For both men and women, the biggest factors that contribute to heart disease are smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, family history and age.
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There is a statement that says �You are what you eat.� Better food habits can help you reduce your risk for a heart attack. A healthful eating plan means choosing the right kind of food to eat and preparing� food in a healthy way.
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Eating well can help prevent heart disease. Change your diet to a low fat, low salt diet that includes fruit and vegetables. Also, choose healthy cooking methods (grill, bake, steam or microwave instead of frying) and trim fat off meat and remove skin from chicken
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Engaging in a regular physical activity is one of the best things that you can do for you heart. Swimming, cycling, jogging, dancing, walking and dozens of other physical activities could help add up to a healthier heart in the long run. Being physically active reduces the risk of heart-related problems, including heart attack. Physical activity can improve cholesterol levels, help control high blood pressure and diabetes, and manage weight. It also increases physical fitness, promotes psychological well-being and self-esteem, and reduces depression and anxiety.
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People who do 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on most days of the week have half the chance of developing heart disease than people who do no activity at all. In addition to its effect on the heart and circulation, exercise can also help improve the balance of good and bad cholesterol and helps you sleep better.� It provides a feeling of well-being and strengthens your bones. Active people can also eat a little more without having to worry so much about their weight since they burn more calories and have a higher resting metabolic rate.
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To protect your heart, you only need to do 30 minutes of a moderate-intensity activity on most and, preferably, all days of the week. If you have a busy schedule, you can break up the recommended 30 minutes into several shorter sessions - it is the total time that you exercise per day that counts, you can break it up into periods of at least 10 minutes each. If you have been inactive, you should start slowly to increase your physical activity.
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Another thing that would help you reduce the risk of having heart related problems is to manage your lifestyle to better manage your weight. Aim for a healthy weight.� It is crucial to for a long and healthy life. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of heart attack. It also increases your risk of developing high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes-each of which also increases your chance of having a heart attack.
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To be at their best, adults need to avoid gaining weight and many need to lose weight. Losing weight and keeping it off depends on a change of lifestyle that combines sensible eating with regular physical activity, not a temporary effort to drop pounds quickly. If you need to lose excess weight, talk with your health care provider about developing an action plan, which includes a hearty-healthy, low-calorie, nutritious eating plan and physical activity. Extra weight puts strain on your heart and arteries. Exercise and a low-fat diet can help you lose weight. Being overweight means you have a higher risk for many other health problems, especially diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
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Furthermore, cigarette smoking greatly increases the risk of fatal and nonfatal heart attacks in both men and women. It also increases the risk of a second heart attack among survivors. Women who smoke and use oral contraceptives have an even greater risk than smoking alone. The good news is that quitting smoking greatly reduces the risk of heart attack. One year after qu