By Carol Smith

Heart disease is still the number one killer of Americans. Do you know how to keep your heart healthy? Here are a few simple ways to keep your heart healthy.

Get enough sleep. As we get older, sleep is often more difficult. You should try to get at least seven hours of sleep a night. Less sleep can have serious health consequences beyond your heart. Lack of sleep contributes to an increase in obesity, and diabetes. Men should get eight hours of sleep a nigh.

Watch your blood pressure. Your ideal blood pressure should be from 130/85 to 115/76. The keys to lowering your blood pressure are well known: exercise, lose weight and reduce stress. If you start exercising, the benefits become evident almost instantaneously.

Avoid second hand smoke (or first hand, for that matter.) You should know that spending an hour inhaling passive smoke is the same as smoking 2-4 cigarettes.

Walk. According to a Harvard study, every hour of exercise you get during your life increases your life by two hours. That’s not a bad ratio. Get your heart pumping every day.

Take aspirin. It is recommended you take the equivalent to two baby aspirins every day. Take with a warm glass of water to protect your stomach.

Floss your teeth. A healthy mouth equals a healthy heart. Maybe. Any chronic mouth infection, including gingivitis promotes your body to increase clotting, which is a recipe for heart disease.

Wanting to know how to keep your heart healthy is the first step towards improving your health. Theses are simple ways to keep your heart healthy start to work immediately, even if you’ve not followed them in the past.