You may not realize this, but having chronic kidney disease puts you at a greater risk for heart disease. Most CKD patients don’t reach end-stage renal failure, but die due to heart problems that can result from complications of the CKD.

Because of this, it is essential that you make lifestyle changes now to stay heart healthy and reduce your risk of heart disease. The following are some important changes to incorporate in your life to stay healthy!

Follow a Heart Healthy Diet

You likely have a renal diet to follow, and for the most part, sticking to those guidelines will help you to ensure you are eating a heart-healthy diet. Be sure to lower your intake of sodium, which contributes to high blood pressure and fluid retention when consumed excessively.

Also, limit the amount of sugar you consume. Too much sugar can lead to diabetes, a common cause as well as side effect of chronic kidney disease. Becoming diabetic puts you at a greater risk for heart disease. Sugar also elevates your blood pressure and can contribute to unhealthy weight gain. Consider buying some supplements and health foods from a site like www.chemistdirect.com.au. Supplements can ensure you’re getting all of the right nutrition and can help stop you from feeling hungry when you’re bored, meaning you don’t crave sugary foods that are bad for you. Supplements such as CuraMed and similar others could also help with your cardiovascular health, along with working to support a healthy inflammation response in your immune system.

Follow these diet restrictions by cooking homemade meals at home. Avoid eating out, and plan ahead for busy days by carrying snacks or making your dinner before you leave home.

Get Active

Exercise is one of the best lifestyle changes you can make for a healthy heart. By moving every day, you help to lower your blood pressure, a common side effect of chronic kidney disease. Exercise also helps manage your weight and control your cholesterol and glucose levels – all of which are important to keep in check when you have CKD.

Stop Smoking

If you have a cigarette habit, now is the time to kick it for a healthy heart. Smokers are two to four times more likely to have a heart attack than non-smokers.

Smoking is dangerous for your heart because it causes plaque to build up in the arteries. This, in turn, forces your heart to work harder than it should to pump blood throughout the body. Those with CKD especially should not smoke, as smoking can also promote further kidney damage, as well as increase your blood pressure. Most people take steps to stop smoking. The process might start by switching to vapes instead. These are believed to be safer for people. Perhaps people could lower their stress levels by using some of the Delta 8 THC carts with their vapes. Those cartridges are believed to help people feel less stressed and anxious, so it could be beneficial for your heart.

Reduce your Stress Levels

Stress can put an unhealthy strain on your heart. It also helps increase your blood pressure and can cause more glucose than necessary to be released into the bloodstream (which is harmful for those with diabetes AND chronic kidney disease). Furthermore, stress may lead to unhealthy eating and weight gain.

To control your stress levels, make sure you are exercising regularly. Being active release endorphins into the body, a “feel good” hormone that promotes happiness. Additionally, some people could consider using some cannabis to try and manage stress levels. There is a number of places that people could get their cannabis from, but some people might prefer to grow it themselves. They would just have to do some research about CBD cannabis seeds to make sure they have the best ones, and then they could start growing their own cannabis. Hopefully, that will help people to start managing their stress levels.

Monitor your Health

Follow through on doctor’s appointment and keep track of various levels in your body to ensure you living in a healthy lifestyle. At least twice a year, your doctor should do blood work that tests your glucose, lipids, and other factors.

This is the best way to know if anything is elevated so you can quickly make changes to reduce any risks for heart disease or related problems. You can also check your blood pressure at home daily, paying attention to any increase.

These five lifestyle changes are extremely important if you want to be heart healthy. As a chronic kidney disease patient, you must make sure you are living healthy to avoid further complications related to your medical condition!