Consider these steps to live a healthier lifestyle and protect your heart and brain health:

• Don’t smoke; avoid secondhand smoke.

• Reach and maintain a healthy weight. Be mindful of your eating habits; eat foods low in saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and added sugars.

• Be physically active. Start slowly and build up to at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity (such as brisk walking) each week. As an alternative, you can do 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity, or a combination of the two, to improve overall cardiovascular health.

• Get your blood pressure checked regularly and work with your health care team to manage it if it’s high.

• Have regular medical checkups and take your medicine as directed.

• Decrease your stress level and seek emotional support when needed.

Learn more about the relationship between heart health and brain health at heart.org.

Experts recommend maintaining a healthy weight, managing your blood pressure and following other heart-healthy lifestyle behaviors that can also support good brain health while studies show maintaining good vascular health is associated with healthy aging and retained cognitive function.