(Bethesda, MD, Tuesday, February 1, 2022) – February marks American Heart Month, when Americans can take a bit more time to focus on the importance of maintaining a healthy heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

Whether it’s from everyday deadlines, financial struggles, or the COVID-19 pandemic, stress shows up often in life. And your body reacts to it: with chronic stress, you’re more likely to have high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and poor sleep.

Reducing stress can lower your risk for developing heart problems.

This year, experts from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) are sharing ways, based on the latest science, to help people of all ages reach and maintain optimal heart and vascular health, such as managing stressors and engaging in other forms of self-care.

Stress management involves invoking your relaxation response, and that response can be trained with practice.

Meditation in a quiet, comfortable location, progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and guided imagery are all effective stress-relieving exercises you can do.

Above all, you should also be kind to yourself. A recent study found women who were more likely to practice self-compassion were less likely to show early signs of the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaque, a risk factor for heart disease.

Combining de-stressors like these with other healthy habits can go a long way toward strengthening your heart. Eating healthier foods, moving your body more, getting enough good, quality sleep, and developing a strong social support system are all great examples.

You should also rethink some of the familiar ways you may be coping with stress, such as drinking alcohol frequently, using drugs and other substances, smoking or overeating. They can actually worsen your stress – and your health.

Taking care of your heart health is a lifelong journey, but at a time when the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 remains higher in people with poor cardiovascular health, learning new ways to make your heart strong has become even more important.

No matter your age, sex, race and ethnicity, or lifestyle, it is never too late or too early to take steps to support your heart and vascular health.

Heart disease risk may affect women and men differently. Women are more likely than men to have medical conditions that raise the risk of developing coronary heart disease, and about 80% of women ages 40 to 60 have one or more risk factors for coronary heart disease. Furthermore, other risk factors, such as diabetes and smoking, may raise heart disease risk more in women more than in men. For more information about women and heart disease, visit https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/education-and-awareness/heart-truth/listen-to-your-heart.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI): NHLBI is the global leader in conducting and supporting research in heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders that advances scientific knowledge, improves public health, and saves lives. For more information on heart health and to access free resources, visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ourhearts.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.