Ageing well: how to keep your heart healthy

Heart disease causes a quarter of all UK deaths each year, and older people are more at risk. 

This is because, with age, blood vessels and arteries naturally stiffen and your heart has to work harder to pump blood around your body. 

Your heart muscles do adapt, but high blood pressure and high cholesterol can make things worse, and these are the two main risk factors for heart disease.

While some things, such as our genetic makeup, are beyond our control, there are lifestyle changes that you can make to reduce your risk, and the evidence shows you're never too young to start.

We've rounded up the top science-backed tips for looking after your heart health, and the headline-grabbing myths to disregard, with insights from our in-house nutrition expert Shefalee Loth and Lynne Garton, dietitic adviser for Heart UK.

How to check your heart health

There aren't usually any obvious symptoms of high blood pressure or high cholesterol, so you need to have them measured. 

Your GP - and many pharmacies - can do this for free, and you should have both checked regularly after the age of 40. It's also offered as part of the free over-40s NHS Health Check.

Cholesterol self-test kits and home blood pressure monitors are also available to buy, but generally your first port of call should be your GP or pharmacist. 

Get more advice and tips on buying reliable and accurate monitors in our guide to the best blood pressure monitors and cholesterol test kits (including the ones to steer clear of).

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High blood pressure: what you can do

1. Eat more fruit and veg

Fruit and veg contain potassium, which lowers blood pressure and counters the effect of salt (sodium). 

They're also high in fibre, and diets high in fruit, veg and fibre are linked to a lower risk of heart disease. Recent 2026 research has also highlighted the role of the 'gut-heart' axis, and that high-fibre foods can help gut bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that directly relax blood vessels. 

Aim for at least five portions a day - an adult portion is 80g or around a handful. Fresh, tinned and frozen fruit and veg count, as do pulses such as beans, peas and lentils.

2. Cut back on salt

Adults should eat less than 6g of salt a day, but UK intakes are closer to 8g a day. Eating too much salt causes water retention in your bloodstream, which in turn increases your blood pressure. 

Sadly, there's no such thing as 'healthy' salt. Sea salt, rock salt and pink Himalayan salt all have the same negative impact on your blood pressure. 

Our sense of taste can diminish as we age, causing people to reach for the salt shaker more frequently. So being aware of this, and using herbs and spices instead to pack in more flavour when cooking, is also worthwhile. 

There can also be lots of salt hidden in processed foods, such as bread, cereals, processed meat products (eg bacon, ham and sausages), dairy, snacks, sauces and spreads. 

Shefalee says: 'Around 75% of the salt we eat is already in the foods we buy. As well as bread and cereals, it's also found in some sweet foods such as biscuits. Although this is out of our control, to limit your salt intake, choose foods with green and amber traffic lights for salt and try to avoid consuming too much of those with red traffic lights.' 

If you find it hard to cut salt entirely, research now supports using 'potassium-enriched' salt substitutes, which have been shown to significantly reduce stroke risk in older adults. The World Health Organisation (WHO) endorses potassium-enriched salt as a public health intervention.

3. Try to get enough sleep

Adults are meant to aim for around eight hours sleep each night but obviously the amount of sleep everyone needs is different. 

Shift work, regularly sleeping fewer than five hours a night and interrupted sleep or insomnia can cause high blood pressure.

Sleep problems are also linked to becoming overweight - this is believed to be caused by people eating more unhealthy foods if they're tired /busy, or having a drink to help them get to sleep.

Research is also increasingly recognising the importance of sleep regularity: going to bed and waking up within the same 30-minute window every day, even on weekends, has been linked to significantly lower levels of arterial plaque compared to those with irregular sleep patterns.

Of course, this is all easier said than done if you have a job that requires anti-social or long hours, so don't stress too much about sleep, as it can be counter-productive. If you're struggling, see our tips for sleeping better for expert advice on how to get a good night's snooze.

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High cholesterol - what you can do

1. Maintain a healthy weight

Being overweight increases your risk of heart disease. Research shows that losing just five to 10 per cent of your body weight can have a positive impact on your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.  

In 2026, the conversation has shifted toward metabolic health. New GLP-1 medications (like Wegovy) are now recognised not just for weight loss, but as primary cardiovascular treatments that reduce the risk of heart attacks by 20% in high-risk patients. Read more in our guide to weight loss injections.

It's not only about how much you weigh - it's also about where you carry your weight. Being an 'apple' shape, where you carry weight around your middle, can raise your cholesterol and also increase your risk of type 2 diabetes. This is because the fat sits around your organs (visceral fat). 

It's not always easy to lose weight and keep it off, but aiming to reduce the amount of sugary and fatty foods and swap in fruit, veg and pulses is a good start, along with reducing portion sizes. Ultimately, making smaller incremental swaps is more sustainable in the long-term.

2. Swap saturated fats for healthy fats

You need fat in your diet, but eating too much saturated fat can raise your cholesterol.

Switching to foods with more unsaturated than saturated fats, such as olive oil and vegetable oil, will help keep your cholesterol down.  

Red and processed meats such as sausages tend to be higher in saturated fat compared to poultry and fish, so cutting back on these can help too.

Lynne Garton, Dietetic Advisor for Heart UK, the cholesterol charity, says: 'Unfortunately, there is still scepticism about the role of cholesterol and heart disease, but this goes against the totality of evidence which shows reducing saturated fat, and replacing it with unsaturated fat, can help to lower cholesterol and improve overall heart health. 

'This is the consensus of expert associations, including the World Health Organisation, the UK’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and is based on randomised controlled trials, population studies and genetic studies.'

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3. Eat wholegrains and pulses 

These foods contain beneficial forms of fibre that help to lower cholesterol by preventing it from being absorbed into the bloodstream. Oats and barley contain beta-glucan, and pulses (beans, lentils and peas) contain psyllium.

Adults are advised to eat 30g of fibre a day, but it's a neglected nutrient, with most people in the UK only managing around 18g.  Aim for diversity: try to eat a range of different plant types per week to maximise the variety of fibres reaching your gut.

Choosing wholemeal or seeded bread, high-fibre breakfast cereals and aiming to add more pulses, fruit and veg to mealtimes will help you reach your fibre target. Including nuts and seeds in your diet will also help. 

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4. Keep moving

Being active is beneficial for your heart - it can help you lose weight and keep your cholesterol and blood pressure in check - but it also has countless other benefits, lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes, stroke and several cancers. It can help your mental health and sleep, too. 

The government recommends adults aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity over a week - this is anything that raises your heart rate, makes you feel warmer and breathe faster but not out of breath. 

Exercise doesn't have to mean pounding the streets on a run or going to a pricey gym class - it can include walking, cycling and swimming as well as dancing, tennis and even gardening.

Running, spin classes, weight lifting and other activities that cause you to breathe harder and leave you unable to hold a conversation are classed as vigorous activity. These are intense and can raise your blood pressure quickly and put extra strain on your heart.

If you already have high blood pressure and are new to exercise, you should check with your doctor before undertaking vigorous exercise. It's best to start small and build up to more intense exercise.

5. Cut the cigarettes

Smoking doubles your risk of heart attacks and stroke, so cutting back or stopping will benefit your heart health (and overall health).

Smoking damages the walls of your blood vessels, leading to cholesterol being deposited on artery walls and causing them to narrow. This means your heart has to work harder to move blood around your body.

It's never too late - the British Heart Foundation says that if you quit smoking, your risk of a heart attack is half that of a smoker after one year. 

Does wine really help your heart?

This is one persistent myth that many of us may want to believe.

However, it has been entirely debunked, and the latest global health data has led many health organisations to move towards a 'there is no safe level of alcohol' stance. 

Shefalee says: 'Some people believe that the perceived heart health benefits previously linked to red wine are likely due to the overall lifestyle of wine drinkers who might drink a glass or two of wine with a nice meal, rather than the alcohol itself. 

'You're better off choosing polyphenol-containing foods and drinks such as berries, tea, coffee, nuts and olive oil, which are proven to improve heart health.'

New ways to measure heart health risk

New 2026 clinical standards now suggest considering genetic risk factors and metabolic health when assessing people's heart health for a fuller picture.

The European Society of Cardiology recommends a one-time blood test for Lipoprotein(a) — a genetic type of cholesterol that standard tests, which measure LDL and HDL cholesterol, do not pick up. 

Heart UK and a dedicated 'Lp(a) Taskforce' are currently lobbying the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) to include this test in its guidelines. 

Experts advise that those with premature heart disease, high cholesterol or a strong family history should have this additional test to identify and manage high cardiovascular risk.

The Lp(a) test is not yet available as part of the NHS Health Check, although your GP may be able to refer you for it or request it if you meet certain criteria. 

Private tests are available, but bear in mind that the quality of the test and the lab does matter. Experts recommend choosing a 'venous' draw (blood that is taken from your arm by a trained professional) over a 'finger-prick' test at home. This is usually a more expensive option - around £95 vs approx £60.

The reason being that finger-prick tests are prone to haemolysis, where red blood cells burst during collection, which can skew the results for proteins like Lp(a). 

In addition, it's important to ensure that the lab reports your results in nmol/L rather than mg/dL. This is because most modern guidelines use nmol/L as the gold standard for assessing risk, and the two units can't easily be converted. 

Shefalee explains: 'This is something you only ever need to do once because Lp(a) is genetic, so the level stays stable through your life. So if companies are offering repeat tests or subscription models, they are selling you something you don't need! Save your money and focus those resources on the factors you can change, like your blood pressure and daily activity.'

Find out more about the pros and cons of self-test kits in our guide to DIY health tests.