With the new year around the corner, focusing on heart health is a timely and important resolution.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Dr. Richard Townsend, founder of Pontevedra Concierge Medicine, shared advice on taking charge of cardiovascular health. “Make the time. It’s a priority,” Townsend emphasized. “It’s not that we don’t have time; we just don’t prioritize it.”
Dr. Townsend provided some simple tips to help someone adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle. The first tip he mentioned was diet.
“Follow a Mediterranean type of diet,” he said.“ And when I say Mediterranean, there’s not a specific diet. It’s about replacing red meat with poultry, fish, legumes, nuts, and things like that.”
He also highlighted the importance of creating manageable fitness goals.
“Come up with a plan,” he said. “Start with maybe 20 minutes a day doing something easy. Everyone is different, so find your regimen and then increase it by 10% each week.”
Every 33 seconds, someone dies from cardiovascular disease, and it’s important to take an opportunity to ring in the new year with a healthy heart and lifestyle.