Healthy Heart

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death for both males and females in the Unites States with someone dying every 34 seconds as a result. Written a different way, nearly 2,500 Americans die each day from cardiovascular disease. While these numbers may be shocking at first, they should not be overly surprising if you look at health trends across the nation. According to the American Heart Association (2025), nearly 47% of adults live with high blood pressure, 72% of adults are overweight, and roughly 57% of have type 2 diabetes. If you find yourself or a loved one in one (or more) of these statistic groups, it might be time to look at making some lifestyle changes.

Lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease involves making lifestyle changes and managing health conditions. Start out by slowly making changes and gradually work toward a healthier heart. Look at these tips and identify areas you might need to focus to help you get started.

Maintain a Healthy Diet

• Eat heart-healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
• Choose healthy fats (unsaturated fats from olive oil, nuts, and fish) and avoid trans fats.
• Limit processed foods, refined sugars, and high-sodium foods.
• Reduce red and processed meats.

Stay Physically Active

• Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (e.g., brisk walking, swimming) or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (e.g., running, cycling) per week.
• Incorporate strength training exercises twice a week.
• Reduce sedentary behavior by taking breaks from sitting every 30–60 minutes.

Manage Weight

• Maintain a healthy BMI (18.5–24.9).
• Reduce abdominal fat, as excess belly fat is linked to a higher risk of heart disease.

Quit Smoking and Limit Alcohol

• Quit smoking completely—tobacco damages blood vessels and increases CVD risk.
• Limit alcohol intake to moderate levels (1 drink/day for women, 2 drinks/day for men).

Reduce Stress

• Practice mindfulness, meditation, yoga, or deep breathing techniques.
• Ensure adequate sleep (7–9 hours per night).

Get Regular Check-Ups

• Monitor blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels regularly.
• Follow your doctor’s advice and take medications as prescribed if needed.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Dinner Tonight Program is a great resource for healthy, tasty, and budget-friendly recipes. Visit https://dinnertonight.tamu.edu or follow Dinner Tonight on Facebook for daily recipes and health tips.

Having a healthy heart requires a mixture of activities and lifestyle changes. Strive to create a healthy balance between exercise, diet, and lifestyle. If healthy habits are new to you, start out slow by making small changes over time. Healthy habits do not form overnight, so it is important to be patient with your progress.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact me, (903) 473-4580 or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu. To view upcoming events or additional information please visit https://rains.agrilife.org/ or follow Rains County AgriLife on Facebook.

UDMI. (2025). https://www.udmi.net/cardiovascular-disease-risk/

Reducing Stress for a Healthier Heart

Whether it is from work deadlines, financial struggles, or personal issues, stress shows up often in life. Your body reacts to stress with an increased heart rate and a narrowing of the blood vessels and over time, these little reactions can add up causing damage to your health, particularly your heart. With chronic stress, you are more likely to have high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and poor sleep. Even other parts of your body, from your lungs to your gut, can take a hit. 

Limiting the amount of stress in your life is often difficult, but you can work on changing how you respond to it. Just like the automatic “fight or flight” response that kicks in when you are scared, causing your muscles to tense, heart rate increases, and brain becomes more alert, your body also has a built-in, healthy relaxation response. When your relaxation response is triggered, breathing and heart rate slow down and blood pressure decreases. 

Luckily, with practice, you can learn to trigger your relaxation response when needed. Try these techniques on your own or find a teacher or class to help you get started. Try not to get discouraged if you are not able to get the hang of it at first, sometimes it takes practice. If one approach is not working for you, try something new. You can learn to de-stress in a variety of ways. 

• Meditation. One of the most studied approaches for managing stress involves developing your ability to stay focused on the present, instead of worrying about the past or future. Find a quiet location with as few distractions as possible. Get comfortable by either sitting, lying, or walking. Focus your attention on a specific word or set of words, an object, or on your breathing. Let distractions, including thoughts, come and go without judgment. 
• Progressive muscle relaxation. To feel the effect, first tense your muscles for a few seconds, then relax them. Start by tensing and relaxing your toes, then your calves and on up to your face. Do one muscle group at a time.
• Deep breathing. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, let your stomach or chest expand and then exhale slowly through pursed lips. Repeat a few times. Many people are not accustomed to breathing deeply, but it is relaxing and something you can do anytime, anywhere. 
• Guided imagery. This involves a series of steps that include relaxing and visualizing the details of a calm, peaceful setting, such as a garden.

Other healthy ways to manage stress include taking a yoga or tai chi class, talking to a professional counselor, joining a stress management program or an art class, or meeting up with a friend for a brisk walk. Being in nature can be very soothing for some people. 

Combining de-stressors like the ones mentioned above with other healthy habits can go a long way toward strengthening your heart. Try to eat more veggies, fruits, and whole grains, while eating less sodium, sugar and saturated fats. Find physical movements you enjoy, like dancing or gardening, and do them regularly. Remember to get enough good, quality sleep and develop a strong social support system. Avoid ways of coping with stress through drinking alcohol, using drugs and other substances, smoking, or overeating. These can increase stress levels and be detrimental to your health. 

Taking care of your heart health is a lifelong journey and learning new ways to make your heart strong is an important way to stay healthy.  

If you have questions or concerns, please contact me, (903) 473-4580 or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu. To view upcoming events or additional information please visit https://rains.agrilife.org/ or follow Rains County AgriLife on Facebook.