Heart Disease Management & Treatment

The primary care physicians at Vanguard Medical Group specialize in preventing, diagnosing, treating and managing chronic illness, including heart disease. Heart disease is a serious medical condition that affects both men and women. While there is no cure, you and your doctor can work together to manage it and help you lead a normal, healthy life.

Heart Disease Management Tips

Heart disease is often caused by unhealthy lifestyle factors. By replacing those unhealthy habits with healthy ones, you can help minimize your risk for complications. For example, the American Heart Association recommends individuals with heart disease get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. Try going for a brisk walk every night after dinner or swimming some laps in the pool. Or, if you do vigorous physical activity, such as running or dancing, they recommend doing it for 75 minutes per week.

Eating a healthy diet can also help. Try limiting the amount of sweets and sodium you eat. While you can still enjoy these things in moderation, cutting back on them is important for keeping your heart healthy. Your diet should include lots of fruits, veggies, whole grains, poultry, fish, nuts and legumes.

Some other ways to help manage heart disease include reducing stress, taking care of your mental health and quitting smoking. Tobacco smoke can restrict oxygen flow to your heart, raise your blood pressure and damage your blood vessels.

Advice for Living with Heart Disease

While adjusting to living life with heart disease isn’t easy, you should lean on the support from your friends, family and doctors. It may help to make one small change at a time and to set realistic goals for yourself. Talk to your doctor about other steps you can take to manage heart disease. He or she may prescribe medications and ask you to come in for regular appointments and cardiac testing to make sure you’re on the right track.

Find a Heart Disease Doctor Near You

Vanguard Medical Group has friendly, experienced primary care doctors in Cranford, Glen Ridge, Jersey City, Riverdale, North Haledon, Randolph and Verona, NJ. Request an appointment today to start taking control of your health and to learn more about heart disease prevention and management.