Source: Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada

Making healthy choices will help prevent heart disease and stroke. By changing habits a little at a time, you can reach your heart-healthy goals. Here are some practical suggestions that may make the changes easier, day by day, week by week, month by month. Give them your best shot.

1. Eat 10 fewer restaurant, fast-food or takeout snacks or meals this month. By cooking for yourself at home or packing a lunch for work, you exercise greater control over ingredients, cooking methods (grilling, poaching, baking) and, vitally, smaller portion sizes. “We’re still overdoing it when dishing out servings,” says Bonnie Stern, author of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada’s HeartSmart™ (Random House) series of cookbooks. “Restaurants make large portion sizes seem normal. And you have no idea what goes into each dish.” See our recipe files online for some great meal ideas.
2. Take 10 seconds to read the new nutrition panel before you buy a food product. New labelling regulations introduced last December mean you can spot trans fats in foods quickly. Trans fats are an unhealthy fat that increase your blood cholesterol. Try to minimize your intake of trans fats as much as possible. Or, simply look for the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Health Check™ symbol, now on more than 500 items, to ensure that the products you buy are healthy choices. See the full list here.
3. Spend 10 minutes with your mom, father, aunt or uncle on both sides of the family discussing your history of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Although you can’t change your genes, knowing your family’s health history will help you and your doctor tailor an appropriate prevention plan for you.
4. Increase your intake of vegetables and fruit by 10 servings per week. These foods are chock-full of disease-fighting antioxidants and heart-healthy fibre. Five to 10 servings a day is your ultimate goal, but if you’re not hitting that target, read about some simple ways to make them part of your daily diet here.
5. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Consider this: a weight loss of only 10 pounds (4.5 kg) over five to ten weeks – that’s 1 to 2 pounds per week – can result in as much as a 7 point reduction in systolic blood pressure (the top number) and a nearly 6 point reduction in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number), which will lower your risk of stroke and heart disease. A healthy blood pressure reading is lower than 120/80. Read about healthy eating here.
6. Take 10 seconds to measure your waist circumference. Maybe you’ve figured out how much extra weight you carry, but where do you carry it? Are you an apple or a pear? Studies show that those who carry weight around the middle tend to have higher blood pressure and cholesterol – two risk factors for heart disease. “I like to see my female clients measuring less than 88 centimetres around the waist and the men less than 102 centimetres,” says cardiologist and Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson Dr. Beth Abramson. “If you haven’t already got one, get a tape measure. It’s as vital to your health as a scale.” The best way to whittle down your middle is to be physically active – walking, hiking, jogging, biking as often as you can. Read about getting active here.
7. Increase your physical activity by 10 minutes per day. While a healthy goal is 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week, you can get there by increasing your activity level by 10 minutes daily. And you don’t have to run a marathon or become a triathlete; modest levels of physical activity will help to lower blood pressure, keep weight off and reduce your risk of developing coronary artery disease. So walk, play with the kids or dance to your favourite CD. Read more tips on getting active here.
8. Set aside 10 minutes a day for a time-out. Leave your desk and walk around the block. Close your door at work or at home, then sit in a comfortable position and breathe in and out slowly. Stress is often associated with unhealthy activities such as smoking, overeating, excessive drinking, worrying or outbursts of anger. Read about more ways you can reduce your stress.
9. Think about your alcoholic consumption for 10 seconds. Research shows that drinking more than nine (for women) and 14 (for men) standard drinks of beer, wine or liquor a week increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Choose other beverages instead – sparkling mineral water or low-sodium tomato juice makes for a delightful, heart-healthy change. Read more about alcohol consumption here.
10. Read and then send the risk factors for heart disease and stroke to 10 friends and members of your family. Your age, gender, ethnicity and genetic makeup can’t be modified. But you can do something about smoking, inactivity and being overweight, among others, to reduce your risk. Read the list of risks for heart disease and stroke.