What I do every day as a cardiologist to keep my heart healthy (and the things I’d never do)

There are around 7.6 million people living with heart and circulatory disease in the UK, and heart-related diseases cause around a quarter of all deaths in the UK; that’s more than 160,000 deaths each year, or 460 each day – or one death every three minutes.

A new study in the journal Atherosclerosis found that climbing at least 50 stairs each day could significantly slash your risk of heart disease – the research sugests that ascending more than five flights of stairs daily could reduce the risk of cardiovascular ailments by about 20 per cent.

Dr Amal Muthumala is a consultant cardiologist at North Middlesex Univeristy Hospital and Barts Heart Centre, both in London. Here, he shares the lifestyle choices he makes every day to reduce his risk of heart disease, and the things he tries his hardest to avoid.

Take breaks from sitting down

“There’s emerging data that sitting for long periods is very bad for your muscular skeletal health, your joints, your back – but also for your cardiovascular health. I try to remind myself every half an hour to 40 minutes to stand up, because we do a lot of sitting down in clinics.

“I go for regular breaks, even if just 30 seconds or a minute, walking up and down the stairs, or any kind of movement which relieves the tension of sitting for long periods of time.”

Snack on fruit

“Instead of reaching for a bag of crisps or biscuits when I’m peckish, I eat some dried fruit, or brightly coloured fruit like raspberries and blueberries, all of which contain polyphenols, which are good at reducing inflammation levels, which is good for preventing heart disease.

“I’m certainly not perfect at it, but I try to do that, and to avoid overly processed foods and stick to fruit. In general, fruit and vegetables are great for the heart.”

Eat fibre

“Studies have found that people who eat more fibre have a lower body weight, lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol – which is good news for your heart health. Swap white pasta for brown pasta, white rice for brown rice, white bread for brown bread.

“I also eat some kimchi, yoghurt or other fermented foods most days, because there is some emerging data to support that these may help reduce insulin resistance and cholesterol levels, which is linked to heart health.”

Stay hydrated

“Sip water throughout the day, keep your fluid intake up, and don’t get dehydrated. You don’t need to go overboard, but regularly have some water.” Studies show that staying well hydrated may be associated with a reduced risk for developing heart failure, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

Their findings, which appear in the European Heart Journal, suggest that consuming sufficient amounts of fluids throughout life not only supports essential body functioning, but may also reduce the risk of severe heart problems in the future.

Attempt some quiet reflection

“I don’t meditate, although I should, but I try to reflect on what I’m going to do, what I’ve done, what I’m going to do, and try to adopt a positive attitude towards the day. I try to discuss things with colleagues which went well, or less well, and I generally try to have a reflective attitude, which allows you to look at things not just in the heat of that moment, and allows you to improve your performance

“There’s no robust data on this, but calm, thoughtful moments like this likely have a positive impact on lowering stress, which helps with blood pressure, and therefore with cardiovascular health. I can’t say this for sure, but it’s something I believe in, and try to bear in mind.”

Exercise in different ways

“I run for 45 minutes, twice a week, and then also try to get in some resistance training. The national guidance is to do more exercise than that, but any exercise is better than none. I’m more successful at finding time to exercise if I make it part of my week, and when I’ve put in my diary that that’s what I’m going to be doing.

“I tend to wake up early on Saturday and Sunday to go running. Press-ups and squats, in short bursts, and also good for blood pressure and heart. Try to do aerobic and also resistant exercise – but don’t beat yourself up about not doing enough. Stay positive about it. Move in different ways, as often as you can.”

Floss

“At the moment we don’t have data to say that there’s a link between bad dental health and bad heart health, but there is an association between looking after your teeth and doing better health-wise in the long term.

“I certainly believe that it’s important to floss regularly – I didn’t used to do that – because of the possible link between dental health and cardiovascular disease.

“There was a time where people had forgotten about gut health, and now people are seeing that actually if you eating the right foods that will have an impact on your blood pressure. I suspect that when we do the same trials on dental health, we may see this as well.”

Buy a blood pressure monitor

“If you’re in your 40s and 50s, I personally think people should buy a blood pressure monitor for home. They’re £20 online, and they should learn how to use it, and check their blood pressure, just in terms of just doing as much as they can for their health and then looking after themselves.”

Don’t binge drink

“I’m quite boring and I drink a glass of wine every other week, or once a month, but I don’t mind people drinking more than that. I say to my patients that even if they’re generally well, however, they should drink alcohol very much in moderation, and have days off.

“It shouldn’t be a normal part of an evening, every night. If you have high blood pressure or diabetes, you should be limiting your alcohol intake because that can make blood pressure worse, or blood sugar control worse.”

Don’t salt food

“I don’t put salt in my foods. Enjoy your diet, and have a balance of things, and I’m not saying never salt your food, but limit how much salt you use. Don’t add salt to pasta water or potato water, and just be mindful of what you’re adding to your meals.

“Eating too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease. The same goes for too much sugar in your diet – that’s not good for the heart either.”

Don’t ever smoke

“Definitely, definitely do not smoke. It’s really bad for your heart, it’s really bad for your lungs, and time and time again it’s associated with cancer. Smoking increases the formation of plaque in blood vessels.

“Coronary heart disease happens when arteries that carry blood to the heart muscle are narrowed by plaque or blocked by clots. Chemicals in cigarette smoke cause the blood to thicken and form clots inside veins and arteries. Don’t do it.”