World Health Day is here to remind us about the importance of our health in order to live our lives to the fullest. This becomes even more important in times of a global pandemic that has grinded our lives to a halt.

The heart is an important organ for our health which partly due to natural causes and partly due to the changes in our lifestyle, the health of the heart has lagged.

Also read: World Health Day: 5 simple lifestyle changes that’ll make your life better

This World Health Day, we bring you five ways you can keep your heart healthy.

Fats yes, trans fats no: We do need fats in our diet, including saturated and polyunsaturated and unsaturated fats. Anyone who tells you that one can remain healthy by avoiding fat altogether is doing a great disservice. But there is one kind of fat we should avoid, trans fat. Trans fat is known to increase your risk of developing heart disease or having a stroke over a lifetime.

Get enough sleep: Sleep is one of the most essential yet underrated parts of keeping your heart healthy. If due to some reason you don’t get enough sleep, you run a higher risk for heart-related diseases no matter your age or other health habits.  

Avoid smoking: Cigarettes are bad for health not just for a smoker but for a non-smoker too. According to a report by American Heart Association, passive exposure to tobacco smoke leads to about 34,000 premature heart disease deaths and 7,300 lung cancer deaths each year in the US alone. The chemicals that come out with cigarette smoke help plaque to build up in the arteries.