How your doctor in Arlington, TX, can help you protect your heart
Your heart pumps blood all over your body, keeping your body running smoothly and efficiently. When you have heart disease, it affects how your heart works and how well your body functions. Heart disease can shorten your life. Fortunately, you can do a lot to prevent heart disease, and your doctor can help.
Dr. Atif Sohail at Heart & Sleep Clinics Of America in Arlington, TX, provides a wide range of cardiology and sleep services, to help you prevent heart disease.
There are a lot of factors which contribute to heart disease, and you have a lot of control over them. There are heart disease risk factors you cannot control, including genetics. If your family history includes heart disease, you are at risk of developing it too.
Let’s look at some of the factors you can control:
Your sleep–if you suffer from a sleep disorder, like sleep apnea for example, oxygen is blocked from getting to your vital organs, including your heart. Sleep apnea puts you at risk of developing heart disease, so you should:
- See your doctor to test for sleep apnea and other sleep disorders. Your doctor can treat sleep apnea, so you can sleep well again.
Your diet–a high fat diet puts you at risk of developing heart disease, so you should:
- Avoid fatty, greasy foods and eat baked foods instead
- Avoid high-fat meats and eat lean meats like poultry and fish instead
- Avoid high-fat dairy and eat low fat or skim dairy products instead
Your lifestyle–a sedentary lifestyle puts you at risk of heart disease, so you should:
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week
- Include aerobic exercise to get your heart pumping
Using tobacco products–if you use tobacco products or smoke, it puts you at risk of developing heart disease, so you should:
- Quit smoking and using tobacco products by seeking out help from your doctor
Manage your stress–increased stress can put you at risk of developing heart disease, so you should:
- Practice daily meditation
- Do deep breathing exercises daily
- Do yoga and gentle stretches
Regular visits to your doctor can also help prevent heart disease. Your doctor can prescribe medication to:
- Manage your blood pressure because high blood pressure can damage your heart
- Manage your cholesterol because high levels of bad cholesterol can clog your arteries
To find out more about prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease, call Dr. Atif Sohail at Heart & Sleep Clinics Of America in Arlington, TX. You can reach him in the office by calling (817) 419-7220, so call now.