How can avoid heart attack

Smoke from tobacco products like cigarettes or vapes, as well as secondhand smoke, can put a person at greater risk of a heart attack. Learn some helpful tips on how to quit smoking here.

Managing other health conditions that can increase the risk of a heart attack is another way to prevent heart attacks. These conditions may include:. According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention CDC , getting the right amount of sleep can help reduce the risk of health conditions that can lead to heart attacks, such as high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes.

Drinking plenty of water will help a person avoid dehydration. Dehydration can lead to a heart attack. How much water a person should drink each day can vary according to many factors, like height, weight, age, and sex. Learn more about how much water a person should drink each day here. Learn more about symptoms of a heart attack in females here. Symptoms may be different in older adults. They may not experience symptoms at all.

Find out more about heart attack symptoms in elderly people here. Anyone who thinks they or someone they are with is having a heart attack should call immediately. The sooner someone having a heart attack gets to the hospital, the sooner doctors can start treatment.

Sometimes, a heart attack can lead to cardiac arrest. This means the heart stops beating. People in cardiac arrest lose consciousness. It is a serious condition that requires immediate medical attention. Doctors will attempt to restore the blood flow to the heart. The right treatment will depend on the person. It might include:.

During a percutaneous coronary intervention, cardiologists use a thin tube with a balloon on the end to open up the blocked or narrowed arteries.

They usually thread the tube, or catheter, up to the heart through a blood vessel in the wrist or the groin. Once it is in place, they inflate the balloon to widen the artery.

Take the Heart Series Risk Assessment to learn your risk of having a heart attack during the next 10 years. For more health information, please visit our Heart Health page.

If you appreciate the content found on our website, please consider a donation to the Sarver Heart Center. Sounds simple doesn't it? Heart disease is the No. Stroke is the No. One of the biggest contributors to these statistics is a lack of commitment to a heart healthy lifestyle. Your lifestyle is not only your best defense against heart disease and stroke, it's also your responsibility.

A heart-healthy lifestyle includes the ideas listed below. By following these simple steps you can reduce all of the modifiable risk factors for heart disease , heart attack and stroke. If you smoke, quit. If someone in your household smokes, encourage them to quit. We know it's tough.

But it's tougher to recover from a heart attack or stroke or to live with chronic heart disease. Commit to quit. We're here to help if you need it. Visit Quit Smoking for plans, tips and tools to help you quit. A healthy diet is one of the best weapons you have to fight cardiovascular disease.

The food you eat and the amount can affect other controllable risk factors: cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and overweight. Choose nutrient-rich foods — which have vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients but are lower in calories — over nutrient-poor foods.

Choose a diet that emphasizes intake of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; includes low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, legumes, nontropical vegetable oils, and nuts; and limits intake of sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meats.

And to maintain a healthy weight, coordinate your diet with your physical activity level so you're using up as many calories as you take in. Fat lodged in your arteries is a disaster waiting to happen. Sooner or later it could trigger a heart attack or stroke.

You've got to reduce your intake of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol and get moving. If diet and physical activity alone don't get those numbers down, then medication may be the key. This is because fatty foods contain an unhealthy type of cholesterol.

There are also 2 types of fat — saturated and unsaturated. Avoid foods containing high levels of saturated fat, as they increase levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood. You should aim to follow a Mediterranean-style diet.

This means eating more bread, fruit, vegetables and fish, and less meat. Oily fish, such as herring, sardines and salmon, can form part of a Mediterranean-style diet, but there's no need to eat this type of fish specifically to try to prevent another heart attack. Also, taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements, or eating foods fortified with omega-3 fatty acids, has not been found to help prevent another heart attack.

Never take a food supplement without first consulting a GP. Some supplements, such as beta-carotene, are potentially harmful. Find out more about changing your diet after a heart attack. Smoking is a major risk factor for heart attack because it causes atherosclerosis and raises blood pressure. Specially trained helpline staff offer free expert advice and encouragement.

If you are committed to quitting but do not want to be referred to a stop smoking service, a GP should be able to prescribe treatment to help with withdrawal symptoms you may experience.

Find out about self-help tips to stop smoking. Persistent high blood pressure hypertension can put extra strain on your arteries and heart, increasing your risk of a heart attack.