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Heart Disease Prevention

While heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, there are some simple lifestyle changes you can implement to lower your risk of developing it. Risk factors such as age, genetic predisposition and gender will raise your risk of developing heart disease, and cannot be changed, but there are many things that are in your power to change.

Smoking

The American Heart Association lists smoking and tobacco use as the number one risk factor for heart disease. Smokers are 2 – 4 times more likely to develop heart disease than non-smokers and even those who are exposed to second-hand smoke are at a higher risk.

The dangers with smoking are a combination of the thousands of chemicals in tobacco along with the nicotine itself. Many of the chemicals damage blood vessels and the heart as well as increase the risk of atherosclerosis. Nicotine narrows blood vessels, making the heart work much harder to pump blood through the system. This can lead to high blood pressure and eventually, heart disease.

Once you quit smoking, the risk of heart disease drops significantly within just a year and the more time that passes the more the risk is reduced.

Diet

Diet is an extremely important factor in heart disease. Saturated and trans fats are particularly dangerous and should be eliminated from the diet completely. These fats raise cholesterol levels, particularly LDL (low-density lipoprotein). Limiting intake of fast food, butter, cheese, beef, packaged foods, palm oil, coconut oil and margarine will help to avoid saturated and trans fats in your diet.

In addition to eliminating saturated and trans fats from the diet, increasing your intake of beneficial fats like Omega-3 and eating more fresh vegetables, legumes and whole grains will also lower your risk of heart disease.

A diet with at least 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables can lower your risk of heart disease as can a diet that is high in Omega-3 sources such as fatty fish, flaxseed oil, soybean oil or Omega-3 supplements.

Exercise

The Heart and Stroke Foundation reports that “People who are physically inactive have twice the risk for heart disease and stroke.” Just 30 minutes of physical activity per day can lower your risk of heart disease dramatically. Walking, running, swimming, gardening, playing a sport or anything that raises your heart rate and works up a sweat for 30 minutes will go a long way in preventing heart disease, stroke and many other serious health conditions.

Avoid Alcohol

Excessive drinking can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arrythmya, heart attack and stroke among many other conditions. Reduceing your alcohol intake to no more than one drink per day can reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and heart attack.

The American Heart Association indicates that “The risk of heart disease in people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol (an average of one drink for women or two drinks for men per day) is lower than in nondrinkers.” It is not recommended though, that non-drinkers start drinking.

With attention paid to diet and exercise, and making healthy lifestyle changes, it’s possible to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

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