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HEART DISEASE & HEART ATTACK PREVENTION
Begin Prevention Early
People of all ages benefit from heart disease prevention. However, being proactive and starting early puts you in a much better position for the rest of your life. According to the American Heart Association heart health screenings should begin in your 20's.
Healthy Lifestyle
Everyone can benefit from a healthy lifestyle, which includes a healthy diet and physical activity:
MAKE HEALTHY DIET CHOICES
Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds; choose lean meat when you do eat meat; limit fried food and sugary drinks and avoid food rich in saturated fats, trans fats, sugar and sodium.
BE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE
The goal per week should be at least two and a half hours (150 minutes) of moderate intensity physical activity like brisk walking or an hour and fifteen minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous physical activity like jogging or running. A combination of cardiovascular aerobic activity, like walking or running, and muscle-strengthening exercises is ideal.
If you don't currently exercise, for your safety, start with short duration of low intensity physical activity like walking and gradually build it up under the supervision of your doctor.
STOP SMOKING
Smoking cessation results in the greatest immediate improvement in outcomes for heart disease. Within 1 year after stopping smoking, the risk of heart disease decreases by half or 50%; and within 2 years the risk is reduced by 90%.
MANAGE STRESS
Stress can damage the blood vessels of the heart by increasing the blood pressure and heart rate. Make a habit of stress-releasing activities like exercise, yoga and relaxation.
MAINTAIN HEALTHY WEIGHT
Maintaining your weight within the recommended healthy weight range, through regular physical activity and a healthy diet, can reduce your risk for developing heart disease risk factors like high BP, diabetes and high cholesterol.
Prev Weight
Understand Your Risk & Manage Risk Factors
Understand your individual level of risk. This depends on a number of factors like age, family history, lifestyle, body mass index (BMI) and presence of other disease like diabetes, high blood pressure (BP) or high cholesterol, all of which increase risk of heart disease. A Cardiologist can help you determine level of risk by evaluating these factors and by performing tests like Carotid Artery Ultrasound and Cardiac CT Calcium Score.
GET CHECKED REGULARLY
Depending on your age and initial level of risk, regular check-ups are recommended from anywhere between once every 3 months to once every 1-2 years. These can include BP checks, blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels and BMI. As people get older, the risk increases and risk factors like high BP, diabetes and high cholesterol can develop insidiously. They can begin causing damage much before any symptoms develop, and regular check-ups can identify these factors in the early stages so that they can be managed before significant damage occurs.
MANAGE RISK FACTORS
Identifying and managing risk factors early can prevent damage and slow progression of disease in the initial stages.
The goal should be to achieve consistent BP, blood sugar and cholesterol control to as low levels as possible, as early as possible.
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