TL;DR:

• Move 150 minutes a week and lift twice a week.
  
• Eat Mediterranean style, keep salt under 5 grams a day.
  
• Sleep 7 to 9 hours and quit tobacco for good.
  
• Track your numbers: BP, cholesterol, sugar, weight, waist.
  
• Drink less alcohol, or not at all. See your doctor for a plan.
  

How to improve your heart health

Heart disease is still the world’s top killer. The good news, most risk is changeable. Small steps add up fast. This guide gives a simple plan that works in many countries. It draws on advice from the World Health Organization, the American Heart Association, the CDC, the NHS, and recent research. Citations and links are at the end.

The big picture: what to focus on

AHA’s “Life’s Essential 8” sums up heart health. These include diet, activity, nicotine avoidance, sleep, healthy weight, and healthy levels for blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar.

WHO says most heart disease can be prevented by changing daily habits. Key risks are tobacco, unhealthy diet, excess salt and sugar, inactivity, harmful alcohol use, and air pollution.

Use these pillars to shape your week.

1) Move your body, most days

Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity each week. Brisk walking, cycling, or swimming all count. Vigorous options can replace minutes at a 2 to 1 swap. Add muscle work on two days. Break up long sitting time.

How to start if you are inactive

• Walk 10 minutes after two meals. Add 5 minutes each week.
  
• Use stairs for one floor. Park farther away.
  
• Do two sets of chair squats and wall pushups, twice weekly.
  

Progress over time

• Make some sessions interval style. For example, 1 minute faster, 2 minutes easy.
  
• Add resistance bands or bodyweight circuits.
  

2) Eat for your heart

A Mediterranean style pattern helps. Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit. Choose whole grains, legumes, nuts, olive oil, and fish. Keep red and processed meat, sweets, and refined grains low. Reviews in 2024 found this pattern lowers heart events and deaths.

Salt and sodium
High sodium raises blood pressure, a major driver of heart attacks and strokes. WHO advises adults to keep sodium under 2,000 mg per day, about 5 grams of salt. Consider potassium salt substitutes if safe for you. People with kidney disease should ask a clinician first.

Easy wins

• Cook most meals at home. Restaurant and packaged foods hide salt.
  
• Rinse canned beans and vegetables. Choose “no salt added” when possible.
  
• Flavor with herbs, spices, citrus, garlic, chili, and vinegar.
  

3) Get healthy sleep

Adults should average 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep. Sleep is one of AHA’s Essential 8. Poor sleep links to higher blood pressure and heart risk. Keep a regular schedule, limit screens near bedtime, and seek help for snoring or suspected sleep apnea.

4) Quit tobacco and nicotine

Quitting helps at once and keeps helping for years. Within 20 minutes, heart rate and blood pressure drop. At one year, coronary disease risk is about half that of a smoker. Use a quit plan, nicotine replacement, or medicines if needed.

5) Alcohol, if you drink

No alcohol is the lowest health risk. WHO states there is no safe level for cancer risk. If you choose to drink, AHA and CDC advise moderation, not more than one drink a day for women and two for men, and never to start for health. Less is better.

6) Know your numbers

Tracking a few numbers helps you act early.

• Blood pressure. Normal is under 120/80 mm Hg. Elevated starts at 120–129 systolic. Stage 1 hypertension starts at 130/80. Check at least yearly if normal. Home monitors improve accuracy over time.
  
• Cholesterol. Ask for a fasting or nonfasting lipid profile. Most adults need checks every 4 to 6 years, sooner if risk is higher.
  
• Blood sugar. Screen at age 35 and earlier if overweight or high risk. If normal, repeat every 3 years.
  
• Weight and waist. Track weight trends and waist size. Central fat raises risk even with normal BMI.
  
• Sleep duration. Aim for 7 to 9 hours. Log it for two weeks and adjust habits.
  

Quick checklist to print

7) Manage stress and mood

Chronic stress can raise blood pressure and promote poor sleep and eating. Use brief, daily tools. Try a 5 minute breathing session, a short walk outdoors, or a phone call with a friend. If you feel low or anxious most days, ask your clinician for support.

8) Medications still matter

Lifestyle is the base. Many people still need medicines to reach safe targets. Common ones include:

• Blood pressure drugs. ACE inhibitors, ARBs, thiazides, or calcium channel blockers. Targets are set by your clinician based on total risk. Recent guidance classifies normal BP under 120/80.
  
• Statins. These lower LDL and reduce heart attack and stroke risk. Your need depends on age and risk profile.
  
• Diabetes drugs. Some agents, like SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists, protect the heart in people with diabetes. Follow ADA care standards for screening and treatment.
  

Never stop or start a medication without medical advice.

Sample one-week heart plan

Sunday. Shop and prep. Cook a pot of beans, chop vegetables, set oats for overnight.
Monday. 30 minute brisk walk. Salt-free spice blend on dinner.
Tuesday. 20 minutes strength. Squats, pushups, rows, planks.
Wednesday. Walk 30 minutes with hills or intervals.
Thursday. Strength 20 minutes. Add band pulls and lunges.
Friday. Fish, whole grains, big salad. Screen time off one hour before bed.
Saturday. Long walk or cycle 40–60 minutes. Call a quit-buddy if you are stopping tobacco.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Waiting for motivation. Schedule actions first. Motivation follows.
  
• Chasing supplements over basics. Food, movement, sleep, and meds matter most.
  
• Ignoring sodium in bread, sauces, and soups. Read labels and compare.
  
• Overestimating “light” drinking. Risk starts at low levels, so keep it rare or skip it.
  

Why it matters

Heart disease steals years and quality of life. The habits above cut risk at every age. You do not need perfect days. You need steady, simple steps that become routine.

Sources:

• World Health Organization, Cardiovascular diseases fact sheet, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds), updated 2025-07-31.
  
• World Health Organization, Physical activity guidelines summary, https://www.who.int/initiatives/behealthy/physical-activity, accessed 2025-09-24.
  
• World Health Organization, Sodium reduction fact sheet, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sodium-reduction, updated 2025-02-07.
  
• WHO guideline overview on lower-sodium salt substitutes (PDF), https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/nutrition-and-food-safety/events/2025/launch-of-lsss-guideline-presentation-1-overview.pdf, 2025-01-27.
  
• American Heart Association, Life’s Essential 8 hub, https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/lifes-essential-8, accessed 2025-09-24.
  
• American Heart Association, Recommendations for physical activity in adults, https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults, accessed 2025-09-24.
  
• CDC, Physical activity basics for adults, https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/guidelines/adults.html, updated 2023-12-20.
  
• NHS, Physical activity guidelines for adults, https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64/, accessed 2025-09-24.
  
• AHA Journals, 2025 AHA/ACC guideline update on blood pressure classification, https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001356, accessed 2025-09-24.
  
• American Heart Association, Understanding blood pressure readings, https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/understanding-blood-pressure-readings, updated 2025-08-14.
  
• WHO/Europe, No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health, https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health, 2023-01-04.
  
• American Heart Association, Alcohol and heart health, https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/alcohol-and-heart-health, reviewed 2024-10-02.
  
• CDC, About moderate alcohol use, https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/about-alcohol-use/moderate-alcohol-use.html, updated 2025-01-14.
  
• AHA Professional Heart Daily, Alcohol use and cardiovascular disease scientific statement, https://professional.heart.org/en/science-news/alcohol-use-and-cardiovascular-disease, 2025-06-09.
  
• AHA, Life’s Essential 8 fact sheet on healthy sleep, https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/lifes-essential-8/lifes-essential-8-fact-sheet, accessed 2025-09-24.
  
• WHO, Health benefits of smoking cessation, https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/tobacco-health-benefits-of-smoking-cessation, updated 2020-02-25.
  
• AHA, How to quit tobacco fact sheet, https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/lifes-essential-8/how-to-quit-tobacco-fact-sheet, accessed 2025-09-24.
  
• AHA, Heart-health screenings, https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/heart-health-screenings, updated 2024-01-16.
  
• ADA Standards of Care 2024, Diagnosis and classification of diabetes, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10725812/, 2023.
  
• CDC, Diabetes screening age lowered to 35, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data-research/research/diabetes-screening-eligible.html, updated 2024-05-15.
  
• Mediterranean diet reviews, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11075113/, 2024; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11795232/, 2024.
  
• Mayo Clinic, Sodium: How to tame your salt habit, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/sodium/art-20045479, updated 2023-06-28.