February marks Heart Health Awareness Month, a great time for Australians to hone in on and prioritise their heart health. This couldn’t ring truer for Aussie men, with the latest statistics showing that men are twice as likely to be living with a heart health condition than women¹.

Supporting one’s heart health shouldn’t be viewed as one of those things that blokes can ‘put off until later’. It can, in fact, be addressed by adopting some simple changes as part of an overall balanced lifestyle. Looking at our mitochondrial health and the quality of our social connections are core to these changes.

Dr Ross Walker is an eminent practising cardiologist with a passion for people and health with over 45 years’ experience as a clinician. For the past 25 years, he has been focusing on preventative cardiology and is one of Australia’s leading preventative health experts. 

Considered one of the world’s best keynote speakers and life coaches, he is the author of seven best-selling books and a regular health presenter in the Australian media. Dr Walker also appears weekly on the Nine Radio and Super Radio networks. 

According to the Heart Foundation, heart health is still one of the most prevalent health challenges impacting the nation, with one in six Australians currently living with a heart health issue². Whilst women can also be impacted, the prevalence for men is double in comparison³, making the potential very real for a lot of Aussie men. 

With many of us caught in a constant race to manage work commitments, a busy family and home life, combined with a tendency to lean on the ‘she’ll be right’ mantra, thinking about heart health can sometimes take a back seat.

Educating men to take a more proactive approach to their cardiovascular health can help to shift this mindset and encourage them to make some positive changes. Key to this is prioritising healthy ageing and making small tweaks to our lifestyles.

Incorporating social connections into the heart health conversation 

Cardiovascular health is deeply intertwined with how we live, connect and care for ourselves. New evidence from a recent study published in the Nature Scientific Reports journal shows that factors like loneliness, social isolation and stress are emerging as contributors to a heart health issue, with the potential to increase the risk and worsen outcomes⁴. This has prompted health experts to look at the valuable role that meaningful social connections can play, shifting the focus on not just the physical but the mental aspects of cardiovascular health.

For Australian men, increasing one’s social connections can take many forms including joining a sports team, taking up a new hobby or going fishing or bike riding with a mate. Integrating this into a balanced lifestyle will not only support their heart health but also has the potential to improve their mental health and give them a greater sense of belonging and community.

Taking a cellular view with mitochondrial health and Ubiquinol

As is the macrocosm, so is the microcosm. We should see health from the inside out and vice versa. If you are not looking after yourself and are possibly suffering loneliness or social isolation, your cells will be affected. If your cells are not receiving proper nutrition, then this will impact the way you respond to all the psycho-social factors affecting your life. 

Cellular health, or the wellbeing and proper functioning of all the individual cells in our body, is fast becoming the cornerstone of modern healthcare solutions for a variety of conditions impacting ageing populations. Looking at it from this angle, mitochondrial health and Ubiquinol are gaining prominence from scientists and health experts across the globe as important factors to consider for heart health. 

At a deep, cellular level the heart relies on the mitochondria components of cells to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the fuel needed for optimal heart muscle function. In turn, mitochondria rely on the body’s natural antioxidant, Ubiquinol to generate this energy source for cellular heart function. 

From the age of 20, the body’s natural Ubiquinol levels gradually deplete due to the ageing process and impacts from poor lifestyle, such as stress and pollution, that lead to oxidative stress and inflammation⁵.

There is a significant body of evidence around this as well, with over 100 studies showing a correlation between the Ubiquinol levels in our bodies, mitochondrial function and health concerns, such as cholesterol and cardiovascular conditions⁶.

Top five tips for the heart health toolkit

Just like a toolkit, it’s important that men are equipped with simple but quality tools that aren’t too difficult to operate or integrate in daily life. With this in mind, here are my top heart-healthy tips for Australian men:

1. Quit smoking: Smoking is a major contributor to heart health conditions⁷. If you want to quit seek advice from your health professional to help support your journey towards a healthier heart and lifestyle.

2. Get good quality Zs: The quality of your day very much depends on the quality of your sleep the night before. Aim to go to bed at the same time every night and remove all digital devices from your bedroom.

3. Eat a healthy, natural diet: Eat a diet rich in Ubiquinol, which is found in some foods including oily fish, organ meat and whole grains. However, one needs to eat an immense amount of Ubiquinol-rich foods daily in order to gain sufficient amount for energy production, which may not be possible to get from dietary intake alone. For example, 1.6kg of peanuts; 34 x 28.3g of chicken breasts; 50 cups of spinach; 60 avocadoes 120 cans of sardines.

4. Be active: Aim to get 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, ideally all, days of the week. Moderate intensity means that you work up a sweat, but you can still hold a conversation.

5. Stress less and smile: Research has shown that people who maintain healthy friendship networks throughout life can have a lower risk of developing a heart health condition⁸. Reduced stress and anxiety as a result of having relationships plays a significant role in this finding.

By showing their hearts more love, Australian men can go a long way in supporting their heart health while also leading a happier, healthier and more balanced life.

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. Consult your healthcare professional to establish if Ubiquinol is suitable for your needs.

1. https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/evidence-and-statistics/coronary-heart-disease-key-stats ↩︎
2. https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/your-heart/evidence-and-statistics/coronary-heart-disease-key-stats
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3.  https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/heart-stroke-vascular-diseases/hsvd-facts/contents/summary
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4. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-63528-4 ↩︎
5. Kalén A, Appelkvist EL, Dallner G. Age-related changes in the lipid compositions of rat and human tissues. Lipids. 1989;24(7):579-84.  Wada H, et al. Redox status of coenzyme Q10 is associated with chronological age. JAGS 2007;55:1141-1142. ↩︎
6. Schmelzer C, Niklowitz P, Okun JG, et al. Ubiquinol-induced gene expression signatures are translated into altered parameters of erythropoiesis and reduced low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in humans. IUBMB Life. 2011;63(1):42–8. (Ingredient was provided by Kaneka Corp, Japan without funding). 
   
   Sabbatinelli J, et al. Ubiquinol ameliorates endothelial dysfunction in subjects with mild-to-moderate dyslipidemia: a randomized clinical trial. Nutrients 2020;12(4):1098. (Ingredient was provided by Kaneka Corp, Japan without funding). This study was funded by Università Politecnica delle Marche (Scientific research grant, years 2016- 2017-2018 to L.T); and IRCCS INRCA National Institute (“Ricerca corrente” grant to R.A.)
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7. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/heart/smoking ↩︎
8. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3150158/ ↩︎

How are you prioritising your cardiovascular health? Leave a comment below.