Improving heart health can lower men’s risk for other diseases

Heart disease is the leading killer in the United States. For men, it’s responsible for more than 2 in 10 deaths each year.

Making certain healthy lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, among many heart conditions. These preventive measures include:

• Eating a heart-healthy diet
• Getting regular physical activity
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Prioritizing quality sleep
• Practicing effective ways to manage stress
• Limiting alcohol
• Taking steps to quit smoking
• Seeing a healthcare provider (HCP) regularly for preventive care

Taking these steps also helps to safeguard against other health issues, such as memory loss and erectile dysfunction. Here are just a few additional benefits of living a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Lowers erectile dysfunction risk

When blood vessels become clogged, it can impede blood flow to different parts of the body, including the penis. This can lead to erectile dysfunction, when a person can’t attain or keep an erection for sex.

Taking care of your heart can help protect your sexual function. "The same things that cause arteries in the heart to get disease cause the arteries of the penis to get disease and dysfunction,” says A. Marc Gillinov, MD, chairman of the thoracic and cardiovascular surgery department at Cleveland Clinic and coauthor of Heart 411 (Three Rivers Press) with Steven Nissen, MD.

In fact, because the arteries of the penis are so small, erectile dysfunction often shows up before other signs of heart disease. It’s a clue that you should visit your HCP.

Helps protect against dementia

Dementia is an umbrella term for loss of the ability to think, remember, socialize, and reason. Certain forms of dementia are linked to changes in blood vessels in the brain. This includes vascular dementia, the second-most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. "The same plaques responsible for atherosclerosis [buildup on artery walls] can occur in the brain and lead to dementia," Dr. Gillinov, explains.

Middle-aged people with several risk factors for heart disease are more likely to develop dementia as they age, compared to middle-aged people with only one risk factor. But living a heart-healthy lifestyle may help protect against memory loss and other signs of mental decline.

Lessens depression risk and eases symptoms

Depression and heart disease often go hand in hand, says Gillinov. People with depression are more likely to have heart disease, and people with heart disease are more likely to develop depression.

Making heart-healthy lifestyle changes, however, can go a long way towards improving both conditions. Getting regular physical activity, for example, can help you manage blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels—all of which benefit your heart. But exercise is also well-known to:

• Ease stress
• Boost mood
• Improve sleep
• Increase energy
• Provide distraction and socialization

In addition to supporting heart health, this lowers depression risk and helps ease depression symptoms if you’ve already been diagnosed.

Reduces the chances of developing type 2 diabetes

Diabetes affects your body’s ability to use sugar. It also destroys blood vessels throughout your body, which can lead to stroke, heart disease, nerve damage, loss of limbs, and blindness.

But the same essential steps you take to help prevent heart disease—eating a balanced diet, losing extra weight, and more—can also help prevent diabetes. And if you already have diabetes, it can slow disease progression and improve symptoms.

To get started improving your heart health, talk to an HCP. They can recommend strategies that best fit with your health status and lifestyle.