How to reduce the risk of heart attack that needs to be known

Everyone may have a heart attack, especially if they have risk factors. There are several things you can do to prevent heart attacks, such as changing your lifestyle and adopting a healthy diet. So, what else can you do to prevent a heart attack?

11 ways to reduce your risk of heart attack

Here are some ways you can reduce and lower your risk of heart attack.

1. Stop smoking

Basically, smoking has a bad impact on your overall health. In fact, not only for yourself, smoking habits can also have a bad impact on those around you.

Smoking habits are one of the factors that can increase your risk of having a heart attack. The reason is, this habit can increase the risk of atherosclerosis and change normal blood pressure to a higher one, two conditions that can increase the risk of heart attack.

So, in order to prevent a heart attack, you better stop smoking. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the risk of heart attack and stroke can drop dramatically right after people stop this unhealthy habit.

2. Improve cholesterol levels in the blood

Cholesterol levels in the blood have an effect on heart health. You have the potential to have a heart attack if you have cholesterol levels like the following:

Total cholesterol level above 200.
HDL ("good" cholesterol) below 40.
LDL ("bad" cholesterol) above 160.
Triglycerides above 150.

If the cholesterol level in the blood is too high, cholesterol will accumulate in the arteries. Cholesterol over time will form plaque that clogs arteries and obstructs blood flow to the heart. This condition can cause a heart attack.

In order to prevent heart attacks, you need to reduce foods that are high in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. In addition, you need to exercise regularly so that it can help prevent heart attacks.

If changing your diet and adopting a healthy lifestyle still can't help you reduce cholesterol levels in your blood, take medications given by your doctor. When your total cholesterol decreases, the bad cholesterol levels will also decrease and the good cholesterol levels will increase.

You can also increase the levels of good cholesterol in the body by doing the following things.

Doing exercise regularly.
Lose weight.
Eat more vegetables and fruit.
Avoid foods that contain trans fats that are easily found in margarine and french fries.

3. Take control of your blood pressure

Not a few Indonesians have high blood pressure, so the risk of having a heart attack increases. Generally, high blood pressure is not accompanied by certain symptoms. Therefore, it is important for you to have your blood pressure checked to find out whether it is still safe or worrying enough.

Normally, blood pressure is below 120/80 mmHg. If when you undergo a blood pressure check and the number appears more than that, this is a sign that you have high blood pressure or hypertension.

Thus, you need to prevent heart attacks by lowering your blood pressure. Here are some ways you can reduce your blood pressure:

Eat healthy foods, such as reducing salt intake.
Lose weight.
Increase physical activity.
Control stress.
Limit alcohol intake.

4. Actively moving

Regular exercise can help improve heart and lung health, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and maintain a healthy weight. The reason is, being overweight or obese can increase the risk of heart attack.

Avoiding heart attacks can also be done by exercising at least 30 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. There is no limit to what types of exercise can and should be done to prevent heart attacks. All exercise is basically good. You can walk, jog, ride a bike, swim, do yoga, or even box.

If you don't regularly exercise, check with your doctor first to see if there are any restrictions on what you can and shouldn't do. Physical activity is not limited to just exercise. While you're at the office, schedule short breaks to get up, move your legs and arms, and do a light warm-up to get your heart pumping.

This can also be overcome by going to lunch to a place some distance away on foot. Don't just eat at the work table because your body is moved less and less.

5. Live a healthy diet and drink lots of water

Eating healthy and nutritious foods is also one of the ways you can take if you want to prevent heart attacks. The type and amount of food you eat can affect several risk factors for this one type of heart disease.

Choose foods that are rich in nutrients, for example rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and nutrients that are low in calories. Usually, foods that contain these nutrients are vegetables, fruit, and wheat.

In addition, other foods that are also good for preventing heart attacks are low-fat dairy products, fish, nuts. Meanwhile, reduce sugary foods and drinks and red meat.

You can also be diligent in drinking water as a way to prevent heart attacks. The reason is, drinking water regularly can help maintain heart health.

If you have heart disease, you need to ask your doctor if you need to limit the amount of fluids you consume each day. Keep in mind, it's not just how much you drink. Other sources of fluids also need to be taken into account, such as ice cream, agar, and soup.

If you need to limit fluids, weigh yourself each morning. Rapid weight gain can be a sign that fluid is building up in your body.

6. Maintain ideal body weight

Obesity is a risk factor for heart attack. Therefore, if you want to prevent heart attacks, one of the ways you must do is lose weight. At the very least, you need to have a normal weight in order for you to successfully prevent a heart attack.

How, you can adjust your diet by eating nutritious foods that are low in calories. Then, balance it with physical activity such as exercising regularly every day. The reason is, if you don't get used to practicing a healthy lifestyle, body fat will accumulate and cause obesity.

The thing is, obesity also increases your risk of other risk factors for heart attack. For example, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes.

To find out what your ideal body weight is, calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) using a BMI calculator.

7. Control diabetes

Diabetes is also one of the risk factors that can cause you to have a heart attack. Therefore, in order to reduce the risk of heart attack, you need to control the blood sugar levels in the body to keep it normal.

Unfortunately, not everyone is aware that he has diabetes. If you have diabetes, even though your blood sugar levels are normal, your risk of having a heart attack will still be there.

Therefore, check the condition of your blood sugar in order to find out how the levels are in the body. That way, you can take the next step.

8. Learn to manage stress

Stress is a natural thing and can be experienced by everyone. The problem is not what causes stress, but how you respond to it. When you are under stress, your body produces the hormone adrenaline, which makes your heart work harder. As a result, blood pressure can increase and potentially cause a heart attack.

Chronic stress can lead to heart attack if not managed properly. To prevent heart attacks that are triggered by stress, you can do it by being smart about managing your emotions. If your stress is too much, there's nothing wrong with telling someone, be it someone closest to you or a professional counselor.

You can also try meditation, yoga, or deep breathing techniques as ways to prevent stress from causing a heart attack.

9. Limit alcohol consumption

Too much alcohol consumption seems to increase various risk factors for heart attack. For example, alcohol can increase blood pressure, stroke, cancer, and various other diseases. In fact, alcohol can also increase triglyceride levels in the body.

If consumed in excess, alcohol can increase your risk of obesity, alcoholism, and various other bad effects. Therefore, limit your alcohol consumption, to help prevent heart attacks.

10. Eat more fruits and vegetables

In an effort to prevent heart attacks, multiply fiber-rich foods. Foods high in fiber can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. In addition, fiber foods also help you manage a healthy weight.

You can get fiber from vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and nuts. Avocados, apples, pears, and bananas, including a group of fruits that are high in fiber. Meanwhile, broccoli, carrots and spinach are among the vegetables that are high in fiber.

Whole grains, kidney beans, soybeans, and brown rice are also fiber-rich foods. Low-fat or fat-free milk is also good for health. You can still eat meat and seafood, but choose lean meat as a source of your animal protein.

11. Watch for symptoms and tell doctor

Not only for people who are at risk of heart attack, being more aware of any changes in the body basically has to be done by everyone just to be on the alert. Of course it is better to prevent than to have to overcome a heart attack.

When you experience one of the symptoms of a heart attack, don't expect it to go away on its own. If left alone, these symptoms may get worse and of course this is not in your favor.

One easy way to prevent one type of heart disease, namely a heart attack, is to be more sensitive to the symptoms of a heart attack that may arise. This can be done by noticing changes or new sensations that occur in your body.

For example, difficulty catching your breath, shortness of breath when lying down or on exertion, swelling of the feet and hands, and other symptoms that are thought to be symptoms of a heart attack. You need to note that the symptoms of a heart attack in women and men may be different.

If you do have a heart attack, your doctor will provide first aid for a heart attack and help treat your health condition.