8 Simple Ways to Support a Healthy Heart

February is widely recognized as a time to focus on heart health. Heart disease and stroke remain the leading causes of death worldwide, but many of the risk factors are preventable. Small, consistent lifestyle changes can make a meaningful difference in long-term cardiovascular health.

The American Heart Association's “Life’s Essential Eight” outlines eight core lifestyle habits that support a healthy heart. These practical, research-backed steps focus on movement, nutrition, sleep, and other daily behaviors that significantly impact cardiovascular health.

1. Eat Well

A balanced diet helps lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and inflammation. Include plenty of animal-based proteins, fruits, vegetables, and a few whole grains in your meals. Even small changes, such as adding a serving of vegetables to each meal or swapping soda for water, can support your heart.

2. Stay Active

Regular activity strengthens your heart, improves circulation, and supports a healthy weight. Aim for daily movement through walking, exercise, or other physical activity. Simple choices, such as brisk walking, stair climbing, or light strength exercises at home, make a difference and are easy to fit into your day.

3. Quit Tobacco

Tobacco damages blood vessels and increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other diseases. Avoid smoking or using other tobacco products to protect your heart.

4. Get Healthy Sleep

Quality sleep supports overall heart and metabolic health, reduces stress, and helps maintain healthy blood pressure. Aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

5. Maintain a Healthy Weight

Excess weight puts extra strain on the heart and increases the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. A balanced diet and regular activity support a healthy weight.

6. Control Cholesterol

Healthy cholesterol levels help keep your arteries clear and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Eating more fiber-rich foods, staying active, and limiting highly processed foods can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.

7. Manage Blood Sugar

Maintaining steady blood sugar levels helps protect your blood vessels and reduces the risk of diabetes. Regular movement, balanced meals, and routine checkups can help support healthy blood sugar over time.

8. Manage Blood Pressure

Healthy blood pressure helps your heart work more efficiently and reduces strain on your arteries. Staying active, eating a balanced diet, managing stress, and regularly checking your blood pressure can help keep it within a healthy range.

The Bottom Line

Heart health is built with small, consistent choices every day. Eating well, staying active, managing sleep, and keeping up with screenings all add up. This February, take one step at a time for your heart. Download this infographic to see these heart-healthy habits at a glance. Your body will thank you for years to come.

Reference: Lloyd-Jones, D.M., et al., 2022. Life’s essential 8: updating and enhancing the American Heart Association’s construct of cardiovascular health: a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 146(5), pp.e18-e43.

Neck Pain Highly Associated Jaw Dysfunction

A recent study investigated the relationship between people that have neck pain, specifically cervical disc herniation, that also have jaw pain and dysfunction (TMD). The results show that there is a very high correlation between the two when they saw that nearly all people suffering from neck pain also had TMD. We have known for quite some time that proper jaw movement is influenced by good movement from the neck and cervical spine, but we are now beginning to see through studies like this, just how neck pain can be a cause for jaw pain and dysfunction. We use to think certain types of neck pain would lead to limited jaw movement, but we are now seeing that any significant neck pain or limited movement negatively affects jaw movement, especially in chronic neck pain patients.

We make it common practice in our office to evaluate jaw movement when people are suffering from neck pain, especially when neck pain is also combined with headaches. TMD and neck pain are very common in people that suffer from tension type headaches. TMD can often go unnoticed by patients, especially if they don’t have facial pain. If you have prolonged neck pain and frequent headaches, it may be the missing link to maintaining symptom relief.

Altunalan T, Geçgil Nazli E, Gür İ, Korkmaz Üçüncü N. Temporomandibular disorders and neck disability in individuals with cervical disc herniation. European Journal of Oral Sciences. 2026 Feb:e70047.