Heart Attack is becoming common these days. There are many
steps to take to prevent heart disease and heart attack. We can start by contemplate
key in our day to day lifestyle such as concerning about eating, drinking, exercise,
smoking , and recognize
other factors
like family history, stress and diabetes.
You can find here 10 Important Steps to prevent Heart Attacks
& Heart Diseases.
1. Stop smoking. Quitting smoking is a most important thing
a person can do to live longer. If you are a smoker, you are twice as likely to
have a heart attack as a non-smoker. If you stop smoking, the risk of heart
attack starts to decrease. That’s why public smoking bans is recently introduced.
2. Cut down on salt. Usage of too much salt can cause high
blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease.
Stay away from foods like crisps, salted nuts, canned and packet soups and
sauces, baked beans and preserve vegetables, pizzas, quick and ready meals.
Many breakfast cereals and breads that appear healthy also contain high levels
of salt, so try to eat these too.
3. Watch your diet. A healthy diet can help to reduce the risk
of developing heart disease and can also help increase the chances of survival
after a heart attack. You should try to have a balanced diet, containing plenty
of fresh vegetables & fruits, oily fish, starchy foods such as whole grain
bread, pasta and rice. Stay away from foods like biscuits, cakes, pastries and
dairy products that are high in fats and sugar.
4. Monitor your alcohol. As you know alcohol is very
dangerous for health. Usage of too much alcohol can damage the heart muscle,
increase blood pressure and also lead to weight gain. Binge drinking will
increase your risk of having a heart attack, so you should aim to limit your
intake to one to two units a day.
5. Get active. The heart is a muscle and it needs exercise
to keep fit so that it can pump blood efficiently round your body with each
heart beat. You should do for 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a day.
If this seems too daunting, start off gently and build up gradually. Keeping
fit not only benefits your physical health - it improves your mental health and well being too.
6. Manage your weight. The number of people who are overweight
in Britain is rising fast already more than half of the adult population is
overweight or obese. Carrying a lot of extra weight as fat can greatly affect
your health and increases the risk of life threatening conditions such as
coronary heart disease and diabetes. If you are overweight or obese, start by
making small, but healthy changes to what you eat, and try to become more
active.
7. Get your blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked by your GP.
The higher your blood pressure, the shorter your life expectancy. People with
high blood pressure run a higher risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.
High levels of cholesterol in the blood
produced by the liver from saturated fats -
can lead to fatty deposits in your coronary arteries that increase your risk of
coronary heart disease, stroke, and diseases that affect the circulation. You
can help lower your cholesterol level by exercising and eating high-fiber foods
such as porridge, beans, pulses, lentils, nuts, fruits and vegetables.
8. Learn to manage your stress levels. If you find things
are getting on top of you, you may fail to eat properly, smoke and drink too
much and this may increase your risk of a heart attack.
9. Check your family history. If a close relative is at
risk of developing coronary heart disease from smoking, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, obesity and diabetes, then you
could be at risk too.
10. Make sure you can recognize the early signs of coronary heart disease.
Tightness or discomfort in the chest, neck, arm or stomach which comes on when
you exert yourself but goes away with rest may be the first sign of angina,
which can lead to a heart attack if left untreated.
* Health tips from the British Heart Foundation
