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How to Prevent a Heart Attack

Posted by admin on December 19, 2009 | No Comments

How to Prevent a Heart Attack
If you want to know how to prevent a heart attack, then you must know what causes heart attacks, who are at risk of a heart attack, what the signs and symptoms are, and how to prevent a heart attack by watching your lifestyle, diet and environment.

Causes of a Heart attack
If blood flow to a part of the heart muscle becomes blocked, then a heart attack may occur. If the blood is blocked for a longer period of time, then that part of the heart that isn’t receiving enough oxygen will die. A heart attack most frequently occurs as a result of coronary artery disease (plaque build up in the major arteries and consequently blood clots form).  It can also be caused by micro vascular disease (affecting the microscopic blood vessels), and less frequently, by a spasm of a coronary artery.

How to Prevent a Heart Attack- Know the risk factors
You can learn how to prevent a heart attack by controlling your risk factors.  Most of the risk factors can be within your control.

• Hypertension:

The guidelines on what is a safe blood pressure vary greatly. The confusion is due to how many complicating factors are you  experiencing. If you have diabetes and a high blood pressure, for  example, your risk increases. Manage your blood pressure with  daily exercise, a sodium reduced diet, and proper weight control,   and if necessary, medication.

• High Blood Cholesterol:

This is mainly controlled through a low fat (especially a low Tran’s fat diet) and exercise and possibly medication.

• Obesity:

If your body fat is greater than 25% for males and 30% for females of your total body weight, then you are considered obese. Obesity leads to coronary artery disease which leads to heart attacks.  Obesity is really a direct result of ingesting more calories than you are burning.

• Diabetes:

Monitor your blood sugars and control your diet and manage your insulin (if required).

• Out Of Shape:

Exercise at least 30 minutes every day.

• Smoking:
• Smoking increases the likelihood of death from heart attack 2 -3 fold.

How to prevent a heart attack- know the warning signs
There are several warning signs of an impending heart attack. Know how to prevent a heart attack by paying attention to these signs:

• Pain, pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of the chest. These symptoms may come and go, or they may last more than several minutes.
• Pain in one or both arms, back, jaw, neck and/or stomach.
• Shortness of breath
• Some people experience nausea, vomiting, lightheadedness or fainting, or they break into a cold sweat.

Heredity as a risk factor
Heart attacks are still the leading cause of death in both men and women. In determining your family history it is important to know the age of your ancestors when they first experienced a heart attack. If you have a family history of early (age 55 for men, 65 for women) heart disease, then you are at a greater risk of developing a heart attack yourself and you’ll definitely want to know how to prevent a heart attack.
You may ask yourself, how to prevent a heart attack if your family history puts you at risk? Then, it is of utmost importance that you follow everything you can on how to prevent a heart attack by lowering or eliminating the controllable risk factors.