Arterial health is vital to protecting your long-term quality of life. These crucial pieces of the cardiovascular system are responsible for shipping incredible amounts of blood from your heart out to the rest of your body. Without healthy arteries, it is nearly impossible for your body to transport nutrient-rich, oxygenated blood to all of your extremities in an efficient manner. Let’s look at the worst habits for your arteries.

Worst Habits for Your Arteries

As a result, patients with poor arterial health are likely to experience weakness, cramping, and coldness in their extremities where there simply isn’t enough circulation. Fortunately, keeping your arteries healthy doesn’t have to be hard. These are the top three habits you can avoid to keep those arteries pumping the way they should while fighting off coronary artery disease.

Smoking

Whether they’re cigarettes, a vape, or something else, smoking is bad for you. We could go through the lengthy process of ranking which option is worst and discuss the finer points of exactly what is negative about each type of smoking. But your arteries simply don’t care.

In every case you are inhaling some variety of toxic materials either as a result of combustion or from the plant you’re smoking. These damage your heart and increase the build-up of cholesterol in your arteries.

No one is saying that quitting is easy. It’s considered an addiction for a reason. That is why it is often best to seek out a supportive group of professionals to help guide you through the difficult process of taking control of an addiction.

Dining Out Regularly

There’s a reason food tastes better when you dine out. Butter and salt are both used liberally in practically every restaurant in the United States. If you’re eating out, then you’re most likely consuming more fat, more sodium, and more calories than you would cooking a similar meal at home.

Now that isn’t to say you should never eat out. We all need the occasional break from hot stoves and endless dishes. However, you do need to be careful that dining out is not a regular part of your schedule if you’re hoping to protect your arteries against high cholesterol. In order to give your body the nutritional balance it needs, try to limit yourself to eating out once or twice per week. Does that feel like it might be too much to handle. Try looking at meal prep ideas and some crockpot recipes to make your weekly meals simpler.

Drinking Heavily

Ideally, we wouldn’t drink at all. But moderation can be a good middle-ground for patients who aren’t quite ready to give it up entirely. Medical professionals suggest that women should limit themselves to one drink per day, whereas men may get away with two due to their larger size on average.

Going overboard can easily pack on the calories and excess fat. Higher levels of triglycerides do increase your risk of heart disease, so it’s a serious factor for you to consider. Having trouble with moderation during the holidays or while socializing? Then consider packing a case of flavored sparkling water or juice as an alternative to alcohol.

In addition to monitoring these major lifestyle choices, it is important to reduce stress and stay active. Fortunately, these two often work hand in hand, as regular exercise is an important factor to healthy stress relief. Of course, you should also consider your genetic risk factors when determining the steps needed to care for your arteries. For additional help, contact your cardiovascular surgeon in Los Angeles.