Welcome to our four-week Heart Health Challenge — a step-by-step series to show your heart some extra love.
Here’s how it works: Each week, we’ll focus on one aspect of heart healthy living and offer simple, easy ways to integrate it into your life. With expert advice from a variety of specialists, you can pick and choose which elements of the challenge work best for you and use our downloadable resources to help guide you along.
Week 1: Do-It-Yourself Screenings
One of the best things you can do to prevent heart disease is understand your own personal risk. And one of the best ways to do that is by getting yourself screened. But what happens when you can’t make it to a screening? Heart expert Dr. Sandeep Gautam and registered nurse Brenda Snodgrass explain how to check your heart health from the comfort of your own home.
Your challenge:
Perform a DIY heart health screening. Use our heart screening guide and tracker to follow along.
Week 2: Heart Healthy Eating
Good overall health is good heart health — and the food you fuel your body with is a big part of that. In this week’s challenge, heart expert Dr. Arun Kumar and dietitian Michelle Townsend will walk you through the three key elements of a heart healthy diet and show you three different ways to give one meal a heart healthy makeover.
Your challenge:
Try out one, two or all three meal makeover approaches throughout this week. Use our heart healthy food swaps guide.
Week 3: Heart Healthy Exercise
Regular physical activity not only helps people feel, function and sleep better, it also reduces the risk for a large number of chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. But! You don’t always need an official workout to experience the benefits. This week, Jacob Linn, director of our Human Performance Program will take you through a 20-minute heart healthy workout while heart expert Dr. Mary Dohrmann shows you some other simple ways to add some activity throughout your day.
Your challenge:
Get 20 minutes of activity in every day this week. Use our heart healthy exercise guide and tracker.
Week 4: Mindfulness
Stress is a part of life and with how busy a majority of our schedules are, it’s likely something we’re all used to. But, there’s a reason stress is called the silent killer. Not only can it lead to unhealthy habits like smoking and overeating, it can also raise our blood pressure and put us at a higher risk for heart attacks and heart failure. In our final week, heart expert Dr. Anand Chockalingam and psychiatrist Dr. Laine Young-Walker explain the importance of mindfulness and offer three quick exercises to reduce your stress and reset your mindset.
Your challenge:
Practice one mindfulness exercise each day. Use our mindfulness guide.
About Our Team
MU Health Care has all the experts you need to take on heart health — from dietitians and physical therapists to doctors leading the way in heart and vascular disease and surgery. Whether you’re looking to minimize your risk for heart disease or are in need of more complex care, our specialists will work closely with you to create the personalized treatment plan that’s best for you.