And a heart health test kit to monitor its cardiovascular health
The majority of Americans do not take good care of their heart. Fast food and buffet restaurants are often far too crowded. We are obsessed with fried foods, BBQ, and various ways to cook and ingest beef.
If it’s not fatty meats and fried carbohydrates, it’s sugar and caffeine. Starbucks, with its caffeinated ensemble of sugary drinks and diabetes starter kits, has also captured America’s heart.
Where don't we like to include a meal?
Baseball hotdog binges, Superbowl smorgasbords of salty salamis and cheeses, food festivals devoted to fried fats, sodas smothered with sugars and syrups (are you catching the alliteration?), Sunday BBQs, and every other event centered on the mainstay of less-than-healthy food, permeate our society. We, as a culture, are hooked on destroying our hearts.
Heart Healthy Habits (the alliteration doesn't stop)
This is not an article about the importance of cutting back on bacon cheeseburgers and cool ranch Doritos (though that is a great idea). While we’re on the subject, try swapping those sugary sodas for flavored bubble water.
If you find yourself desperate for a cheeseburger (I get it!), indulge, but switch the fries for a green salad or some fruit. You really will feel better, not only physically, but mentally as well. Eating healthier is just like any habit. It gets easier the more you try it.
Can I get that on Amazon?
But this article is about at-home heart health tests. (Home, Heart, Health sounds like one of those generic painted wooden signs one would find at Target.) Why the lecture on food, then? Because heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States. And what causes or exacerbates heart disease in the majority of the population? Diet.
Ah, family, the gift that keeps on giving
Genetic components certainly play a factor in heart health as wealth. Heart disease can be seen as a genetic pattern in families. Even then, a healthy diet is an effective and critical way of managing the disease.
Heart Health is not just about cholesterol levels
Diabetes 1 is a genetic condition, but Diabetes 2 is a disease that anyone can develop if a person does not take good care of themselves. Having a healthy diet is critical to the health of your heart. Another essential step in heart health, especially for anyone with symptoms or histories of heart disease, is monitoring your heart.
Anything to not have to don the backless (or frontless?) robe
It might sound tedious, the thought of regular check-ins with your heart, but it doesn’t have to be. At-home heart health tests are simple and accurate.
You don’t have to wait long for your results, and you will have saved yourself a potential wait in the waiting room (along with the embarrassment of trying to determine if the robe is supposed to open in the front or the back).
Here is a list of some at-home heart health test kits and their specifics and prices. Best at home heart test kits
Thank goodness there's a test for that
These at-home heart health tests monitor cardiovascular health by focusing on a broad range of indicators such as cholesterol, glucose, inflammation, and essential biomarkers.
These tests can help evaluate the health of your heart and your risk for diabetes in a few easy steps.
Here is an article that helps to explain the process of using an at-home heart health test. How to do an at home heart test.
Old Habits die hard, but new ones can be more exciting (and way healthier)
If you’re concerned for your heart health, try an at-home heart test kit (along with trying some food alterations). Changing your diet can be a challenging transition. You will probably find that once you adjust to salads over fries, you’ll start craving the veggies and, in turn, save yourself the trip to your local fast food joint.