任何年龄的心脏健康——40岁、50岁、60岁甚至更大

Making healthy choices during any decade of life increases the chances of staying healthy as you age.

It’s never too late to embark on a healthy lifestyle, even in your 40s, 50s and 60s. Taking steps during those decades to reduce the risk of heart disease and other chronic illnesses can help your quality of life as you grow older.

“We are increasingly understanding that what you do earlier in life has a long-term impact,诺瑞娜·艾伦说, an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

中年是关注你现在和未来健康的时候.

去看医生，走上健康的道路

看医生不仅仅是在你感到不舒服的时候. 在身体健康的时候, 安排一次年度检查，看看你的血压是否正常, 胆固醇和血糖都在正常范围内. You can also track your blood pressure between exams with an at-home monitor or a machine in a drug store or grocery store.

A normal blood pressure range is less than 120 for systolic (the top number) and less than 80 for the diastolic (the bottom number).

如果你的数字在不健康的范围内, a physician can help you decide whether medication is needed to control heart disease risk factors. 生活方式的改变也会有所帮助.

“You can step up your game, essentially, in terms of diet and physical activity,” Allen说. “Anything you can do at any age is going to make your future healthier and happier.”

考虑多吃水果和蔬菜，不喝含糖饮料.

维持或开始一项锻炼计划. 你不需要跑马拉松. Begin gradually by adding 20 to 30 minutes of brisk walking to your daily routine.

The 美国心脏协会 recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week for adults, 每天运动30分钟, 每周五天.

有营养的饮食和体育锻炼是生活七件简单事中的两件, which are seven measures and actions identified by the AHA as having the most impact on heart health. 其他人在控制血压, 控制胆固醇, 降低血糖, 减肥和戒烟.

戒烟几乎可以立竿见影. 戒烟可以降低患心脏病和其他疾病的风险. 对于某些疾病，这种风险最终会降至吸烟前的水平.

40多岁感觉很好

40多岁的你可能会被工作和养育孩子所消耗, 但你不应该忽视自己的幸福.

“人们把自己的健康放在一边，”艾伦说. “为自己腾出线上电子游戏飞禽走兽是一句古老的格言, but there are long-term benefits with being healthy — and even short-term benefits.”

她的研究小组检查了超过25人的健康记录,000 people over the course of several decades from the Chicago Health Association study. 心脏病危险因素, 包括高血压, 胆固醇, 身体质量指数, 糖尿病和吸烟, were assessed for each person in medical exams in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the average participant was in their early 40s.

Cardiovascular disease risk factors that were present (or not) in that early 40s age group were “highly predictive” of what kind of health one had at ages 65, 75和85, Allen说.

没有主要危险因素的人寿命更长, 没有心脏病或其他慢性疾病的寿命更长, 并在晚年节省医疗费用, 根据2017年发表在《线上娱乐电子游戏网站》杂志上的这项研究.

与此同时, people in their 40s should also be aware of health issues that tend to arise in middle age. 超过3000万美国人患有糖尿病, 其中90%到95%的人患有2型糖尿病, 哪一种最常见于45岁以上的人, 根据疾病控制和预防中心.

五六十年代的心脏健康状况

心血管健康 (链接在新窗口中打开)随着年龄的增长，它会影响你过充实生活的能力, 包括你在中年时的工作能力.

员工心血管健康状况较好, 通过生活的简单7个因素来衡量, 少请病假，工作更专注, 一项研究发现. Other research found that annual employer health care costs were on average $2,021 less for employees with at least six ideal scores of the seven heart health metrics.

对于女性来说, 更年期不会引起心血管疾病, 但在女性生命的这一时期，风险因素可能开始出现, 之后心脏病的症状可能会变得更加明显.

五六十岁通常是人们体重增加较多的时期, 心脏病的危险因素出现了.

Research has shown that exercising regularly in middle age can improve the elasticity of blood vessels brought on by a sedentary lifestyle and reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

想想多走路的方法, whether it’s a few blocks in your neighborhood or a trek to the local farmer’s market to find fresh produce. Also keep in mind that preparing meals at home rather than eating out is usually a good way to ensure healthy eating.

在你60多岁及以上的时候，医疗问题可能会变得更加普遍. But people with fewer health issues are likely to have fewer doctor visits and less hospital or nursing home care.

Those with more favorable heart disease risk factors in middle age saved approximately $18,在享受医疗保险期间, 根据艾伦的研究. Even those who developed chronic diseases later in life experienced less severity of those illnesses.

Whatever your age, reducing your cardiovascular disease risk is worth the effort. It’s often a good idea to involve the whole family — spouses, children and grandchildren.

“团队合作，”艾伦说. “让它成为一项团体活动对每个人都有好处.”

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