In fact, a study published in September 2022 in European Heart Journal suggests that maintaining good hydration can slow down or even prevent changes within the heart that lead to heart failure. The study tracked nearly 12,000 middle-aged adults for 25 years, and it found that study participants who were adequately hydrated had lower levels of sodium in their system 25 years later. High sodium levels are a known precursor to heart failure. “The findings indicate that we need to pay attention to the amount of fluid we consume every day and take action if we find that we drink too little,” says study author Natalia Dmitrieva, PhD, a researcher at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. So, just how much water should you drink? The answer is not so simple. Your hydration needs differ based on your age, daily activity, health, and your environment. For example, you’ll need to drink more if you live in a hot climate than if you lived in a cooler climate where you might not lose as much water through sweating. The recommended amount of fluid is about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) a day for men and 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) a day for women, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. That includes all beverages (not just water) and even food; about 20 percent of your fluid intake comes from food. “How much liquid a person actually needs to drink for optimal health is still uncertain,” says Christopher Granger, MD, a cardiologist at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina, and a spokesperson for the American Heart Association (AHA). “If you’re in decent health, just drinking when you’re thirsty should be enough.” Heart failure is when the heart isn’t pumping as well as it should be. When a person has heart failure, the cells in the body don’t get enough blood efficiently, which can cause fatigue and shortness of breath, according to the AHA. Dehydration is known to have a deleterious effect on heart function, according to a review published in 2019 in Nutrients. When you are dehydrated, your heart needs to work harder to pump blood, which may cause your heart to beat faster. That may lead to an irregular heartbeat or heart palpitations. Dehydration also makes your blood thicker and constricts the walls of blood vessels, which strains the heart and can possibly lead to high blood pressure. While staying hydrated may help with blood pressure and staving off weight gain, an article published in September 2022 in Hospital Nutrition also noted that adequate hydration is linked to lower incidences of fatal coronary heart disease and lower risk of both high blood sugar and type 2 diabetes. Dehydration, on the other hand, is linked to weight gain and obesity.
Drinking Plenty of Water is Just One Component of Heart Health
While hydrating adequately is important, Granger says that controlling blood pressure, avoiding cigarettes, and maintaining a healthy weight are the known keys to sustained heart health. One key to making sure your water intake meets your needs is to limit your salt intake and to shy away from sugary drinks. In a rodent study published in September 2022 in the journal Nutrition, young rodents (21 days old) fed a high fat or very high fat diet containing high-fructose drinks developed cardiovascular damage in early adulthood. “I recommend that my patients drink water compared to other liquids and certainly limit salt consumption. Our bodies are certainly very adept at maintaining all of these electrolytes in balance, but we have to also provide what the body needs by drinking enough water and limiting salt intake,” says Maria Mountis, DO, cardiologist and heart failure specialist at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. It’s also important to check in with your physician who can review your lab work and health status to give you appropriate guidance, she adds. Need a little extra help getting enough water? Erin Coates, RD, a health coach who has worked at the Cleveland Clinic, suggests putting five rubber bands around a 16-ounce water bottle every morning. Every time you finish a bottle, take one of the bands off, with the goal of removing all five bands by the time you go to bed.
