2020 will soon be arriving. As we are prepping to turn the calendar to the new year, the age-old tradition continues to make resolutions. The blank book of the new year is waiting to be written with some goals, targets, and motivation to keep you on the right track and achieve your dreams. Whatever you plan to achieve in the coming new year, nothing can possibly be achieved without a healthier you. While we all endeavor to keep our bodies in shape we forget to keep our Heart, the most important organ of our body in shape. 2020 is a year where we move towards preventive care and a Healthy Heart must be your resolution.
Along with switching your gym regime or planning a new diet chart, focus on the big picture, go for a Healthy Heart!!! A Healthy heart leads to your overall fitness and helps in acing up your fitness routines, your work schedules, your personal goals and what not?
And, the goal is not just to get a Healthy heart but to also monitor it and keep it in shape. Know-Why-
Let the stress take a rest
Stress has a lot to do on your heart health, your stress directly influences your heart and can be a precursor to many heart diseases. Mental and emotional stress causes a direct impact on heart health and we need to know how much our heart is healthy and how much stress it can cope up with. Having too much stress for too long may be bad for your heart health. You need to start tracking your stress levels now and know how much damage it is causing to your heart.
Forget HR, Know HRV
While we keep hearing track your fitness with your heart rate, heart rate is actually not a parameter to track Health of heart. Heart rate variability is!! Heart rate variability (HRV) is a new way to track your heart well-being. HRV is simply the variation in time between each heartbeat. HRV is an exciting and easy way to monitor your heart fitness. Higher HRV means fitter heart, lower HRV means a weaker heart. The gold standard to Monitor HRV is through ECG.
Exercise for your heart!
We all know that a little to moderate amount of physical activity can elevate your heart health as well as your overall health to a better level. Not just exercising keeps your body fit and in shape, it reduces the overall heart risk factors such as blood pressure, higher insulin sensitivity, etc. It also reduces the stress hormones and uplifts your mood. But, but, but while you start with your exercise regime, keeping it moderate is the mantra! Please be informed that too much exercising may lead to heart problems such as higher heart rate and rhythm disorders. You are more vulnerable to such conditions if you are genetically prone. Worry not, now you can easily track your heart with reliable data through portable 12- Lead ECG and detect any abnormality within time.
Monitor the symptoms
Chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, jaw pain, tightness in the chest and many more… these are the symptoms associated with heart diseases. If you are 30 years or above, or you have any of the risk factors like Blood pressure, diabetes, etc., start keeping a tab on these symptoms and measure ECG as soon as you feel any of these. A Complete 12-Lead ECG gives a full picture of heart health, heart blockages, rhythm, etc. and alerts you in time before a heart problem actually attacks!
Monitor your Heart health Regularly
Having said everything, the most important part of your healthy heart regime is to track it well. When we say track your heart, we do not just mean the Heart rate, but an overall tracking of Heart rate, Heart rate variability and ECG to get a 360-degree view on your heart health is what is the need of the hour. Most doctors recommend checking your heart health with- An ECG. This might look a bit of a task for many, ECG has been related traditionally with huge, bulky, cumbersome and only-for-hospital use, but with the advent of technology now we have full 12-leads medical-grade ECG available in our pockets at pocket-friendly prices.
Sources
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-too-much-extreme-exercise-damage-your-heart/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/heart-rate-variability-new-way-track-well-2017112212789