Condition-specific advice

Regular, sustainable physical activity, such as an exercise program, is recommended to reduce risk of CVD¹. The Heart Foundation’s Walking Programs can support your patient in getting started or finding find a local social group to walk with.

Recommend your patient builds up to walking for an average of 30 minutes a day to lower their risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes by 30 to 40 percent².

If suitable, recommend higher-intensity aerobic exercise and moderate-intensity resistance training for cholesterol management.³

If your patient has recently had a heart attack, angina, a coronary angioplasty or heart surgery, it’s important that your patient starts slowly, and gradually builds up to this level of activity over time.⁴

After an acute myocardial infarction it is recommended that patients attend a supervised cardiac rehab program, including virtual programs,to ensure they are exercising at a safe level.⁴

Following a healthy eating pattern low in saturated and trans fats is recommended. A healthy eating pattern should consist of¹:

• plenty of vegetables, fruit and wholegrains
• a variety of healthy protein-rich foods from animal and/or plant sources
• unflavoured milk, yoghurt and cheese
• foods that contain healthy fats and oils (eg olive oil, nuts and seeds, and fish).

Your patient may want to follow the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet to significantly improve their blood pressure, even if they don’t lose weight⁵.

Eating a Mediterranean diet may also be recommended to hypertensive patients as it has been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease risk⁶.

Recommend patients reduce their salt intake to improve their blood pressure⁷.

Reducing alcohol consumption where necessary, for people who consume alcohol, is recommended. Refer to the national guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol¹.

Circadian timing that aligns with the light-dark cycle is essential for good sleep health and suboptimal timing can affect mental health, cardiovascular function, metabolism, and other elements of overall health.⁸

Physical activity, including mind-body exercises like Tai Chi and more vigorous exercise like cycling has been found to be beneficial for sleep across different age groups and health and fitness levels.⁹

Advise patients with cardiovascular disease to develop habits around:

If your patient is interested in developing better sleep health habits or if they are experiencing periodic episodes of suboptimal sleep, share healthdirect's sleep hygiene practices.

There are strong links between sleep apnoea and heart disease and hypertension and between insomnia and hypertension¹⁰.

Ensure patients are informed about common sleep disorder symptoms and encourage them to advise you if they experience these symptoms. Untreated sleep problems can significantly affect both quality of life and overall health.

When managing patients with cardiovascular disease, be mindful that some medications can affect their weight and diet, especially beta-blockers. Weight loss can be more challenging for overweight hypertensive patients who are on this medication¹¹.

Also be mindful of medications prescribed to manage a patient’s weight may affect their cardiovascular system. For example, Phentermine can cause tachycardia so it should not be used in patients with a history of cardiovascular disease. GLP-1 agonists may be a more suitable option¹².