How can I prevent a heart attack?
It is important for you to understand your risk factors for having a heart attack or heart disease. If you understand what they are then you can change your lifestyle to reduce your risk factors and your chance of having a heart attack. Risk factors that can be reduced are: smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, lack of exercise. You can reduce your chances by reducing your risk factors. Do not smoke, if you are overweight lose weight, if you have high blood pressure take your medications as your doctor prescribes and reduce the amount of salt you eat, if you have high cholesterol take your medication as prescribed and eat a diet low in fat, if you are diabetic take your medication as prescribed and follow your diet as prescribed, try to exercise per your doctor’s advice
Even if you have heart disease, there’s a lot you can do to improve your heart’s health.
Ask your doctor for help and when it comes to exercise and nutrition seek the help of a specialist, (ei: Qualified Personal Trainer with experience and a Certified Nutritionist), your doctor can give you general good advice, but that only goes so far and some doctors, might even give you the wrong advice. Together, you can set goals to reduce the things that raise your risk of heart attack.
– Don’t smoke, and avoid other people’s tobacco smoke.
– Treat high blood pressure, if you have it.
– Eat a healthy diet that’s low in saturated fat, trans fat, and salt. Increase your good fats such as mono and polyunsaturates (good fish, nuts, seeds such as flax and hemp)
– Exercise at least 30 minutes on most or all days of the week. Keep your heart rate constant and at a level that is recommended for your current condition. Your personal trainer will help you with this. I am heart wise certified with Ottawa Heart Institute. Trainers that are Heart Wise certified can work with you to target your specific zone.
– Keep your weight in the normal range. Depending on your fitness goals, this range is different for everyone, but there is a general body mass index rule that you can follow, however it is a reading that does not take into account your goals or existing muscle mass if you’ve played sports or have done resistance training.
– See your doctor for regular check-ups. Get full blood work done. Check the results. Ask to see them.. TRUST ME, doctors are humans and there is always a chance for human error when READING the results.
– Take your medicines exactly as prescribed. The right type of nutrition and exercise are huge factors in helping reduce your medications, even getting off some types of medications.
– Control your blood sugar if you have diabetes. .Again, The right type of nutrition and exercise are huge factors in helping reduce your diabetes medication for Type I and eventually come off your Type II diabetes medication.