Did you know that the health of your heart and brain are connected? By keeping your heart healthy, you can also lower your risk for brain health issues such as stroke and dementia. Read on to learn more!
Your heart pumps blood to every part of your body through vessels, including to your brain. Damage to these blood vessels can lead to serious health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and dementia. Blockages in your blood vessels from plaque buildup or blood clots can lead to heart attacks and strokes. When a blood vessel in the brain gets blocked or bursts it can lead to death of brain tissue and potentially memory loss. This can also result in vascular dementia. Vascular dementia can cause serious health changes including memory loss, personality changes, impaired thinking, and more. Keeping your blood vessels healthy can help you have a strong heart and brain!
Here are a few things you can do to help you reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and vascular dementia:
- Control Your Blood Pressure. High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke. Over time, high blood pressure can put stress on your blood vessels. Scientists now know that uncontrolled high blood pressure also raises your risk for dementia later in life. Be sure to get your blood pressure checked regularly. If your blood pressure is high, talk with your primary care provider about ways you can help manage it.
- Eat Healthy and Limit Alcohol. Eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains as well as limiting sugars, saturated fats, and salt can help keep your brain and heart healthy! Alcohol can also increase blood pressure, so be sure to drink in moderation.
- Managing Diabetes. Diabetes causes high blood sugar which can lead to damaged blood vessels and nerves. This can increase the risk for heart disease, stroke, and dementia. Check out our Supporting your Diabetes Diagnosis: Proven Steps to Self Management workshop (more info on page 19) to help you or a loved one for education, practical information, and peer support for a diabetes diagnosis.
- Say No to Smoking. Smoking damages your blood vessels and make blood more likely to clot. Looking for resources to help you quit? Give us a call, we’re here to help!
- Get Moving. Lack of physical activity can lead to high blood pressure. Get your heart pumping for at least 150 minutes per week. It may sound like a lot, but if you do small things throughout the day, it adds up! Take the stairs, do jumping jacks during commercial breaks, or grab a partner to go for a walk.
Staying on top of your health is not a journey you need to be on alone, and making changes doesn’t have to be overwhelming! Here at ADRC, we have numerous programs and resources to help keep your body and brain healthy. We have brain check-ups, blood pressure programs, exercise classes, diabetes workshops, and so much more. Our community cafe and lunch bunch group are great ways to stay social while having a healthy meal. Whatever you need, we’ve got you covered!
When making lasting changes for your health, take small steps first like eating a healthy meal once daily or getting in some physical activity three times a week and build up from there. Still feeling overwhelmed? Give us a call at (920) 448-4300 and we can come up with a plan together!
Source: CDC.gov/heartdisease/brain_health.htm
