Your Heart After 40: What You Need to Know
Are You Overlooking Small Habits That Affect Your Heart?
The little things you do every day can quietly impact your heart health.
Over time, these small habits can raise your blood pressure, push your cholesterol into the “borderline high” range, and affect other key heart health numbers.
In midlife these changes become more noticeable.
Menopause itself doesn’t cause heart disease.
But the hormonal changes that occur during this time can accelerate your cardiovascular risk factors.
Estrogen helps keep your blood vessels strong, flexible, and healthy—including your heart.
So when estrogen levels drop during menopause, your daily habits and lifestyle become even more important for protecting your heart.
Why This Matters
Heart disease is the #1 killer for women. Half a million women every year die from cardiovascular disease. But 80% of heart disease is preventable (AHA).
FITNESS SIMPLIFIED
Your Heart Is a Muscle—Keep It Strong!
Just like your other muscles, your heart gets stronger when you move and weaker when you don’t.
Fitness Tip to Build a Stronger Heart
Do “Exercise Snacks”
Regular physical activity - even just walking 30 minutes a day - can lower your risk of developing heart and circulatory problems by 35%.
To keep your heart healthy, you need to challenge it.
That means making it work harder than usual.
The great news is that it doesn’t take much!
Doing short bursts of movement throughout the day can boost your heart rate and build strength.
If you’re breathing hard, your heart is getting a workout!💪
Try these three quick exercise snacks to get your heart pumping today.
Quick & Easy Heart Health Exercises for Women Over 40
- High Knee Marching – Lift onto the balls of your feet, drive your knees up, and swing your arms strong (30 sec)
- Lateral Taps – Stay low, move fast, and keep your feet light (30 sec)
- Total Body Extensions – Squat, swoop your arms back, and reach up high on your toes (30 sec)
Extra tip: Do this circuit of three exercises 3-6 rounds through, taking 15-30 second breaks between exercises. You’ll probably start feeling a little out of breath - a good indication that your heart is being trained.
Did You Know...
- A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that even small amounts of varied cardiovascular exercise significantly improve heart health and longevity.
- For the healthiest heart, do a combination of steady state cardio (e.g. going for a long, brisk walk) and interval training with short bursts of high effort followed by recovery (e.g. strength training circuits).
- A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness. A well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate closer to 40 beats per minute.
NUTRITION SIMPLIFIED
The food on your plate shapes your heart health. ❤️
Nutrition Tip to Build a Stronger Heart
Eat more fiber!
Having high cholesterol can put your heart at risk.
Soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol by reducing how much your body absorbs from food into your bloodstream.
The recipe below is packed with heart-healthy ingredients—quinoa for fiber, and salmon, avocado and olive oil for extra heart support!
Chili Rubbed Salmon with Avocado Tomato Salsa
More heart healthy nutrition ideas:
- Eating 2 servings of fish per week can help increase your HDL (”good”) cholesterol & lower triglycerides
- Raspberries, pears, apples, and bananas are the fruits with the highest fiber
- Make split pea soup, lentil soup, or chili with a variety of beans for a high fiber boost
MINDSET SIMPLIFIED
Women who sleep less than 6 hours a night have a 20% higher risk of heart disease (NIH).
Getting 7-8 hours of quality sleep can help lower your risk.
Quality sleep in midlife?! It’s not impossible!
It may be harder to fall and stay asleep, but small changes can make a big difference.
- Try going to bed 15 minutes earlier each night.
- If night sweats keep you up, invest in cooling sheets and lower your room temperature.-
Create a consistent bedtime routine, and be mindful of what you eat and do 2-3 hours before bed.
Mindset Tip of The Week
Prioritize 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night
THE TAKEAWAY
Small daily habits have a big impact on your heart health. It’s never too late to build a stronger heart!
- Do “Exercise Snacks”
- Eat more fiber
- Get 7-8 hours of quality sleep each night
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Self Care Simplified podcast
Ep 434: How to Strengthen your heart one Habit at a Time
Ep 404: Can Specific Exercises Lower Blood Pressure?
Ep 327: Night sweats and hot flashes! Triggers and remedies to ease symptoms
SPECIAL RESOURCE
If you're struggling to get a good night's sleep due to stress and tension in your body, then I’m here to help. I’m going to show you a few simple bedtime stretches that you can do to help improve your quality of sleep.
Bedtime Stretches to Improve Your Sleep.
Until next week... Be strong
