Hydration and Your Heart Health
It’s February, and love is in the air. With Valentine’s Day just a few days away, the heart swells with adoration for the loved ones whom we are lucky to hold near or longing for ones who are too far to reach. Yep, it’s a heart-filled month. Which is almost certainly why they made February the American Heart Month. Right?
Of course, it could also have something to do with keeping the ole’ ticker running smoothly. Who knows.
But, since we’re on the subject, do you know how important hydration is to your heart health? If you want to show love to your heart, drink your daily regimen of Primo water.
How Hydration Impacts Your Heart health
Your heart pumps blood throughout the whole body. Without blood, your organs would be starved of oxygen and lack the basic resources they need to function. Organs all over your body depend on the ability of the heart to continually supply them with blood, the essential element.
Blood is mostly water. And if your body isn’t supplied with enough of it, your blood becomes thicker and more difficult for the heart to pump. The thicker the blood, the harder your heart works. And pushing your heart to work harder can lead to all sorts of problems, from hypertension and high blood pressure to coronary heart disease and even blood clots.
Dehydration and Blood Pressure
It’s not hard to become slightly dehydrated if you’re not paying attention. It’s actually easier to find yourself dehydrated in the colder months because you don’t sweat as much as in the summer and you don’t have that physical reminder that your body is losing fluids.
But being too dehydrated for too long can lead to some dangerous changes in your blood pressure, causing it to spike too high or drop too low.
According to Healthline, “dehydration can cause low blood pressure due to a decrease in blood volume.” The less blood there is circulating to the organs, the less effective they are in their tasks.
Low blood volume can also surprisingly lead to high blood pressure. This occurs with the release of the hormone vasopressin – high concentration of which causes blood vessels to constrict.
Water and Heart Disease
According to the CDC, heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US – that goes for men, women and most ethnic and racial groups. The most common type of heart disease is Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), which impacts more than 18 million Americans.
We’ve noted before how few American drink enough water throughout the day. It makes you wonder how much heart disease could be avoided with just a little better adherence to proper hydration recommendations.
In fact, we don’t have to wonder. This Loma Linda University Health study showed that adult men and women who drank five or more glasses of water per day had about half the risk of dying of CAD.
Keep Your Heart Strong with the Primo Lifestyle
Be kind to your heart. Start off American Heart Month by joining the Primo Lifestyle. A Primo water dispenser makes meeting and sticking to your daily goals easier. Find your new water dispenser at www.primowater.com.
