{"id":490,"date":"2026-02-24T19:43:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/love-your-heart-simple-blood-pressure-cholesterol-moves-for-heart-month\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T19:43:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T19:43:21","slug":"love-your-heart-simple-blood-pressure-cholesterol-moves-for-heart-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/24\/love-your-heart-simple-blood-pressure-cholesterol-moves-for-heart-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Love Your Heart: Simple Blood Pressure & Cholesterol Moves for Heart Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

February is American Heart Month<\/strong>, a great time to check in on two big drivers of heart health: blood pressure<\/strong> and cholesterol<\/strong>. A few small tweaks now can pay off all year.<\/p>\n

1) Know your numbers (at home, too)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nearly 7 in 10 adults 60+<\/strong> live with hypertension; many don\u2019t feel symptoms, so regular checks matter. Consider a home BP cuff and bring a log to your next visit.<\/p>\n

2) Eat the DASH way (and watch the salt)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The DASH eating plan<\/strong>\u2014more veggies, fruits, whole grains, beans, low-fat dairy, fish\/chicken; less sodium and added sugars\u2014has been shown to lower blood pressure. Aim to keep sodium under 2,300 mg\/day<\/strong> (about a teaspoon of salt) unless your clinician gives you a different target.<\/p>\n

3) Keep moving (a little, most days)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brisk walks, light strength work, and balance exercises help BP, cholesterol, and fall-prevention. Even 10-minute bouts count\u2014stack a few through the day. (Tie this to your heart-month goal and mark progress on a calendar.)<\/p>\n

4) Understand \u201cgood\u201d and \u201cbad\u201d cholesterol<\/strong><\/p>\n

High LDL (\u201cbad\u201d)<\/strong> raises risk for heart disease and stroke; higher HDL (\u201cgood\u201d)<\/strong> helps carry cholesterol away. Your clinician can personalize targets based on your history and meds.<\/p>\n

5) Put your benefits to work<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many Medicare Advantage plans include fitness programs or nutrition resources\u2014sometimes even allowances that cover home BP cuffs. Not sure what\u2019s included? Ask your broker to check your plan\u2019s 2026 perks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bottom line:<\/strong> Track your numbers, trim the salt, move most days, and use the benefits you already have. Questions about covered screenings, devices, or fitness perks? Contact your broker\u2014happy to help.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February is American Heart Month, a great time to check in on two big drivers of heart health: blood pressure and cholesterol. A few small tweaks now can pay off all year. 1) Know your numbers (at home, too) Nearly 7 in 10 adults 60+ live with hypertension; many don\u2019t feel symptoms, so regular checks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":491,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,11,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-benefits","category-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tma.gototaia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}