Keeping your Heart healthy can add years to your life, but did you know that it also helps you look younger? When researchers showed people photos of women about 60 years of age, they thought the women with the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease looked two years younger compared to those with a higher risk.

The key to achieving a youthful appearance may be tied to your systolic Blood Pressure – which is the top number. Researchers think that when your blood pressure is too high, it may impede your skin’s microvascular system, responsible for delivering nutrients and oxygen. When those beneficial elements aren’t delivered optimally, it may strain your skin and possibly diminish that youthful glow. High blood pressure may also be linked to women who looked older because it’s related to other lifestyle factors like stress and lack of exercise, which can be detrimental for your skin.

If you’re blood pressure reads higher than 140/90, which is high, don’t worry just yet, there are plenty of ways you can lower your number. Try eating more potassium-packed fruits and vegetables and healthy fats like nuts and avocados.

Maybe you already know that what you put in your body can affect how it looks on the outside, but the motivation to knock a couple of years off your age may help you pay attention to keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range.

 Need a little more convincing? Other studies have found that women who led heart-healthy lifestyles, less smoking and sunbathing and better healthy-eating habits—had skin that looked younger. Many factors that contribute to looking older, smoking and high blood pressure, are also related to heart disease.
 

Protect Your Heart for a Healthy Future

 
At Life Line Screening, we believe that the power of prevention is essential to a long and healthy life, especially when it comes to your heart. We offer a heart disease screening that includes the following:

• Complete Lipid Panel Screening (High Choelsterol)
• C-reactive Protein Screening
• Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening
• Glucose Screening
• High Blood Pressure Screening

If you have any warning signs or if you know that you have some of the risk factors associated with an increased risk of heart problems, you may want to consider heart disease screening.  If you are unaware of potential risk factors please read the list here.