The cardiovascular system plays a huge role in keeping the body’s many moving parts running smoothly. Your heart works around the clock, transporting oxygen and nutrients to (supply) tissues and organs, and maintaining your cardiovascular health becomes more important to support longevity and vitality as you age. (1)
Taking care of your heart health is not just about avoiding illness; it’s about living a lifestyle that keeps you thriving physically and mentally. Integrating heart-healthy habits into your daily routine can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease and boost your overall well-being. (1)
The Aging Cardiovascular System:
The Importance of Early Intervention
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes several disorders that affect the heart and blood vessels potentially causing chest pain, shortness of breath, swelling, fatigue, and dizziness. In more severe cases, the disease can lead to complications such as heart failure, arrhythmias, strokes, or even heart attacks. (2)
As we age, the cardiovascular system undergoes changes that start to affect its ability to function. Arteries naturally stiffen due to lower levels of collagen and begin to break down from a decrease in elastin protein.
The degrading of the arteries is what causes higher blood pressure and impacts pumping efficiency, both of which require the heart and supporting systems to work harder. (3)
At the same time, ApoB particles in your blood transport fat molecules like cholesterol and other substances throughout the body that start to collect/buildup/accumulate on the arterial walls. (4)
This Atherosclerosis or arterial plaque buildup narrows the walls of the arteries slowly over time, reducing blood flow and causing a cycle of inflammation that attracts more ApoB deposits. (5)These conditions can impact daily functioning and your overall quality of life, and research shows that CVD is preventable by adopting healthy lifestyle habits early on to reduce the risk in adulthood. (6)
Interventions to Preserve Cardiovascular Youth
Balanced Diet
Many lifestyle factors can influence your cardiovascular health with balanced nutrition playing the largest role in disease prevention. Emphasizing a diet rich in fruits and vegetables provides antioxidants and fiber reducing inflammation, while whole grains help reduce cholesterol levels. Incorporating healthy fats from foods like avocados, nuts, and fatty fish (rich in omega-3 fatty acids) works to further support heart health.
A Mediterranean diet has consistently been shown to have powerful preventative effects on CVD while reducing extra calories can lower the risk of excess weight gain, hypertension, and diabetes. Studies have shown that diet remains one of the most effective strategies for avoiding CVD. (1)
Staying Active
Regular physical activity is a great way to protect healthy heart function and prevent disease. Exercise helps maintain blood pressure and strengthens heart muscles, improving its ability to pump blood more efficiently. This leads to a lower resting heart rate and improved circulation, reducing the chances of cardiac events.
As overweight populations are at a higher risk for CVD complications, like insulin resistance and hypertension, regular exercise can help lower and maintain a healthy weight. The relationship between increased exercise and decreased CVD has been well-studied, making physical activity foundational to a healthy heart care regime. (7)
Stress Management
Chronic stress negatively affects cardiovascular health by triggering hormonal imbalances and inflammation that can damage your blood vessels gradually over time. Experiencing prolonged periods of stress produces higher levels of cortisol and adrenaline, which elevate your heart rate and blood pressure. In excess, these hormones can accelerate atherosclerosis increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Ultimately, being able to recognize and effectively manage chronic stress is key to supporting better long-term heart health. (8)
Avoid Smoking
The evidence around smoking is clear, showing that cigarette use strongly increases the risk of heart disease. Cigarette smoke, which contains thousands of harmful chemicals, drives inflammation, disrupts endothelial function, and diminishes HDL (the “good” cholesterol), all of which are associated with the development of CVD. Avoiding cigarettes is the best practice to protect your heart and cardiovascular function. (9)
Moderate Alcohol
Alcohol has been strongly linked to CVD acting as a toxin that directly weakens the heart. By speeding up the heart rate and causing high blood pressure, alcohol puts an extra strain on the heart muscles. More specifically, heavy or binge drinking significantly raises the risk of hypertension and stroke and can lead to CVD complications and death. Being mindful of your alcohol use can help you avoid the well-documented harms of excessive consumption and lower the risk of CVD and mortality. (10)
NAD+: A Key Player in Cardiovascular Longevity
NAD+ is an essential molecule in the body for making energy and cell communication and the heart’s high metabolic demand makes it particularly vulnerable to decreases in NAD+.
Studies have linked low levels of NAD+ to elevated blood pressure and hypertension complications, while NAD+ boosting supplements have been found to reduce arterial stiffness and promote overall metabolic health. Targeting NAD+ metabolism may work to mitigate age-related health decline and serve as a therapeutic potential for cardiovascular health. (11)
A Lifelong Approach to Cardiovascular Health
Protecting and maintaining a young and healthy heart starts with the early adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. Regular physical activity, a balanced diet, not smoking, weight management, and stress reduction all contribute to a heart-healthy lifestyle and promote your healthier future.
By prioritizing cardiovascular health daily, you can significantly lower your chances of developing heart disease later in life. These proactive steps—practiced consistently over time—strengthen and support the heart and blood vessels, helping you stay “young at heart” for years to come.