Planning a vacation may mean there’s a restorative retreat in your future, but travel can also come with some high-stress situations and a bit of overindulgence. As a result, your time away from home can have an impact on your heart health — for better or worse.
Benefit: Accidental Exercise
While the stereotypical image of vacations may involve quite a bit of relaxing (say, lounging by a pool or on a beach), most trips involve a great deal of physical activity, regardless of whether you plan for it.
“Vacations dramatically increase what cardiologists call incidental physical activity — airport walking, sightseeing, swimming, dancing, and hiking — without ever setting foot in a gym,” says John P. Higgins, MD, a professor of medicine and cardiologist at UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School.
“Physical activity remains one of the core pillars of cardiovascular health outlined in current American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology prevention guidance, and the benefits are accessible to nearly everyone,” says Dr. Higgins.
Risk: Blood Clots
“Long flights or car rides can increase the risk of blood clots, particularly in people with existing risk factors,” says Nikhil Bassi, MD, a cardiologist at Hoag, a healthcare system in Newport Beach, California.
“For most travelers, I recommend standing and walking every one to two hours, performing calf pump exercises, staying well hydrated, and limiting alcohol,” says Higgins. Higher-risk individuals should discuss additional precautions, including compression stockings and preventive medications, with their physician before travel, he adds.
Benefit: Stress Relief
“This is particularly valuable for people already managing hypertension, coronary [artery] disease, or high-demand careers,” says Higgins. “The keyword, however, is ‘restorative.’ A vacation filled with conflict or logistical chaos negates these benefits.”
Risk: Stress Aggravation
On that note, some vacations can cause more stress than they relieve.
“Travel delays, long itineraries, and poor sleep can counteract some of the benefits of being away,” says Dr. Bassi. “Vacations introduce risks if people overextend themselves.”
The stress of travel can also make it easy to forget when to take your medications. “One of the most common and preventable problems I see is patients forgetting medications or taking them at inconsistent times across time zones,” says Higgins.
To make it easier to adhere to your medication regimen in the midst of stressful schedule changes and time zone shifts, Higgins recommends packing all cardiac medications in carry-on luggage and bringing extra doses just in case.
Benefit: Lifestyle Resets
Sometimes, a vacation is exactly what you need to bust out of an unhealthy rut or tap into renewed inspiration to change your habits.
“A vacation can function as a genuine pattern interrupt, a break in routine that allows people to return with fresh motivation to cook more, walk daily, cut back on alcohol, or prioritize sleep,” says Higgins.
When it comes to diet, intentional food choices on (and after) vacation matter, he adds. The AHA emphasizes the importance of overall dietary patterns rather than a fixation on individual superfoods, with guidance centered around prioritizing vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein sources, liquid plant oils, and less sodium and added sugar.
In other words, it’s not about one antioxidant-rich açai bowl on your beach vacation, but rather healthy patterns you enjoy while away that you may be inspired to translate into your everyday life when you return home.
“A vacation that includes fresh seafood and produce and less ultra-processed food can genuinely move the cardiovascular health needle,” says Higgins.
Risk: Overindulgence
Conversely, vacations can introduce the risk of overindulgence.
“Higher salt intake, richer foods, and increased alcohol consumption can elevate blood pressure and trigger symptoms in some patients, especially those with underlying heart conditions,” says Bassi.
Meanwhile, high-sodium meals at restaurants increase blood pressure, too, with the biggest culprits including sandwiches, pizza, soups, chips, and meat dishes.
“Enjoy the trip, but make heart-healthy choices the default — grilled fish, vegetables, fresh fruit, water — and reserve the indulgences for genuinely special occasions,” says Higgins.
Benefit: Social Contact
Traveling may also involve spending extra time in transit with loved ones, visiting those you haven’t seen in a while, or making new friends along the way.
“Social connection is linked to lower rates of heart disease and better long-term outcomes,” says Bassi.
Indeed, one classic study associates annual vacations with a lower risk of heart disease–related death in middle-aged men, noting that this time away can have restorative effects partly due to social contact with family and friends.
Risk: Excessive Heat
You need to be especially careful when you already have underlying cardiovascular disease: It’s linked to about 25 percent of all heat-related deaths.
“Stay well hydrated, avoid peak midday heat, use shade and air conditioning, limit alcohol consumption, and recognize warning signs as reasons to seek immediate care,” says Higgins. Such warning signs may include dizziness, confusion, chest pain, palpitations, or shortness of breath.
The Takeaway
- Vacations may offer several cardiovascular benefits, including a boost in physical activity, significant stress relief, opportunities for positive lifestyle and dietary resets, and life-extending social connections with loved ones.
- But travel can also present unique cardiovascular hazards, such as a higher risk of deep vein thrombosis during long flights or car rides because of prolonged lack of movement.
- Logistical issues, travel delays, and disrupted sleep schedules can aggravate stress levels rather than relieve them, which may cause travelers to experience worse heart symptoms or even forget to take critical cardiac medications.
- Traveling can also introduce heart health risk through dietary overindulgence, where excessive sodium and alcohol consumption can trigger blood pressure spikes and atrial fibrillation, as well as exposure to excessive outdoor heat that forces the heart to work too hard.
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