Prevent a Heart Attack

If you wish to prevent a heart attack, the first step is knowing the risk factors for heart attack and heart disease -- these include smoking, diabetes, and being overweight. Once you know the risk factors, you can start to make good decisions about your health. This can mean making lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, losing weight, and becoming more physically active. This can also mean making other changes, such as taking medication and monitoring your blood pressure and cholesterol.

 

Prevent a Heart Attack: An Introduction

There is an old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
 This is definitely the case with heart disease and heart attacks. If you wish to prevent a heart attack, it is important to understand heart attacks, heart disease, and the risk factors for heart attacks. Then you can use that information to make good decisions about your health.
 
Regardless of your age, background, or health status, you can lower your risk of having a heart attack -- and it doesn't have to be complicated. Protecting your heart can be as simple as taking a brisk walk, making a good vegetable soup, or getting the support you need to maintain a healthy weight.
 
And the good news: Research shows that people can lower their heart attack risk enormously -- by as much as 82 percent -- simply by adopting sensible health habits. It's never too late to start protecting your heart health. A recent study shows that among people ages 70 to 90, leading a healthy lifestyle reduces the chances of dying from heart attacks by nearly two thirds.
 
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD