9 Easy Ways to Save Your Heart

Cardiovascular disease has been the No. 1 killer of Americans for more than a century, but you don’t have to become the latest statistic. Simple strategies that take little time or effort can lower your risk of heart disease. Follow these easy tips and tricks — all backed by research — to keep your ticker ticking for many years to come.

1. Drink pomegranate juice

Learn to love pomegranate juice. According to the National Academy of Sciences, heart cells treated with it produced 50 percent more nitric oxide, a substance that fights plaque and staves off hardening of the arteries, and may even reverse it.

2. Get enough dairy

Consume three servings of dairy every day. It can be yogurt, milk, or cheese — just make sure it's low-fat. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says three servings can lower systolic blood pressure (the top number) by about four points in people who don't consume a lot of saturated fat.

3. Try tai chi

Try tai chi — a Chinese martial art that uses slow, relaxing movements — to lower your blood pressure. In one study, participants who practiced tai chi for 30 minutes a day for 12 weeks lowered their systolic blood pressure by almost 16 points.

4. Laugh

Watch funny movies or do anything else that makes you laugh because it improves your blood flow. A University of Maryland School of Medicine study prescribes 15 minutes of laughter a day.

5. Breathe

Lower your blood pressure by breathing deeply. If you take 10 breaths a minute instead of the usual 16 or more, and do this for 15 minutes a day over a period of two months, studies show you will lower your blood pressure.

6. Sleep

Insufficient sleep wreaks havoc with women's hormones, blood pressure, and blood sugar, according to a study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The study says women who sleep fewer than five hours a night have a 30 percent higher risk of heart disease than those who get eight full hours.

7. Listen to music

Regulate your body's rhythms with music. University of Oxford researchers say you can lower your heart rate by tuning in to slow, meditative music, and — just the opposite — you can rev up your circulation and breathing by turning on to tunes that are fast-moving toe-tappers.

8. Use dark soy

Daily soy shooters in your food (marinades, soups, etc.) can help fight heart-damaging substances generated by smoking, obesity, or diabetes, according to a study by the National University of Singapore. Dark — not light — soy sauce has 10 times the antioxidants found in wine. Use low-salt versions because some soy sauces are loaded with salt, which can raise blood pressure.

9. Get Fishy

Lower your resting heart rate just by eating fish. Your resting rate can be an indicator of heart attack risk, and lower is better. A Harvard Medical School study showed that people who eat five or more servings a month of fatty fish like tuna and salmon (which are high in omega-3 fatty acids) average about three beats a minute fewer than those who eat little or no fatty fish.