Health
What we do, we do from the heart.
Health
What we do, we do from the heart.
The purpose of our Northwest Health Ministry is to serve Northwest Church and the surrounding Lynnwood community with the goal of promoting Christ-centered physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
- This Week: Heart Disease -
HEART DISEASE & STRESS
Stress and your reactions
You can manage stress in both healthy and unhealthy ways. Many people deal with stress by smoking, drinking too much, and overeating. All of these unhealthy habits can contribute to heart disease. But using healthy ways to keep your stress under control allows you to better protect yourself against heart disease. Try these ideas:
- Exercise. When you are anxious and tense, exercise is a great way to burn off all that excess energy and stress. Go for a walk, a bike ride, or a swim, or go to the gym for your favorite class. Plan to do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week. You can exercise in 30 minute chunks 5 days a week to ease stress and improve your heart health.
- Breathe deeply. Yoga is not only good for your body, but for your mind, too. The meditative, deep breathing done in yoga is calming and relieves stress, especially if you do it regularly.
- Take a break. When your stress level rises, take a few minutes to escape your surroundings. Spend a few quiet moments alone, read a short story, or listen to your favorite music. Cultivate gratitude. Make a list of what you’re grateful for in your life to focus on the positives.
- Get together with friends. Social media is no substitute for being with people you love. Create some weekly rituals with your friends. If they live far away, try volunteering or joining a local group of people with similar interests to yours. Research suggests that people with frequent social connections enjoy better protection against high blood pressure.
Research is ongoing to look more closely at the link between emotional health and heart health. But the existing evidence is consistent enough to prove that you should take its potential effects on your heart seriously. Exercise regularly and keep your emotional health in check, and you’ll build a stronger buffer against heart disease.
Source:
Visit this site here to read more.
Did you know that negative emotions can affect your heart? Chronic stress, anger and depression can raise your blood pressure and worsen already existing heart disease. Loneliness can also be damaging to the heart. It’s important to learn healthy ways to express and process these emotions to prevent physical damage to our hearts.
If you are interested in reading other information about the effect of negative emotions, check out the following sites:
How are Stress and Heart Disease Related
TOP MYTHS ABOUT HEART DISEASE
1. I’m too young to worry about heart disease
2. I’d know if I had high blood pressure because there would be warning signs.
3. I’ll know when I’m having a heart attack because I’ll have chest pain.
4. Heart disease runs in my family, so there’s nothing I can do to prevent it
5. I don’t need to have my cholesterol checked until I’m middle-aged.
- Blood Pressure -
ABOUT BLOOD PRESSURE
Blood pressure is the pressure that occurs when blood pushes against the walls of your arteries. Arteries carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body.
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is blood pressure that is higher than normal.
High blood pressure is consistently at or above 130/80 mm Hg.
Your blood pressure changes throughout the day based on your activities. Having blood pressure that is consistently above normal may result in a diagnosis of high blood pressure.
The higher your blood pressure levels, the more risk you have for other health problems, such as heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
PREVENTION
No matter your age, you can take steps each day to keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.
Many people with high blood pressure can lower their blood pressure into a healthy range or keep their numbers in a healthy range by making lifestyle changes. Talk with you healthcare team about:
- Physical activity each week (about 30 mins a day, 5 days a week)
- Not Smoking
- Eating a healthy diet, including limiting sodium (salt) and alcohol
- Keeping a healthy weight
- Managing stress
In addition to making positive lifestyle changes, some people need to take medicine to manage their blood pressure.
Talk with your healthcare team right away if:
- You think you have high blood pressure
- You’ve been told you have high blood pressure nut do not have it under control
By taking action to lower your blood pressure, you can help protect yourself against heart disease and stroke, also called cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Faith Community Nurses
The Faith Community Nurses at NWChurch are registered nurses (RNs) who have completed training specifically to work within a community of faith, and serve the greater community in which we live and work.
Our goal is to improve the health of individuals, prevent disease, and integrate faith and health in the congregation.
- Cold and Flu Season -
The health ministry encourages you to get your flu shot. There is also a new Covid booster available. Please consider getting this shot to help protect you from or lessen the effects of Covid. Don’t know where to get one? Please contact us at [email protected] and we can point you in the right direction.
Resources
We can help you prevent injury by providing skills to prevent falls.
On the first Sunday of each month, we provide free blood pressure checks before and after our Sunday worship service. You can find us in the Conference Room (107).
We can help you find answers to your health questions, we work with families to access health care, and we can connect you with community resources for improved health. We can help you understand your medical provider’s instructions.
Health Education
We periodically offer educational classes about living a more healthy lifestyle, dovetailing it with Biblical teaching. We have resources on topics such as mental health, weight loss, diabetes, healthy eating, dementia, and flu shot clinics.
