Mental health and healthy heart

Enjoy more time with your furry friend (read: pet), engage in moderate physical activity and try to get restful sleep. Recommendations made by cardiologists from the American Heart Association include, among other things. Strengthen mental health and prevent heart diseases from appearing over time.

At the last meeting of this scientific society, held in Philadelphia, two independent studies were presented, with the participation of several thousand people, they demonstrated that Anxiety and depression contributed to the appearance of myocardial infarction, and stress produced atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries.

Therefore, American physicians emphasize that mental well-being is important for a healthy heart and brain.

Most cardiologists and psychiatrists agree that the practice of mindfulness-based interventions, e.g. Attention Or cognitive-behavioral therapy can help reduce anxiety, perceived stress, and depression and may have positive effects on disease and cardiovascular risk.

positive psychological health It is also associated with beneficial behaviors, such as quitting smoking, increasing physical activity, eating a heart-healthy diet, increasing medication adherence, and getting regular clinical checkups.

Finally, as Professor Michelle Albert of the University of California at San Francisco assures, “Well-being is much more than the simple absence of disease. It is an active process directed towards a healthy, happy and fulfilled life.