This month of love, no matter how hectic your schedule might seem as a mom, don't forget to look after your heart. 

It's because aside from Valentine's season, February is also heart health month. It's a season of heart — a perfect opportunity to focus on your cardiovascular health.

Oftentimes, moms tend to be busy with so many things that they forgot to give attention to their heart's condition — physically and emotionally. Unfortunately, the heart is one of the most important parts of the body. When it's neglected and ignored, it can bring the lead to something more dangerous. 

And truth is, heart disease is definitely as common among women as it is among men. So, it's important to know the risk, make simple changes to strengthen your heart, and avoid the risk of developing heart disease. 

With that, here are seven ways to boost heart health. 

1. Get moving 

You don't need to go to the gym to stay active. You can simply start walking. Doing physical activities may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and even diabetes. It even improves blood circulation and lower blood pressure as well as heart rate. 

2. Eat fruits and leafy vegetables 

Nutrition is needed for a strong heart. No matter how long you exercise, if you feed your body with unwanted food, your effort may just go down the drain. 

Unhealthy eating may lead to heart disease, uncontrolled diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and more. This is why it's important to eat vegetables and fruits which can help strengthen the heart due to their nutritional content rather than a high-fat and high-calorie diet. 

3. Avoid overeating 

Nutrition is important and so is the amount of food you eat. If you stuffed yourself with too much food in every meal, especially with more than the needed calories your body needs, it might contribute to higher cholesterol levels which lead to weight gain and cardiovascular problems. An unusual heavy meal or just a heavy meal, not just during the holidays, can even trigger heart failure and a heart attack. 

4. Maintain a good weight

Your waist size and weight are risk factors for getting heart disease. Research has shown that people with bigger waists and obesity are more inclined to get cardiovascular diseases and even heart attacks. 

Achieving and also maintaining an ideal weight for your body can go a long way.  It's time to get rid of the excess fat. 

5. Reduce or avoid salt and unhealthy fats 

Food high in sodium and unhealthy fats is a gateway to a risk of getting cardiovascular diseases as it may elevate blood pressure. Control your blood pressure and cholesterol levels by avoiding trans fat, less saturated fat, and food high in sodium content.

For adults, make sure to have no more than 1, 500 mg of sodium daily.  

It's important to know your body's condition whether you have elevated blood pressure or high cholesterol levels which may be due to lifestyle, food choices, or hereditary. 

6. Quit smoking 

It's literally true that smoking is bad for your overall health. It's even a major risk factor for getting heart and lung diseases. 

Smoking can damage the blood vessels, lungs, and heart as it increases the formation of plaque or fatty deposits in veins and arteries. It may even cause the blood to thicken. So quit smoking and avoid secondhand smoke. 

7. Do breathing exercises and avoid getting too much stressed 

Stress is inevitable, but how you deal with external uncontrollable factors can be beneficial for your heart health. 

Managing stress may help reduce a rise in blood pressure and even lead to a better heart rate. If you are too stressed out, you may try breathing slowly for a few minutes as it may help you relax and may lower blood pressure. 

Love + miracles,