Latest / From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing / Heart-Smart Lifestyle

Transcript

Heart-Smart Lifestyle · From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing

• 0:07
  Hello, and welcome back to From Recovery to Wellness,
• 0:12
  the podcast where we talk about healing after
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  heart surgery, aneurysm repair, and cardiac events
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  in a way that is realistic, gentle, and actually
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  doable. I'm Arnita, and I'm so glad you're here
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  today. Now, let me start by saying this. If you've
• 0:30
  been trying to do everything right after heart
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  surgery, if you've been overwhelmed by lifestyle
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  advice, or if you've been thinking, I don't even
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  know where to start, you are not alone. And you're
• 0:47
  not failing. You are recovering. Today's episode
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  is called heart smart lifestyle after heart surgery,
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  aneurysm repair and cardiac events. And we're
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  going to break down what a heart smart lifestyle
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  truly means, not in a perfectionist way, but
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  in a recovery centered way. This is not about
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  being a health influencer. This is about being
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  a healing human being. So let's get into it.
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  So. Let's start here. A heart smart lifestyle
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  is not just eating salads and walking. A heart
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  smart lifestyle means you are building a life
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  that supports your heart, your blood pressure,
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  your stress levels, your emotional recovery,
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  your circulation, your sleep, and your long -term
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  healing. Because after heart surgery or aneurysm
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  repair, your body has been through something
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  major, something very traumatic. Even if the
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  surgery was successful, even if the doctors say
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  you're doing great, your body is still adjusting.
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  Your nervous system is still recalibrating. Your
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  confidence might still be shaky and your heart
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  may still feel like something you're learning
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  to trust again. So when we say Heart Smart Lifestyle,
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  we're really talking about recovery habits you
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  can live with, support systems you can rely on,
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  healing practices you can sustain, and choices
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  that protect your heart long term. Not for one
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  week, not for one month, but for life. Now, I
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  want to speak to something real. A lot of people
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  experience this moment after surgery or a cardiac
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  event where they think, I survived, but now what?
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  Many people feel overwhelmed after heart surgery.
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  And suddenly you're told you need to eat differently,
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  move more, manage stress, track blood pressure,
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  attend follow -up appointments, take medications.
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  avoid certain foods, avoid lifting, avoid anxiety,
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  avoid sadness, avoid everything that feels like
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  life. And that can feel like too much, too fast,
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  too many rules. So here's the truth I want you
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  to remember. You don't build a heart smart lifestyle
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  in one day. You build it one small decision at
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  a time and recovery small is not weak Small is
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  safe small is sustainable Now there are five
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  pillars of a heart smart lifestyle and I'll walk
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  you through them These are the fountains of heart
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  foundations of heart smart living after open
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  heart surgery aortic aneurysm repair heart attack
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  stent placement, cardiac hospitalization, valve
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  replacement, bypass surgery, or any major cardiac
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  event. And as I share these, I want you to listen
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  with compassion, not pressure. Now, pillar one
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  involves safe movement and cardiac rehab support.
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  Movement is not punishment. Movement is circulation,
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  movement is oxygen, movement is recovery. After
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  heart surgery or aneurysm repair, safe movement
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  supports blood flow, lung expansion, stamina,
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  mood regulation, blood pressure stability, and
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  long -term cardiovascular strength. But here's
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  the key. You don't have to work out. You just
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  have to keep moving safely. Even a five -minute
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  walk is healing. Even gentle stretching is healing.
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  Even standing up and moving around the house
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  is healing. And if you have access to cardiac
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  rehab, please hear me clearly. Cardiac rehab
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  is one of the best gifts you can give your future
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  self. It helps rebuild strength and safety with
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  supervision and with support. And I must say
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  that I know a couple of individuals who refused
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  cardiac rehab and said that they would do it
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  at home. But there are benefits to going and
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  doing prescribed cardiac rehab where it's being
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  monitored because they measure your heart rate,
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  your pulse. you're getting like a bit of a stress
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  test to see where you are you know your breathing
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  and you know and just they measure some things
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  that we can't measure at home so my advice to
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  you is to to take the cardiac rehab if it is
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  offered or if it's in your insurance plan please,
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  please, please do that. And then I know I went
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  through cardiac rehab and I was sent home with
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  a BMI body mass index guide and what to eat to
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  get there, you know, that kind of thing. So it's
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  very, very beneficial. And then even if you don't
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  have cardiac rehab, there are some heart centers
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  around the country. I know in my area in Indianapolis,
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  we have the heart center and you can even pay
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  a small fee and go at your own will. And so pay
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  as you go if you've exhausted all your insurance
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  coverage and you just wanna keep going, that's
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  another option. And then there's pillar two,
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  heart smart food without diet culture. Now let's
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  talk about food. A heart smart lifestyle does
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  not mean starving, restricting, obsessing or
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  being perfect. It means you're choosing foods
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  to help you reduce inflammation, support blood
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  pressure and nourish healing. Your heart smart
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  plate after surgery should include vegetables,
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  fiber, lean proteins, healthy fats, hydration,
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  and minerals that support circulation. And here's
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  the important part. You don't have to overhaul
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  your entire, I say diet, I refuse to use the
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  word diet, I will say your entire meal plan overnight.
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  Start with one heart smart. upgrade at a time,
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  just only one. And then there's pillar three,
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  blood pressure medications and follow -up care.
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  This pillar matters especially after aneurysm
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  repair because blood pressure control is not
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  optional. It's protection. A HeartSmart lifestyle
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  includes taking medications as prescribed, keeping
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  follow -up appointments, monitoring symptoms.
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  tracking blood pressure if your doctor recommends
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  it, and communicating with your care team. I
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  also want to say this gently, that if you're
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  struggling with medication fatigue or if you
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  feel resentful or tired of being a patient, that
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  is normal. But your medications are not a punishment.
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  They are part of your protection plan. So just
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  be mindful that this is protecting your heart,
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  it's protecting your body, it's protecting your
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  health. There's pillar four regarding stress
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  and emotional recovery. This pillar is the one
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  most people don't expect because heart recovery
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  isn't just physical, it's emotional. Stress affects
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  your heart, stress affects your blood pressure,
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  stress affects inflammation, Stress affects sleep.
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  Stress affects healing. And after surgery, many
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  people live in a quiet form of fear. They don't
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  always say it out loud, but they think things
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  like, what if something happens again? What if
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  I can handle this? What if I'm never the same?
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  What if I don't feel safe in my body anymore?
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  Well, I must tell you that I still three years
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  in and I still don't feel safe in my body anymore
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  But that's a normal reaction because things are
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  different. I have stents in and I have a graph
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  on my aorta and I don't want to pull something
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  or move something out of place or damage anything
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  in there. So yes, I don't feel safe in my own
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  body. But like I said, that's a natural response.
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  But because I'm still getting used to the new
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  me, so to speak. And so a heart smart lifestyle
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  includes emotional care. And that might look
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  like therapy, support groups, journaling. prayer,
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  breath work, guided meditation, gentle joy practices,
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  or simply talking to someone who understands.
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  Your emotional recover matters because your heart
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  does not heal in isolation. Now there's pillar
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  number five, and that is sleep, rest, and recovery
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  boundaries. The last pillar is rest. And I'm
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  gonna say something that might surprise you.
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  Rest is a heart smart habit. Rest is not laziness,
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  rest is repair. After open heart surgery and
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  aneurysm repair, your body is rebuilding tissue.
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  Your energy system is recalibrating. Your nervous
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  system is recovering from trauma. And many people
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  try to rush back to normal, but here's what I
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  want you to remember. You don't need to rush
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  back to your old life. You need to rebuild a
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  new life that supports your heart. Sleep and
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  rest are part of your long -term survival, not
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  just your short -term comfort. Did you know even
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  mild chronic stress can increase inflammation
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  and raise blood pressure over time, both of which
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  are especially risky during recovery after heart
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  surgery and aneurysm repair? That means stress
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  management isn't extra. It is not optional. It
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  is part of the medical side of recovery. Now
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  I wanna bring, that brings us to our weekly food
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  focus. And this week's heart smart food is, this
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  week's heart smart food, I got a tongue twister
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  there, is spinach. Now spinach may not sound
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  exciting, but spinach is powerful. Spinach supports
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  heart recovery because it contains potassium,
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  which helps support healthy blood pressure levels
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  by balancing sodium in the body. And after aneurysm
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  repair, cardiac surgery, blood pressure support
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  is one of the biggest priorities. Then there's
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  magnesium, which supports muscle function, nerve
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  function and relaxation. It also supports heart
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  rhythm and helps the body handle stress better.
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  There are nitrates. This is natural blood flow
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  support. Spinach contains natural nitrates that
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  may help improve blood vessel function and circulation.
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  And that's important for heart smart recovery.
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  There's also vitamin K and folate in spinach.
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  These nutrients support cellular repair, circulation,
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  and overall cardiovascular health. Now here's
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  the best part. You don't have to eat spinach
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  like a rabbit. Here are simple, recovery -friendly
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  ways to use it. Add a handful of scrambled eggs,
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  which I do some mornings. Toss it in a soup.
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  Blend it into a smoothie. Every now and then
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  I may do that. and then you can add it to a sandwich
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  or a wrap. That's something that I do pretty
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  regularly, saute it lightly with olive oil and
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  garlic, and that is delicious. That's something
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  that I do when I cook it. It is just great. I
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  had some on... on a couple of days ago and because
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  I had been eating it raw in my salads and I said
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  let me switch up and so I did go ahead on and
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  do a little bit of spinach and in sautéed it
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  in a skillet with olive oil and garlic and a
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  few other spices to take kind of the bitterness
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  away and then you can also mix it into pasta
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  or rice. Now, if spinach is hard on your stomach,
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  try it cooked instead of raw. Cooked spinach
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  is often easier to digest. Now, I want to share
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  with you how to build a heart -smart lifestyle
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  without overwhelm. And I want to make this practical.
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  If you're listening and thinking, okay, Arnita,
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  but where do I start? Well, here's how. Start
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  with one pillar. Not all five, just one. And
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  here are some simple one -step choices. Walk
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  for five minutes. Drink an extra glass of water.
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  Schedule your follow -up appointment. Add spinach
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  to one meal. Take your blood pressure today.
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  Go to bed 30 minutes earlier. Write down one
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  emotion you're carrying. ask for help instead
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  of pushing through. Heart Smart Living is not
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  about doing everything. It's about doing what
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  supports healing. Now I do want to add that taking
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  my blood pressure, I don't take it every day,
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  but I do take it, I try to take it once a week.
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  And the reason I do that is because After it
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  used and that the only reason I do that once
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  a week instead every day or more frequently is
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  because My blood pressure Being controlled with
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  meds. It runs pretty steady I get about the same
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  number and I don't take my blood pressure in
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  the morning Because after waking as soon as I
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  wake up I do not take my blood pressure because
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  blood pressure is high but your blood pressure
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  rises overnight And so if I have not taken my
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  meds, I have to wait until after I've taken my
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  meds and let the med start getting through my
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  body to bring my blood pressure down and stabilize
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  it. So I wait till, you know, closer to. uh,
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  lunchtime to take it. And so, so that I can get,
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  uh, at least if not a true reading, a close to
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  a true reading. And like I said, I just, uh,
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  uh, I take the average, uh, I look at what I
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  get, uh, from the noon day pressure and just
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  kind of weigh it against every, all the other
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  times that I've taken my averages that I already
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  have. And that just pretty much gives me. my
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  average blood pressure. And so that's the reason
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  why that I don't take it every day. And I'm not
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  recommending one thing or another to you except
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  to at least take it sometime to see where you
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  are. And so I just want to say too that Heart
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  Smart Living is not about doing everything. It's
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  about doing what supports healing and they're
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  again taking that blood pressure that's really
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  important because you want to report that to
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  your doctor if you're having spikes or or something
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  weird is going on. Now I have a reflection question
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  for you. I want you to answer this honestly with
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  no judgment. What is one heart smart habit that
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  you can commit to this week that feels realistic,
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  safe, and supportive for your recovery. Doesn't
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  have to be perfect, doesn't have to be impressive,
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  just supportive. And here's what I would say.
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  Your call to action is to write it down, put
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  it in your phone notes, put it on your calendar,
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  tell someone, because recovery habits become
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  real when they become visible. Now let's recap
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  today's key takeaways. A heart smart lifestyle
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  is recovery centered, not perfection covered,
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  centered. The five pillars are movement, food,
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  medical follow -up, emotional care, and rest.
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  Stress management is part of heart health, not
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  a luxury. Spinach supports blood pressure, circulation,
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  and healing nutrients. Start with one small habit
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  this week and build from there. And so there
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  you have it for this week. And I thank you so
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  much for spending this time with me today. And
• 19:33
  if this episode helped you to feel calmer, clearer,
• 19:37
  more supported in your recovery. Please subscribe
• 19:41
  to the podcast, leave a review, and share this
• 19:45
  episode with someone who needs encouragement
• 19:47
  after heart surgery, aneurysm repair, or a cardiac
• 19:51
  event. And next week we'll be talking about something
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  that can truly shape your recovery. how your
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  support network matters, because healing isn't
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  just what you do alone. It is also who you have
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  around you, who checks in, who understands, and
• 20:10
  who helps you keep going when recovery feels
• 20:14
  hard. So, until next time, be gentle with yourself,
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  be patient with your body. Keep building your
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  recovery one heart smart step at a time and be
• 20:28
  well.