12 daily habits that are harming your heart health in your 50s and beyond – and what to do instead

Our hearts (the actual, physical ones, not the romance part) tend to be something we give little thought to until there's a problem. It's natural to assume that everything is ticking along just fine as long as our hearts keep beating.

We're sorry to say that's an error. Just because you can't see your heart doesn't mean you can ignore it. Heart health should be just as much of a priority as brain health, physical strength, and all the other wellness factors you consider day to day. That's especially the case as reports suggest heart disease and stroke are on the rise in women.

The building blocks of bettering any aspect of your health tend to be in daily decisions. With this in mind, we asked experts in matters of the heart for the daily habits that could be causing us harm – and what to do instead.

Failing to check the salt levels of your food

The bad habit: We all know that excess salt is bad for our heart health, but it's easy to assume that simply not adding extra salt to our meals is doing enough. Not so. 'Most of the salt we eat doesn't come from the salt shaker,' says Dr Hannah Burrage, lead GP at Kry. 'It's already in bread, soups, breakfast cereals, sauces and the ready meals that feel like the sensible choice. Too much salt raises blood pressure, and that's a particular concern when blood pressure is already drifting up after the menopause.'

How to fix it: 'Get into the habit of checking labels and cooking more from scratch,' advises Dr Burrage. 'The NHS says more than 1.5g of salt per 100g is high, and adults should aim for no more than 6g a day. Use herbs, spices, lemon and garlic for flavour, and taste before you add salt. Look at the salt content in soups and bread, which often surprises people.'

Not eating enough protein

The bad habit: Are you hitting your protein goals? If not, the results go beyond a lack of progress in the gym. Dr Kanchi Chadha, the director of the Midlife Women’s Health and Longevity Center at Hackensack University, tells Good Housekeeping: 'Muscle loss accelerates post-menopause, and many women eat too little protein to offset it. Less muscle mass leads to insulin resistance, more belly fat, and worsening blood sugar and lipid profile, all of which drive heart disease. Aging muscles become “anabolic resistant” (meaning more protein is needed to have the same effect as before) so they need more protein per meal to respond. If you have kidney disease, or another condition affecting protein needs, speak to your doctor before increasing your daily protein intake.'

How to fix it: Up your protein! Dr Chadha says: 'Protein supports bone, satiety and blood sugar control. When meals are light on protein, they tend to be heavy on refined carbs and sugar. Instead, spread 25-30mg of protein per meal throughout your day, prioritising whole foods. Breakfast is where most women fall short, often with toast or fruit alone. Make breakfast a protein meal: eggs, yogurt or a smoothie. Build each meal around the protein first, then add the rest. Keep easy snacks on hand: cottage cheese, edamame, canned fish.'

Accepting rubbish sleep as just part of getting older

The bad habit: Dr Chadha tells us: 'Women in their 50s often suffer from fragmented sleep due to night sweats or middle-of-the-night anxiety. Many brush this off and just power through their days. Cardiologically, this is disastrous. Normally, our blood pressure drops by about 10-20% at night – this is called "nocturnal dipping" and it gives the heart a vital rest. When you are waking up hot and anxious, your nervous system is trapped in fight-or-flight mode. Your blood pressure never dips. This "non-dipping" pattern is one of the strongest silent predictors of cardiovascular disease and heart failure in women. Late night screen time, irregular sleep schedules and a warm bedroom compound menopause-related insomnia.'

How to fix it: 'Treat sleep as a non-negotiable vital sign,' advises Dr Chadha. 'You need to actively manage menopausal vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes) so your brain and heart can actually power down. Do not just suffer through night sweats. Speak to your gynecologist or a menopause specialist about treatments – which range from MHT to new non-hormonal medications specifically for hot flashes. Also, keep your bedroom colder than you think you need it (around 18°C) and invest in cooling sheets to prevent middle-of-the-night thermal wake-ups. Keep a consistent sleep schedule with a cool, dark bedroom and a wind-down routine.'

Spending the majority of the day sitting down

The bad habit: A sedentary lifestyle is bad news for your heart. Dr Corné Hurter, medical director for services and delivery at AXA Health Insurance, tells us: 'Spending long periods inactive can affect circulation, blood sugar regulation and blood pressure, all of which can influence cardiovascular health over time.'

How to fix it: 'Aim to incorporate movement every 30 to 60 minutes of your day, even if it is just a simple walk around the house, some bodyweight exercises or a few simple stretches, such as arm circles or cat-cows,' says Dr Hurter. 'Short bursts of movement will not only help to activate your muscles, but can be crucial for maintaining heart health, as these short bursts of activity send signals to our nervous system to increase blood flow, giving our cardiovascular system regular opportunities to adapt over time. When practised consistently, this can help support heart health and reduce the negative effects of prolonged sitting.'

Overdoing the sugar

The bad habit: Dr Brandon Rafison, a cardiologist and the medical director of SimonMed Longevity, tells us that excessive sugar consumption and related blood sugar spikes can be ruinous for our heart health. And you don't need a diagnosis of diabetes or prediabetes to be in trouble. 'The damage starts long before a diagnosis. This is a continuum, not a switch that flips at a diabetes threshold. Women with prediabetes already show measurably worse endothelial function, stiffer arteries and more coronary calcium, and prediabetes carries a 13% to 16% higher risk of coronary disease and stroke even in those who never progress to diabetes.'

How to fix it: Tweak your eating to avoid blood sugar spikes. Dr Rafison advises: 'Mostly whole foods, enough protein and fibre to blunt the curve, refined sugar as the exception. A ten-minute walk after meals measurably lowers the spike.'

Only doing cardio

The bad habit: Dr Chadha says: 'Many women in their 50s are excellent about getting their daily walk or doing the elliptical. But they avoid heavy resistance training. Post-menopause, the loss of oestrogen triggers a rapid loss of lean muscle mass and a shift in fat storage directly to the belly (visceral fat). Visceral fat is metabolically active; it surrounds the heart and liver, driving insulin resistance and heart disease. Walking alone will not stop this metabolic shift.'

How to fix it: 'Start viewing muscle as your body's cardiovascular armour,' she advises. 'Skeletal muscle is an endocrine organ that sucks sugar out of your bloodstream, preventing the insulin spikes that damage your blood vessels. You need to lift heavy things. Swap two days of walking for resistance training. You don't need a fancy gym; start with two dumbbells at home. The key is the weight must be heavy enough that the last two repetitions of an exercise are genuinely difficult to complete with good form. If it's easy, it's not signalling your body to build the muscle your heart so desperately needs. I would recommend that women focus on at least two sessions of strength-focused exercise each week, alongside cardiovascular exercises. For example, using exercises such as squats, lunges, rows and presses, adapted to your ability can be useful.'

But also: only doing strength training

The bad habit: You need both! 'There’s been a brilliant move towards encouraging women in midlife to strength train,' says Dr Lucy Hooper, a GP and co-founder of Coyne Medical. 'It’s incredibly valuable for muscle mass, insulin sensitivity, bone health and more. But I do sometimes see women who have focused on this alongside other movement-based activities such as Pilates and yoga, but are doing very little that is really giving them a big increase in their heart rate and challenging their cardiovascular system.'

How to fix it: Dr Hooper says: 'I love running, but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and I don’t mean that everyone has to start running. It could be cycling, rowing, swimming, dance classes or walking up hills. The important thing is doing something that really does give you that heart-rate elevation and helps your heart and lungs get fitter. If time is a barrier, intensity can be your best friend. High-intensity activity means you can get great cardiovascular benefits in a shorter amount of time.'

Dismissing symptoms as just the menopause

The bad habit: Dr Cynthia Kos tells us she often sees women 'normalising swelling, breathlessness and fatigue as part of menopause or getting older.' She shares: 'Women gradually adjust their lives around symptoms without considering them as symptoms of something larger than “the change”.

How to fix it: 'The healthier habit is to pay attention to your own “baseline”, but be sure to report progressing changes (such as unintentional weight gain, difficulty laying flat, chest pain, noticeable decline in your exercise tolerance) to your health care provider so that conditions that may be coexisting with menopause can be diagnosed and treated. Don’t assume getting older means you should simply expect or accept to do less. A change in what your body can do is information. Use this as feedback and make the rest of your life as healthy as possible.'

Popping painkillers for menopausal aches and pains

The bad habit: 'As oestrogen drops in menopause, systemic inflammation often goes up, leading to joint pain or "frozen shoulder",' says Dr Chadha. 'Many women start taking over-the-counter NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen or naproxen every day just to get by. What they don't realise is that regular use of NSAIDs restricts blood vessels and causes sodium and fluid retention. In your 50s, this can cause a sudden, significant spike in blood pressure and noticeably increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.'

How to fix it: 'Address the inflammation at its root rather than masking it systemically,' advises Dr Chadha. 'Switch to safer, localised pain management and anti-inflammatory lifestyle interventions. If you have an aching knee or shoulder, use a topical NSAID gel (like diclofenac). Because it’s applied directly to the skin, very little of the medication enters your bloodstream, keeping your heart and kidneys safe. Additionally, talk to your doctor about whether menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) might be appropriate, as restoring oestrogen can help improve joint pain.'

Not knowing your numbers

The bad habit: 'High blood pressure and high cholesterol cause no symptoms, so it's easy to assume you're fine because you feel fine,' says Dr Burrage. 'Both tend to rise after the menopause, and they're two of the biggest drivers of heart disease and stroke. Plenty of women I speak to haven't had their blood pressure checked in years.'

How to fix it: 'Know your blood pressure and cholesterol, and have them checked regularly from midlife. If you're 40 to 74 in England, you're entitled to a free NHS Health Check every five years. Many pharmacies check blood pressure for free. If you buy a home monitor, get a validated one, sit quietly for five minutes first, and take readings at the same time each day for a week so your GP has a proper picture.'

Having a nightly glass of wine

The bad habit: 'For decades, we were told a glass of red wine was good for the heart,' Dr Chadha shares. 'The latest data completely refutes this, especially for women. Women metabolise alcohol differently than men, and as we age, we lose the enzymes needed to break it down. Even one daily drink acts as a toxin to the heart muscle. It directly drives up blood pressure and significantly raises the risk of Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke. Alcohol also worsens hot flashes, fragments sleep and is linked to higher risk of breast cancer and bone loss.

How to fix it: 'Decouple alcohol from your stress-relief routine. You need a transition ritual between the workday and evening that doesn't rely on alcohol. Swap your evening wine for a "sleepy girl mocktail". Try mixing tart cherry juice with a scoop of magnesium glycinate powder and sparkling water in a nice wine glass. The tart cherry promotes natural melatonin production, and magnesium physically relaxes the blood vessels and muscles, giving you that exact "ahhh" feeling you want from wine.'

Putting everyone else first

The bad habit: Deprioritising your wellbeing is a dangerous trap that too many women fall into. Dr Burrage notes: 'Many women in their 50s and 60s are looking after parents, adult children or grandchildren, often while working. Their own appointments and health checks are the first thing to slide, and long-term stress adds to the strain on the heart.'

How to fix it: 'Treat your own health appointments as non-negotiable,' says Dr Burrage. 'Book your blood pressure check or health check now and put it in the diary like any other commitment. Ask for practical help rather than waiting to be offered it. A video GP appointment can also be easier to fit around caring.'