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Heart Health
Your heart is one of the most important organs in the body. A healthy heart is central to overall good health.
The main function of our heart is to keep blood that’s full of oxygen circulating throughout your body.
Embracing a healthy lifestyle at any age, and going for regular health screening, can prevent heart disease and lower your risk for a heart attack or stroke.
Learn more about the heart, and how taking care of it can benefit you in the long run.
Preventing heart diseases
By living a healthy lifestyle, you can help keep your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels normal and lower your risk for heart disease and heart attack.
Health screening is also an important part of prevention. At Mount Elizabeth, you can go for regular health screening to look after your overall health and identify any hidden risks early.
Understand your normal heart rate
A normal heart rate refers to your resting heart rate. Medically defined as the ‘lowest amount of blood you need when you are not exercising’, your resting heart rate is the rate at which your heart is pumping the minimum amount of blood you require to go about your day-to-day activities.
How exercise lowers your resting heart rate
When you exercise, your heart pumps harder to send more oxygen (via the blood) to your muscles. With regular exercise, the heart adapts to the increased blood flow and the left heart becomes bigger. Your heart can then deliver more blood with each heartbeat, even during rest.
Hence, the resting heart rate of a sporty individual is lower as fewer beats are needed to deliver the required volume of blood.
Normal resting heart rates
75 – 115 bpm
Children (aged 5 – 6)
60 – 100 bpm
Older children and adults (aged 10 and above)
What is your pulse rate trying to tell you? Learn about normal pulse rates, what is a dangerous heart rate and more.
Common heart conditions in Singapore
According to the Ministry of Health, heart conditions accounted for 31.7% of all deaths in Singapore in 2019, meaning that almost 1 in 3 deaths were caused by heart disease and stroke.
Top 3 causes of death* by heart disease in Singapore (2020)
20.5%
Ischaemic heart diseases
6.0%
Cerebrovascular diseases (including stroke)
2.9%
Hypertensive diseases
* As a percentage of total deaths per year. Source: Ministry of Health
Did you know? Heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease, is a leading cause of death in Singapore and worldwide.
Improve your heart health
To keep your heart healthy, you can stay at a healthy weight, quit smoking and stay away from second-hand smoke, control your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar, and manage stress.
Learn from our medical experts on how you can maintain a healthy heart:
Heart care at Mount Elizabeth
At Mount Elizabeth, you can access the full spectrum of cardiology care, from diagnostic tests and surgical treatments to cardiac rehabilitation and post-surgery counselling.
We are one of the first private hospitals in Singapore to perform a successful left ventricular assist device procedure (LVAD – a mechanical device that efficiently helps the heart’s blood-pumping function). Through procedures such as this, we have helped patients avoid the strain of a heart transplant and given them renewed possibilities.
Our multidisciplinary team of heart specialists, nurses and therapists will guide you through the entire diagnosis, treatment and recovery process with care and professionalism.
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Learn about some of the most common heart conditions:
- Aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection
- Carotid artery disease
- Congenital heart disease
- Coronary artery disease
- Heart attack
- Heart arrhythmia
- Heart failure
- Peripheral arterial disease
- Pleural effusion (fluid around lungs)
- Pregnancy-related cardiac conditions
- Pulmonary arterial hypertension
- Valvular heart disease
When a heart condition is discovered early through regular health screening, the treatment required tends to be less invasive and more likely to succeed.
Explore some of the diagnostic methods uses to discover common heart conditions, as well as treatment options available.
Recovery from heart disease comes in many forms, both pre- and post-surgery. The 4 phases of recovery include:
- Inpatient
- Outpatient
- Outpatient intermediate maintenance
- Community-based lifelong maintenance
Post-operative care
Post-operative care programmes include behaviour counselling and health education, and are designed to enhance your psychological and physical well-being.
Lifestyle changes
A healthy lifestyle can also contribute greatly to your heart’s well-being. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, a fatty diet, lack of exercise and obesity are major contributing causes to heart diseases.
Modifying your lifestyle and improving your general health can lower the risk of future hospital stays.
This page has been reviewed by our medical content reviewers.
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