Heart disease is the cause of death more often than any other disease. The World Health Organization estimates that 17.5 million people die from heart disease every year. Although there are some contributing factors that you can’t do anything about: age, sex, and family history, developing heart disease isn’t a certainty that you just have to accept. Discover how to prevent a heart attack by making better lifestyle changes.
Avoid The Use Of Tobacco In Any Form
The use of tobacco in any form is the largest risk factor for developing heart disease. The toxic chemicals in tobacco damages your heart and blood vessels, leading to narrowed arteries due to atherosclerosis, a type of plaque buildup. Cigarette smoke displaces some of the needed oxygen in your blood supply, which causes your heart to have to work harder to supply oxygen to the body, resulting in increased blood pressure and heart rate.
If you’re serious about protecting your heart, you have to adopt the attitude that no amount of smoking is safe. It’s never too late to quit either. Your risk of developing coronary heart disease becomes significantly lower within a year of quitting, and within 15 years of quitting, your risk has dropped to that of a nonsmoker.
Eat With Your Future In Mind
Eat a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and foods with high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, like herring and tuna. Also include plenty of legumes, nuts and seeds. These form the basis of a heart-healthy diet that improves heart health and performance.
You’ll also need to limit the amounts of certain foods, like red meat and anything that is high in trans fat. Foods high in trans fat include: baked goods, deep-fried foods, snack foods, margarine, and crackers. Focus on consuming foods that contain healthy fats, like avocado, olives, and nuts. These help to lower the bad type of cholesterol levels in your body, which can lead to the development of heart disease.
Exercise And Then Exercise Some More
Nothing does more harm to your heart heath than an inactive lifestyle. Inactive lifestyles encourage obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and more. The body needs to move in order to be healthy. You should try to get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day, whenever possible. To achieve even greater results, aim for a minimum of 300 minutes of aerobic exercise weekly.
If you’re not able to meet these goals, any amount of exercise that you can get will still benefit your heart health. Try to find creative ways to get your exercise in, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking the dog rather than turning him loose in the yard, and doing activities like gardening and folding laundry.
These are three of the best lifestyle changes for how to prevent a heart attack that you can make. Not only will your heart’s health benefit from these changes, but you’ll feel better and look better too!