Easy ways to check your heart health in the comfort of your home

15 Apr 2019

The heart is the most vital organ in the human body. It is primarily responsible for pumping blood throughout your body through the circulatory system. It also supplies oxygen and the necessary nutrients to the heart tissues while eliminating wastes such as carbon dioxide. Your body tissues need this constant supply of nutrition so that they can remain active. If the heart is unable to supply blood to all the organs and tissues, they will die. It is therefore important to maintain heart health. You should ensure you have a balanced diet and also include daily physical activities to keep your heart healthy and strong. Additionally, you can check heart health at home. Here???s what you can do.

How to check heart health at home?

You can check how healthy your heart is by conducting a series of tests in the comfort of your home. Let???s take a look at the easiest tests you can conduct at home.

Test 1 ??? Check your resting heart rate

To determine your resting heart rate you should sit quietly for a minimum of 5 minutes. Next, you should place the index and middle fingers on your carotid artery which lies at the side of the neck, close to the jawline. You should count your heart beat for 20 seconds and that number should be multiplied by 3 (to form a minute) to determine your resting heart rate. From this, you can draw the below conclusions.

• If the heart beat count amounts to 60 beats or less per minute, your heart is healthy and in good shape.
• If the heart beat count amounts to 60-80 beats per minute, your heart is not as healthy as it should be but it is no cause for alarm either.
• If the average heart beats per minute exceed 80, your heart is working harder than it should to pump blood, and you may need to see your doctor.

Test 2 ??? The exercise and recovery method

Another way to check heart health at home or at the gym is through the exercise and recovery method. You need to exercise as vigorously as you can on a treadmill or a stationary bike for approximately 2-3 minutes. Such machines typically have a function that can show you your heart rate and you must note the number. Wait for a minute, exercise for the same amount of time and jot down your heart rate once again. Now, you must subtract the first heart rate number from the second one. If the difference between the two numbers is less than 18, it shows that your heart can recover from exercise quickly and that it is functioning well. However, if the difference between the two numbers exceeds 18, then your heart may not be functioning as well as it should.

Test 3 ??? Check the circumference of your waist

This is another unique yet effective method to check heart health at home. Your waist size can help you predict abnormal levels of cholesterol, hypertension and risks associated with heart diseases. The fat accumulated around the belly is generally associated with inflammation and hardening of arteries as well as hypertension and insulin resistance.

Simply wrap a tape around the waist near the belly button to measure the girth. Release a breath and then look at the measure tape. Essentially, your waist measurement should not exceed more than half your height.

Now that you know how to check your heart health at home, you should conduct these tests regularly to ensure your heart is strong and healthy. These tests are simple, economic and do not require you to go through any blood tests or x-rays making them all the more convenient.

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