Heart issues and cardiac concerns

I’m 19, and I’ve been dealing with some heart issues since birth—just a congenital murmur, really. Lately, though, I’ve been feeling it more often, probably because of the smoking and being a bit too sedentary. I’ve actually started cutting back on the cigarettes and getting active, mostly because my doctor insisted on it. It’s helped a little, but the sensation is still there.
I was wondering if anyone could suggest what’s actually good for heart health versus what I should steer clear of—specifically regarding diet, drinks, and that sort of thing. I’d really rather not deal with a heart attack when I'm only 20.😁

I honestly think you ought to run this by your doctor first; if you actually mentioned wanting to drop some weight or hit a specific goal, they’d give you some tailored advice, but in my experience, just sticking to a balanced, wholesome diet—you know, cutting back on the processed sugars and heavy fats while loading up on plenty of vegetables and whatnot—is usually the way to go.

🤔 Try to watch the salt intake and skip the fizzy stuff—even sparkling water

Saying "I have heart problems" or mentioning some kind of "heart murmur" definitely calls for a bit more detail than what we have here. Honestly, I feel like we're just spinning our wheels talking about diet tweaks or lifestyle changes if you're actually dealing with something like a shunt, a defect, stenosis, or insufficiency—no amount of kale salads is going to fix a structural issue like that.