It has become absolutely essential to take care of your Heart than ever before. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death all over the world. Our lifestyle choices have a lot to do with the health of our hearts.

Here are some important and basic ways to keep your heart healthy:

a) Keep Stress at bay

Stress makes us indulge in unhealthy activities like excessive drinking, emotional binging like eating junk, and smoking. Find ways to de-stress and learn to practice deep breathing and other techniques of meditation or listening to calming music online.

b) Eat healthily
Eating fresh produce such as fresh fruits, colorful vegetables, rich green leafy vegetables, nuts, and whole grains and eliminating processed foods such as bread, refined flour, excess sugar, salt, and coffee consumption from your diet will reduce trans- fats, the number one cause of heart disease.

c) Breakfast like a king

As the saying goes, breakfast needs to be one of the most important meals of your day. After five to seven hours of sleep and fasting, it is essential to break the fast with a wholesome and healthy homemade breakfast. Missing out on breakfast causes a drop in sugar level and also leaves the body and mind craving for its regular nutritional intake, thus eventually stressing out the brain and heart to function beyond its optimum capacity.

d) Essential intake Anti-Oxidants 
By increasing your intake of antioxidants found in berries, nuts, flaxseeds, leafy greens, citrus fruits, fish oil tablets, green tea, etc you can ensure good heart health.

e) Quit Smoking
We all are aware of the consequences of smoking it is everywhere. Smoking constricts the blood vessels of the heart increasing the odds of getting a heart attack. Try to quit smoking slow, steady but surely to keep your heart happy. Try using nicotine patches also let your will power win the game!

f) Regular Exercise
Yoga, Swimming, Brisk walking, Jogging, any form of exercise that is suitable will keep the heart functioning healthy and physical health fit.

g) Keep Cholesterol levels in check
Avoid processed foods and mindless binging, incorporate a healthy diet plan, with necessary calories according to one's need and also follow a regular check-up routine for your cholesterol levels and you will see the change.

h) Rest well.
Restful and sound sleep is essential for a healthy heart and its functioning. Seven hours of sound sleep every night is a must for a healthy heart. If you suffer from insomnia or sleep apnea, do visit the doctor and get the sleep cycle corrected. Irregular sleep patterns burden the heart leading to many heart-related issues.

i) Spend time outdoors and Socialize
Having an active social life can reduce the risk of suffering from heart diseases. Meet friends, family, and inculcating the habit of going outdoors in nature. Interactions with people around and our surroundings have proved to be beneficial by many scientific surveys and Mental health organizations.

j) Fibre is essential for the wear and tear of our bodies.
Eat your raw fruits and veggies and the wonder cereals-oats, museli, broken wheat, barley, eat sprouts in soups or salads and stir-fries to improve heart functioning. The roughage in fiber aids our digestion, leading to a healthy body and eventually a healthy heart.

k) Controlled Alcohol Consumption
Limit your alcohol intake and avoid binge drinking sessions. Choose wine over the hard drinks to have a happy heart.

l) Watch your weight
If you are on the heavier side, then it is necessary to lose weight, so as to cause less burden on the heart and other parts of the body. Consult your doctor for an ideal weight that might suit you according to your nutritional requirements, height, body and other medical ailments if suffering

m) Cooking Oil Matters
Eliminate refined oils from your cooking. Cook in oils that have a high smoke point such as.peanut, sesame, rice bran, or mustard oil. Olive oil or canola oil can be used as salad dressings or to drizzle over hummus or food of your choice.

n) Reduce excessive Salt intake
Salt is known to increase blood pressure. Reduce its amount from your diet and use herbs and spices to add more flavor to your food. Packaged food and drinks also contain a high amount of salts, preservatives, and sodium. Keep a check on it and keep your heart and health safe.15.

o) Vitamin E
Walnuts, Fish, flaxseeds are some of the richest in anti-oxidants, Fish is a healthy alternative to red meat and chicken, which are responsible for avoiding heart issues.

p) Regular Checkups 
Meet your doctor regularly to have consistent updates on your health.