By Aging is something none of us can avoid. But feeling old is a completely different story. Your heart, perhaps more than any other organ, has a lot to say about how youthful and energetic you feel as the years go by.
Cardiovascular age refers to how old your heart and blood vessels seem based on your lifestyle and habits, not just the number on your birth certificate. Fortunately, you have much more control over your cardiovascular age than you might think.
Through everyday choices, you can keep your heart strong, flexible, and efficient well into your later years. Below, our resource from Health Conscious offers a few tips that can help lower your cardiovascular age and maintain a vibrant, healthy heart as you age.
#1 Add Heart-Healthy Foods to Your Plate
Your daily food choices are the building blocks for your arteries. But a heart-healthy diet doesn’t have to be rigid or bland. It can be colorful, satisfying, and delicious.
Add whole-grain food like oats to your plate, too. These are packed with fiber, which acts like a scrub brush inside your arteries. It helps lower your bad cholesterol, also referred to as LDL. Eating just 3 servings of whole grain foods a day can reduce your heart disease risk by up to 30%.
Switch up your fat choices for better health. Move away from saturated fats to healthy unsaturated ones. Cook with liquid non-tropical vegetable oils like olive, corn, or canola oil. When shopping for dairy, choose low-fat or fat-free versions to reduce your saturated fat intake.
Make smart protein choices for meals. Look for skinless poultry and fish. Choose fat-free or low-fat dairy products whenever possible.
Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, are linked to lower heart disease risk. If you don’t eat fish, you have many plant-based options. Walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, and edamame contain omega-3s.
#2 Quit Alcohol
Alcohol is a toxin that structurally damages the heart muscle over time. It can also interfere with your heart’s cardiac conduction system and cause irregular heartbeats.
Drinking regularly also narrows blood vessels, raising blood pressure. Heavy drinking over many years can weaken your heart muscle permanently. When your heart is weakened or stretched, it cannot pump blood very well. This raises your risk of heart failure and organ damage.
Quitting alcohol can improve your cardiovascular health. If you’ve been a heavy drinker, doing it alone can feel overwhelming. But accredited addiction treatment programs can make that process safer, more structured, and far more successful.
According to the Purpose Healing Center, these programs integrate Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) with counseling, peer support, and behavioral therapy to help people overcome alcohol addiction. They are designed to treat not just addiction but the underlying emotional and physical factors that fuel it.
Don’t worry about the cost. Medicaid can help pay for these programs. It often covers detox services, inpatient or outpatient programs, and therapy sessions.
Around 13462 centers in the U.S. accept Medicaid. So, using Medicaid coverage for treatment can make it easier to access professional help and break free from alcohol safely and sustainably.
#3 Stay Physically Active
Inactivity and sitting too much are linked to a higher risk of heart disease. You can offset the risk with physical activity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends three types of physical activity every week: aerobic activity, muscle-strengthening activity, and balance-improving activity.
Aim for at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week. This can strengthen the heart muscle to pump blood more efficiently, lower blood pressure, and improve cholesterol. You can achieve this by doing 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Brisk walking, about 2.5 miles per hour, is the simplest way to start.
Engage in muscle-strengthening exercises 2 days each week. This helps preserve muscle, improves blood sugar control, and boosts overall heart function. This includes using resistance bands or lifting weights.
Balance training is important for preventing falls as you get older. Reducing fall risk helps you maintain the ability to do cardio long-term. Try simple moves like standing on one foot or walking heel-to-toe. Strengthening your back and leg muscles also helps your balance.
It’s Never Too Late to Turn Back Your Heart Age
Growing older is inevitable, but how your heart ages is something you can influence every single day. You can create the conditions for a younger, more resilient cardiovascular system if you follow these tips.
Don’t overhaul your whole life overnight. Just choose one or two habits to start with, and gradually add more. Your heart has been working tirelessly for you since you were born. A little care, consistency, and love can help it stay strong, youthful, and resilient as the years go by.
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