If there's a chance to reduce your risk of heart attack, wouldn't you do what you could? Making a few changes to your lifestyle can help reduce your risk of a heart attack. Read below for some heart-healthy tips to reduce your heart attack risk.
Stop Smoking
Smoking can increase your blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart attacks. It can also decrease your lung capacity, which makes exercising difficult. If you cannot exercise, it raises your risk for obesity. If you smoke, stop immediately. Talk to your doctor about ways to stop smoking. If you can't do it on your own, you may be able to use prescription medication or even a nicotine patch to help you quit.
Lower Your Blood Pressure
There are a number of reasons why you would have high blood pressure, smoking, overweight, lack of exercise, poor diet, or even genetics. You can lower your blood pressure by quitting smoking, exercising, changing your diet or even taking prescription medication. If after making changes to your diet and lifestyle you still have high blood pressure, your doctor may prescribe medication to help lower your blood pressure.
Lower Your Cholesterol Levels
Lowering your cholesterol levels will help decrease your chances of a heart attack. To lower your cholesterol, change your diet. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet and eat less red meat and greasy foods (such as fast food). Prescription medication can also help lower your cholesterol, although a change in diet should be tried first.
Get Moving
Get up and get moving, exercise can decrease your risk of a heart attack. Take a brisk walk around the block, play a sport, join a gym, or make other changes such as parking in the furthest away parking space, walk rather than drive whenever possible, walk down every aisle at the grocery store, or take the stairs rather than the escalator/elevator. Small changes can really add up and benefit your overall health.
Drink More Water
Drinking water can make a big impact on your health, including reducing your risk of a heart attack. Skip out on caffeinated beverages or sugary drinks and drink water instead. Drink at least 8 - 10 glasses of water per day. Drinking water can also help you to lose weight, which is also a risk factor for a heart attack.
Talk to a medical office like Alpert Zales & Castro Pediatric Cardiology about other heart-healthy tips to reduce your risk of a heart attack.
