healthy heart smart tech

Heart health isn’t something we always think about, but having a strong and healthy heart is one of the best outcomes of a healthy eating and workout plan. If you’ve just started on a workout plan or your goal for 2022 is to eat better and move more, there are a lot of different ways you can do that and there are a lot of different health and fitness tech to help you with meet your goals.

Track your steps for a healthy heart

The journey to a healthy heart can start with one step. It’s as easy as that, and you don’t have to spend your day in the gym or set out to run a marathon if you want to strengthen your heart. Just by walking every day for 20 to 30 minutes, you’ll be on your way to a healthier and stronger body.

You can track your daily steps and monitor your heart at the same time with a fitness tracker. There are a lot of different fitness trackers to choose from and they will track your steps, distance walked, duration, calories burned, and meters you climb.

Tracking your steps is a great way to keep motivated on a daily basis, and you’ll be able to look back at your history and see how far you’ve come over weeks, months, or the year.

Wearables track your heart, right on your wrist

fitness wearables for healthy heart

Tracking your steps with a fitness tracker is great, but you can also use your fitness tracker to maintain a healthy heart. Just choose a smartwatch or fitness tracker with an onboard heart rate monitor and you can track your beats per minute during a workout and monitor your resting heart rate. Certain models of smartwatch and fitness trackers will also offer an onscreen ECG so you can see how your heart is responding in real-time or monitor any issues you may have.

VO2 max monitoring for heart health

VO2 max is the measurement of how much oxygen your body can take during exercise, Runners know that monitoring your VO2 max is the best way to assess how your body is responding to a workout and see how you are responding to increases in cardio duration. You can monitor your VO2 max with fitness wearables with V02 max monitors on board. You’ll find this type of wearable from brands like Garmin.

Smart scales monitor weight, muscle mass, and your heart

Imagine stepping on a scale and getting an instant visual of your heart beat. That’s just one of the features on the latest smart scales, and they can monitor your weight, BMI (body mass index), muscle mass, bone mass, water mass, and more. Using a smart scale will give you an idea of your total overall health, and you can find smart scales from brands like Withings and Fitbit.

Losing a few excess pounds of weight can improve your cardiovascular health, so having a smart scale is a great addition to your healthy heart plan.

Track your blood pressure

Smart scale that tracks heart rate

Having high blood pressure is an indicator of potential heart problems. Left unchecked, high blood pressure can increase your chance of a heart attack or stroke. You can monitor your blood pressure and work to lower it using a wireless blood pressure monitor. You can find stand-alone blood pressure monitors that strap onto your arm and give you a read-out or choose wireless blood pressure monitors that connect to your phone.

One of the biggest advantages of having your own blood pressure monitor is that you can share your daily recordings with your doctor. You’ll both be able to see how your heart is responding to blood pressure medication and work on a plan to lower it.

For a healthy heart, get more sleep

Between work, family, and everything in between, it can be hard to get enough sleep. But having a good night’s rest can help your heart work more efficiently and decrease your blood pressure. You can use a fitness wearable to track your sleep and see exactly how long you’re spending in REM sleep, how long you’re sleeping in general, and how long it takes you to get to sleep.

If you don’t want use a wearable to monitor your sleep, some smart displays have a sleep monitoring feature you can use to track your sleep at night. If you’re suffering from insomnia or you’re waking up at night, having a sleep monitor can help you understand why and help you correct the problem.

Slow your heart rate by reducing stress

Stress can make your heart feel like it beating out of control, and that can have an adverse effect on your cardiovascular health in general. You can decrease stress by using relaxation and sleep aids like white noise machines. Playing white noise when you sleep or when you need a little downtime can help put you in a state of calm.

Boost your mood and help your heart

Light therapy for healthy heart

Mood disorders like depression can also affect your heart health. Medical research has shown that depression can reduce blood flow to your heart and increase the amount of cortisol your body produces. If left unchecked, you could be at great risk of heart disease. If you’re feeling down you should check in and follow the advice of your doctor, but one device that can help boost your mood is light therapy. Especially in the gloomy winter months, having a light therapy device can mimic natural sunlight and help you feel a little lighter.

Meditate your way to a healthy heart

Meditation is another great way to decrease your heart rate, and there are different meditation aids you can use to help you clear your mind, decrease your heart rate, and enjoy a little zen time. Some wearables have mediation apps on board so you can pair your headphones with your watch and follow the prompts. Just pulling out your yoga mat, putting on a soothing playlist, and calming your breathing can help reduce your heart rate.

Best Buy has a great selection of fitness wearables and other devices designed to improve your heart health. Choose your favourite wearables and make February the month you kick off a lifelong healthy heart plan.

Shelly Wutke
Editor TV & Home Theatre
I'm a Vancouver freelancer and tech enthusiast. When I'm not writing you'll find me on my farm with my alpacas, chickens, and honeybees. Visit my website Survivemag