Make exercise a habit. Exercise allows muscles to extract oxygen from blood, easing the heart's workload in the long term. Get up a half hour earlier, three times a week and go for a brisk walk, join a workout group or choose an exercise you enjoy. Combine an aerobic workout with strengthening exercises. Weight-bearing exercise like jogging can also help you strengthen your bones, coupled with adequate calcium intake.
Exercise also releases the feel-good hormone, endorphine.
When stressed, the body releases an 'alarm' hormone that makes the heart beat faster and blood pressure rise. While well managed stress can be a stimulant to work harder, uncontrolled stress, in the long run, places strain on the heart. Smoking hardens arteries and cigarette smoke also has stimulants that increase heart rate. Smoking can increase the risk of a heart attack by three times and ruins cardiovascular health. We have 10 hampers to be won.