Q: Incorporating exercise into your daily routine can help you prevent a heart attack. Try to include aerobic exercise, such as walking, jogging, or swimming, and strength training every day to help decrease your blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends that for overall cardiovascular health, adults get at least 30 minutes of moderately intensive activity at least five days per week for a total of 150 minutes and moderate to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity at least two days per week.  You can substitute your five days of moderate cardio for at least 25 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity at least three days per week for a total of 75 minutes. If you feel that this is more than you can manage, try to start small. Doing anything that gets your heart pumping is a good thing. You can work up to longer exercises and eventually reach the recommended amount of exercise per week. Do your best to get as much exercise as you can, even if it is going for a short walk. Being overweight is tough on your heart. You should use diet and exercise to help get down and maintain a healthy body weight. Medically speaking, a healthy weight is defined by body mass index (BMI). This scale estimates your appropriate weight range according to your height and sex. A normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9. BMIs below 18.5 are underweight, from 25.0 to 29.9 are overweight, and above 30.0 is defined as obese. You can use online BMI calculators to find out where you fall on the spectrum.  Counting calories can be an easy and efficient way to lose or maintain weight. You can estimate your daily calories needs by multiplying your weight in pounds by 10. This is the number of calories a day you need to eat to maintain your weight. If you are trying to lose weight, eat less than this number. This number changes a bit depending on your gender, age, and daily activity level. You can use online calorie intake calculators or ask your doctor to find out your target calorie range.  The healthiest rate to lose weight is at about one to two pounds per week. This is a healthy and commonly recommended rate of weight loss. Stress, anxiety, and depression can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure. Learning how to manage and cope with stress can improve both your emotional and physical health. Participating in hobbies you enjoy as well as meditation and yoga are great ways to rest and relax. Try taking some time everyday to do something that relaxes you, whether it be reading a book, sitting outside in the sunshine, or watching your favorite TV program.  You can try to incorporate a nice, brisk walk and yoga into your daily routine to destress. These activities double as exercise, which means you can help prevent a heart attack in two ways at once. If you feel like you are struggling with anxiety or depression, speak to your healthcare professional. Alcohol is a refined carbohydrate that that turns to sugar in your blood. This can cause plaque build up. Additionally, men who consume more than two servings of alcohol daily, and women who consume more than one serving of alcohol daily, have an increased risk for developing hypertension.  The calories and sugars from alcohol can also lead to weight gain.  Heavy drinkers who want to limit their alcohol intake should slowly lower intake over the course of several weeks. Heavy drinkers who suddenly cut back alcohol intake put themselves at risk to develop severe high blood pressure. Caffeine causes an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, especially in those who do not consume it regularly. At high doses, it can even cause irregular heart beats. The current recommendations are to consume no more than 400 mg daily. You should limit yourself to a few small cups of coffee a day or a few other caffeinated beverages, depending on their caffeine levels. If you have high blood pressure, you should limit your caffeine intake even more.  An eight oz coffee has 100 to 150 mg of caffeine, a one oz espresso has 30 to 90 mg, and an eight oz tea has 40 to 120 mg per serving.  Other common sources of caffeine include sodas, energy drinks and diet pills. Over-the-counter decongestants (phenylephrine and pseudoephedrine) can also raise blood pressure, especially if you already have a history of hypertension. Some herbal supplements, such as ginseng and guarana, can also raise blood pressure. . Smoking is one of the most common and avoidable contributing factors to cardiovascular death. The chemicals in cigarettes cause an increase in heart rate and vessel constriction, which contributes to increased blood pressure. More importantly, cigarette smoking causes stiffening of the arteries over time, which can persist for many years after quitting. Quit as soon as possible to stop the adverse effects. Talk to your doctor about options that can help you, such as nicotine patches, gum, counseling and support group, and prescription medication to reduce cravings.
A: Exercise daily. Lose weight. Reduce your stress. Limit alcohol consumption. Reduce caffeine intake. Quit smoking

Q: It's hard to get to know someone well in a group. If you want to deepen your bond, spend time alone together. Go somewhere you can have a quiet talk, like a coffee shop or a restaurant in the middle of the day.  If you go to school together, just finding a quiet place to sit, away from other students, can be a great way to have a private conversation. It doesn't have to be a "date," and calling it one can put a lot more pressure on things. Just find an excuse to hang out together and talk. Eventually, your conversation needs to deepen beyond talk of school and bands and movies, if you want to get to know someone better. Ask about her opinions on serious issues. Find about what she thinks about. Talk the real talk.  Stay informed about world events and politics. Ask about her opinions regarding recent elections, or talking points. Find out what she cares about. Ask about her anxieties and fears. What kind of a person is she? What keeps her up at night? What does she want to do with her life? Where does she want to be in ten years? What makes her happy? These are important questions that will be good to talk about down the road, if you want to get to know someone.  If you're in school together, talk about your future in school. Is she hoping to go to college? What will she study? What does she want to be beyond school? If you're beyond school, talk about where you'd like to progress in life? Where do you want to live? Are you satisfied in your job? Do you want a family? Kids? Your job isn't to impress a girl, or "wow" her with your accomplishments. Your job is to be real if you want to get to know someone. Be yourself. Conversation is a give and take. Share deeper feelings and anxieties that you have, if you want to her learn about hers. Open up and put yourself out there.  It's possible to go too far with all the questions and come off as kind of a creep. If you never bring anything to the table, but want to know whether or not she wants kids, it won't seem like a conversation. It'll seem like an interrogation. You've got to talk about things, too. Let her ask questions as well, but don't wait for her too. You should both be sharing about an equal amount. But if she wants to talk more, let her. Seeing how someone interacts with their family can be a very telling experience. If you want to really see what someone is like, see how they interact with their parents. See how they treat their brothers and sisters. See how their family gets along.  This might take a while, but if you've been hanging out with someone a lot, coming over for dinner, or a quick hang-out is pretty common. Let her ask you first, don't invite yourself over. Introduce yourself to her family, and see how they react to you as well. Learning about someone's parents can be just as revealing as learning about someone.
A:
Spend some time together one-on-one. Ask more complicated questions. Talk about the future. Open yourself up, as well. Get to know her family.