7 Things You Can Do Now to Prevent a Heart Attack
You have more control than you may think over your heart disease risk.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was something you could do now to stack the odds in your favor so you would be less likely to have a heart attack in the future? While there’s no way to guarantee you won’t experience a heart attack, there are quite a few things you can do to reduce your risk of developing heart disease, which also lowers the chance you’ll have a heart attack or stroke. And the sooner you get started on doing them, the better your chances of remaining heart attack-free.
“Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States,” explains Nadia Shaikh, MD, Interventional Cardiologist with St. Joseph’s Medical Center. “Following a healthy lifestyle not only reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease, but also helps ensure you stay strong and have a better quality of life as you get older.”
Many of the healthy lifestyle tips listed below may seem obvious, but their importance should not be downplayed because they help you exercise control over your heart health and heart attack risk.
7 Ways to Reduce Heart Attack Risk
- Follow a healthy diet. What and how much you eat affects many risk factors for heart disease, including blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose, as well as weight. Follow a well-balanced diet comprised primarily of foods filled with fiber, protein, nutrients and healthy fats, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean sources of protein. Limit saturated and trans fat, added sugar, foods high in sodium and processed foods.
- Exercise. You’ve heard it before but it’s worth repeating. Being physically active is good for your health in so many ways. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly, but even if you can’t exercise too much, do a few minutes at a time. It all adds up.
- Stop smoking. If you smoke, quitting is one of the best things you can do for your heart health. It may be hard to quit, but it is harder to live with heart disease or recover from a heart attack.
- Get enough sleep. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Getting too little or too much sleep can be harmful to your heart, as well as affecting many other aspects of your health.
- Reduce stress. This is easier said than done, but reminding yourself how bad chronic stress is for your heart may help you find ways to better control it. Exercising, meditating, practicing deep breathing and taking time to do things you enjoy can all go a long way toward reducing stress.
- Drink less. If you drink alcohol, limit consumption to one or two drinks a day if you’re a man or one drink a day if you’re a woman. Drinking too much can increase blood pressure, contribute to heart arrhythmias and may also lead to other unhealthy habits which affect heart health.
- Manage blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels. These are all primary risk factors for heart disease, heart attack and stroke. Get these things checked each year when you go for an annual physical. Limit the amount of added sugar, salt and saturated fat you consume. Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight, which also helps control these risk factors.
By adopting healthier lifestyle habits today you’ll be setting yourself up for a lifetime of improved heart health, which also means you may be less likely to experience a heart attack.
For more information on St. Joseph’s Medical Center’s Morrissey Family Heart & Vascular Institute, please visit here, and to check your risk of heart disease, please visit here.
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Date Last Reviewed: June 20, 2024
Editorial Review: Andrea Cohen, Editorial Director, Baldwin Publishing, Inc. Contact Editor
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