The signature resource

The everyday heart checklist

Everything this magazine covers, compressed into ten honest lines you could pin to a door. No miracles, no purchases, one clinician column.

• Move most days

  Aim for the weekly picture: 150 to 300 minutes of moderate effort, brisk walking counts, plus strengthening twice a week. The walking guide builds the week.

• Break the long sits

  Sedentary time is its own variable: stand, stretch or climb stairs for two minutes roughly every hour of a seated day.

• Build the plate from plants

  Vegetables, fruit, whole grains and legumes as the base, fish about twice a week, liquid oils over solid fats, meat occasionally.

• Keep sodium under the wire

  The WHO reference is under two grams of sodium a day, and most of it hides in packaging; the label guide shows where.

• Sleep seven hours, regularly

  A steady wake time anchors the rhythm; during deep sleep blood pressure drifts to its lowest point of the day.

• Give stress a channel

  Chronic stress works through sleep, habits and pressure; movement, naming the burden and protecting evenings are the honest levers.

• Keep nicotine out

  Risk associated with smoking falls steadily after quitting; free quit support exists and works, and secondhand smoke counts too.

• Know your numbers with a clinician

  Blood pressure, lipids and glucose are silent for years; screening cadence belongs to a checkup, and records belong to you.

• Learn the words

  Blood pressure, cholesterol, cardiac arrest versus heart attack: the cardio glossary keeps the vocabulary from becoming a wall.

• Take symptoms seriously

  Chest pressure, breathlessness at rest, fainting or a chaotic pulse are reasons for urgent medical care, never for articles.