Maintaining your heart health and wellbeing

Practical tips to care for yourself too

Taking care of someone living with heart disease can be overwhelming at times and it’s easy to forget your own health needs. If you’re feeling stressed, not getting enough sleep, or noticing changes in your eating habits, it’s important to take a moment to check in on your own health and wellbeing.

Here are some practical tips to care for yourself too. Remember, every healthy change you make – no matter how small you think it is – can make a big difference to your health and wellbeing over time.

Be active every day

Being active is important for your physical and mental health. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. This could include activities such as walking, cycling, swimming, bushwalking or dancing.

Regular physical activity not only strengthens your heart and improves circulation but also boosts your mood, reduces stress and makes you feel good.

Walking is a great way to increase your physical activity. Plus, it’s fun and free!

Follow a heart-healthy eating pattern

A heart-healthy eating pattern emphasises fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, unflavoured dairy products, lean proteins, healthy fats and oils, and spices and herbs to flavour food instead of salt.

Here are our top tips for eating well for your heart:

• Aim for five servings of colourful vegetables every day. You can use veggies as snacks or add them to salads, soups and casseroles.
• Limit foods that are highly processed and high in unhealthy saturated fats, such as cakes, butter, biscuits, pastries, pizza and pies.
• Trim off the visible fat on meat, remove skin from chicken and avoid processed meat (such as sausages, ham and salami).
• Water is the drink of choice for heart health. Aim to drink plenty of it throughout the day.
• Plant-based proteins are a great option to boost your protein intake and keep you feeling full for longer! Think beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts and seeds.

Enjoy our tasty and heart-healthy recipes and dinner plans.

Quit smoking (and avoid secondhand smoke)

Did you know that quiting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your heart? The same goes for avoiding secondhand smoke.

If you, or someone you live with, smokes, help is available. The most effective way to stop smoking is with a combination of:

• support from your doctor
• medicines like nicotine replacement therapy
• counselling through Quitline.

Visit the Quit website or call 13 78 48 to speak with a Quitline counsellor.

See your doctor regularly

See your doctor for regular check ups, including to check your cholesterol levels and blood pressure. You might also be eligible for a Heart Health Check, which is a 20-minute check up with your GP to help you understand your risk of a heart attack or stroke in the next five years. The below groups of people are eligible for a Heart Health Check:

• All people aged 45-79 years
• People with diabetes from 35 years
• First Nations peoples from 30 years

Manage stress

It’s normal to be stressed from time to time, but too much of it is not good for your heart or mind. There are techniques to help you manage stress, like:

• deep breathing
• practising mindfulness
• meditation
• yoga.

Find more information on the Healthdirect website.

Doing things you love can also help combat stress. This might be spending time outdoors in nature, hanging out with friends or escaping with a movie or good book.