stick to your plan. 

3. Make sleep a priority

Getting enough high-quality sleep is an essential part of good health, particularly for people with chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease. You can prioritize sleep in small, simple steps. 

Begin by establishing a bedtime routine that you find relaxing. You might try going to bed and getting up at the same time every day. Approaching sleep hygiene one habit at a time is sustainable, and you may feel much better as a result. 

4. Add stress reduction to your list

Chronic stress is bad for your heart health, but happily, lowering stress can be a fun resolution — it could mean doing things you like doing! Schedule time to relax, whatever that means to you. If you love to read, try adding an hour or two of reading to your schedule each week. 

You may also find that you have less stress thanks to exercising more often or improving your sleep. Lowering stress levels can seem challenging, but it’s really about developing habits and routines that you enjoy and that leave you feeling better. 

5. Resolve to protect your health

Schedule and attend your appointments. Get your prescriptions filled, and take your medicines on time. Get screenings and tests that your doctor recommends. 

By making your health a priority, you’re more likely to do the other things on your list, like exercising or going to bed a little earlier. 

We’re here to help! If you have questions about your heart health, the team at Heart & Vascular Institute is happy to answer them. Schedule an appointment by phone or online at any of our six Michigan locations today.