Are you taking all the necessary precautions to avoid having a heart attack?
You already know that quitting smoking, getting regular exercise, losing weight if you’re overweight, controlling your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and avoiding high blood pressure are the best ways to prevent a heart attack.
Despite having access to this knowledge, millions of Americans continue to endanger their health because they are unable to completely understand how to lower their major risk factors.
In the 1960s, fat and oil accounted for around 45% of the calories consumed by the average American. That number has decreased to 33% after decades of warnings that a high-fat diet raises cholesterol. Although it would appear to be wonderful news, it’s not. According to studies, a low-fat diet is not the greatest strategy to lower your cholesterol levels. When most people reduce their intake of fat,must eat a diet low in all forms of fat.
Healthy monounsaturated fats like olive and canola oil are part of this reduction. The lipids in these oils increase the proportion of HDL, a good cholesterol, to LDL, a bad cholesterol.
This is important for lowering heart disease. Saturated fat should make up no more than 7% of your daily calorie intake. Make sure to include wholesome monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in your diet.
Are you taking all the necessary precautions to avoid having a heart attack?
Monounsaturated fats are found in abundance in foods like avocado, almonds, pecans, pumpkin, and sesame seeds. The majority of our polyunsaturated fats come from oils like soybean, corn, and sunflower. Fish, flaxseed, and walnuts are a few examples of foods that contain polyunsaturated fats.
Trans fats, which are engineered fats frequently utilised in commercially produced cookies, crackers, and other baked goods, should be avoided. Additionally, fast food is deep-fried in trans fats. According to estimates, the risk of heart disease rises by 23% for every 2% of daily calories ingested in the form of trans fats.
We are all aware that hypertension poses a significant risk for developing heart disease and having a heart attack. Numerous patients with hypertension fail to maintain their blood pressure adequately, according to studies. Most blood pressure medications work well as long as they are used as prescribed. Blood pressure medications have the drawback of having unpleasant side effects. the angle tiredness, wooziness, and even fainting are effects. Because of the negative effects, some people find justifications to skip doses or stop taking their prescription completely. Only 60% of persons who take blood pressure drugs, according to estimates, take them exactly as directed. Some individuals cut back on or stop using blood pressure drugs. Your blood pressure may surge to risky levels as a result of a rebound effect.
Because of side effects, you shouldn’t stop taking your prescription all at once. Even if you do have adverse effects when you initially start taking blood pressure medicine, you should try not to miss to fill your prescriptions on schedule. Be patient and discuss your side effects with your doctor. The majority of the time, once your body becomes used to the reduced blood
pressure, they go away on their own within a few weeks. If the side effects worsen, get medical help right once. Your risk of having a heart attack and stroke can be significantly decreased with good blood pressure management. According to studies, individuals can cut their chance of having a heart attack in half by lowering their systolic pressure (top number) by just five points.15% to 20%, and 25% to 30% for stroke.
Heart disease can run in families, as is well known. Your risk of having heart disease is roughly 1.5–2 times higher than that of someone without a family history if one or both of your parents or a sibling pass away before age 55. Heart disease risk increases two to three times if a parent or sibling experiences arterial fibrillation (an irregular or rapid heartbeat) at any age. Even if family history is regarded as a risk factor that cannot be changed, you should still exercise caution. Ask your doctor if you need to get an EKG every year. You might include it in your yearly exam. If your family has a history.
It is well known that sudden emotional tension brought on by a close call or another terrible occurrence can temporarily raise your blood pressure and heart rate. According to research, 2% of all heart attacks are preceded by anger, one of the most prevalent stress emotions.
Chronically high amounts of the stress hormone cortisol can be caused by ongoing financial stress, which poses an unknown risk to your heart and blood vessels.
Four indicators of a quiet heart attack
- Pain, pressure, fullness, or discomfort in the chest. Sometimes, heart attacks are accompanied by sudden, excruciating pain, which makes them easy to recognize and treat.
- discomfort in different body parts.
- breathing problems and lightheadedness.
- chilly chills and nausea.
As soon as you notice any of these symptoms, get medical attention. Heart attacks and strokes are avoidable in over 80% of cases.
