Power Moves for Your Heart

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Power Moves for Your Heart

Today, cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for more deaths than all forms of cancer and chronic respiratory disease combined. Nearly 1 in 2 U.S. adults have some form of CVD. But here’s the most important stat: it’s largely modifiable.


4 Science-Backed Strategies that Strengthen Your Heart

These four science-backed strategies, smart training, intentional nutrition, meaningful touch, and mindful connection, go beyond the treadmill and into the core of what makes a heart strong and resilient in midlife and beyond.


1. HIIT That Works: The Right Kind of Intensity

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been hyped as the fast track to cardiovascular fitness. But not all HIIT is created equal. The real gains come when you hit the right intensity, at the right duration, with full recovery between bouts.

When done correctly, HIIT can improve VO₂ max by 15–20%, boost muscle strength by 12%, reduce fall risk, and increase cognitive function by 10–15% (especially memory). That’s according to a 2025 meta-review of 18 studies on HIIT and continuous cardio in older adults. And it gets better: when paired with steady-state cardio, the combination supports both physical and mental resilience as we age.

2. The Portfolio Diet: Invest in Longevity

Want to lower your LDL cholesterol by up to 30%? The Portfolio Diet might be your most elegant play. A 30-year Harvard study of over 210,000 people found that those who closely followed a “portfolio-style” plant-based diet had a 14% lower risk of heart disease. This approach combines multiple LDL-lowering foods for a compounding effect. “A lot of different foods can lower LDL cholesterol by 5–10%.


The portfolio diet stacks those benefits,” says Harvard’s Andrea Glenn, co-author of the study.

The Big Five of the Portfolio Diet:

  1. Plant Protein: lentils, tofu, edamame, beans
  2. Nuts & Seeds: almonds, walnuts, flax, chia
  3. Viscous Fiber: oats, psyllium, eggplant, okra
  4. Plant Sterols: found in legumes, soy, hemp, nuts
  5. Healthy Fats: olive oil, avocado, peanut oil


Try building a “Super Portfolio Breakfast” with oatmeal, hemp milk, fruit, and chopped nuts for a cardioprotective start to the day.


3. The Science of Touch

Connection is cardio-protective. Touch is biologically powerful. Physical connection directly impacts cardiovascular health by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing inflammation, and enhancing heart rate variability (HRV), a key marker of resilience and heart function.

In some studies, people who received more frequent hugs from their partners had significantly higher levels of oxytocin and lower resting blood pressure and heart rate. Other studies found that touch decreases cortisol, our primary stress hormone. Another investigation found that gentle, affective touch improves HRV. Touch also supports emotional regulation and stress resilience. These shifts suggest that human contact plays a unique role in balancing nervous system and reducing cardiovascular risk.

Opportunities for touch can decline with age, due to isolation, bereavement, or cultural norms. It’s even more essential to recognize and restore physical connection as part of holistic heart health because sometimes, a simple human touch truly does go straight to the heart.


Why It Works: Reduces Stress: Touch triggers oxytocin release and lowers cortisol

Lowers Blood Pressure: Affectionate contact helps regulate heart rate variability

Boosts Emotional Resilience: Touch can reduce depression and anxiety, particularly in older adults

Simple Practices:


  • Book a monthly massage
  • Cuddle with a pet or offer a hand squeeze to someone who needs it

  • Offer a caring hand to someone who may be touch-deprived

  • Put your hand on your own heart and take a few deep breaths sending yourself some gratitude for taking a moment to care for yourself.


Micropractice: End your day with a moment of physical connection. Your heart will thank you.


4. A Meditation for Your Heart

Loving-Kindness meditation is a longevity practice. I’ve been practicing Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) for years. It’s not only shifted how I show up as a parent, partner, and editor, but it’s reshaped how I understand health. Studies show that LKM lowers heart rate, decreases inflammation, increases heart rate variability, and rewires the brain toward compassion and connection.

Neuroscientists have found that during loving-kindness meditation, theta brainwave activity increases while heart rate decreases, indicating a deeply restorative state. That’s not just inner peace, it’s heart protection.


Try This:

Find a quiet moment, sit in a supported way and connect with your body and your breath. Then, silently repeat phrases like:
“May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I live with ease.”
Breathe into the phrases and feel each one in your heart center. “These phrases are an act of generosity. They’re offering. They are gift-giving,” says Salzberg.

After a few minutes, extend those wishes to others, someone you love, someone you’re struggling with, and eventually, to all beings.

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