According to the Detroit Free Press, one third of Americans are living with heart disease.

Here's the good news:  You can reduce your risk of heart disease with a few important lifestyle changes.

Dr. Deirdre Mattina, preventive cardiologist and director of the Women's Heart Center at Henry Ford Health System, said you can keep your heart health with three important tips.

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1. Reduce sugar.  The bottom line here is not to eat too much sugar.  Consuming too much sugar is associated with heart disease and stroke.  Just be smart about what you're eating for snacks.

2.  Reduce salt.  Let's face it, fast food or pre-prepared foods have a lot of extra sodium and it's not good for you.  Too much sodium can cause high blood pressure.  Over time, high blood pressure can damage the kidneys, brain and heart.

3.  Increase activity.  Getting physical activity is so important.  Even small lifestyle changes will benefit your heart.  Try to get 15-20 minutes of physical exercise a day.  You can either do this from home or just get moving with one of those office friendly workouts.

Personally speaking, I try to focus on all three steps so that I can feel better about myself.  I'm even trying to exercise more these days.

Those are three easy steps which you can easily do to reduce your heart disease risk.  And when you can get these tips from a certified cardiologist, I would say you are on your way to a healthier you in 2021.  (Detroit free Press)

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