This Week's "Change That Up" Tip...Improve Heart Health

What if you could drastically reduce the risk of heart disease -- and dying from cardiovascular disease -- by making one simple switch? It’s not just simple, in fact, it’s completely free. And we’re talking about dramatically tipping the odds in your favor -- even better than what typical heart medications can do.

Would that be something that you’re interested in? We thought so. But before we unveil that simple switch, let’s put things into proper perspective.

Heart disease is the top killer in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is the leading cause of death across all genders, races, and ethnic groups. To put it into perspective, heart disease claims a life every 37 seconds -- killing 647,000 Americans every year. That means it’s responsible for 1 out of every 4 deaths. And it’s costing the U.S. around $219 billion each year.

Heart disease (aka cardiovascular disease) comes in many forms, most of which are preventable. In fact, scientists estimate that half of the deaths due to cardiovascular disease can be prevented, and upwards of 80% of the instances of heart disease are preventable.

No wonder doctors and other health-care practitioners are regularly harping on us to take care of ourselves by exercising regularly, eating mostly whole foods, managing stress and getting adequate restorative sleep.

Yet there is another important, albeit overlooked and under-rated component to heart health: A positive outlook.

Yes, believe it or not, research confirms that being optimistic (feeling positive or confident in future outcomes), cheerful, grateful, and embracing a sense of purpose can actually protect the heart from disease.

In one study, researchers in the U.K. collected data from over 8,000 people, and they discovered that the folks who were the most optimistic and had the greatest sense of well-being experienced a 30% lower risk of developing heart disease.

What’s more, another study -- this time, with data from over 70,000 women spanning 10 years -- found the most optimistic women had a 38% lower risk of death from heart attacks and a 39% lower risk from strokes.

Even more promising, a new study published in JAMA Network Open, which analyzed data from 15 studies comprising 229,391 patients, found that folks with a positive outlook enjoyed a 35% reduction in cardiovascular events and an 18% reduction in early death when compared to those with a pessimistic outlook.

These are not small effects. In fact, they surpass -- by a significant margin -- the effects that are typically expected from taking common heart medications.

Even better news is that your outlook is not etched in stone; it’s trainable. In other words, it’s never too late to see things in a different light, and here are some top tips to help shift your mindset: practice mindfulness, meditate, have more self-compassion, ask for help, let go of anger, help others, identify your purpose, smile more, laugh more, don’t take yourself too seriously, surround yourself with positive-minded friends, release negative thoughts, learn to reframe, focus on the positive, and take action.

Keep in mind as you cross over 40, the risk of heart attack, high blood pressure and the chance of stroke ALL increase substantially with each passing day.