How can heart attacks be prevented?

[Anonymous]

Especially for those over 40? I noticed many family members and other people dying just because of strokes and heart attacks. Is there any way to prevent it? Is there even a cure?

[Kiwedin]

Stay active and eat a diet that is very high in plants and low in saturated fat and cholesterol. These two things have been named as the number one reason for atherosclerotic plaque (the artery build-up) and animal products tend to have an inflammatory effect on the body which also increases risk of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). I just did an essay on this last semester for a health class and I'm no expert, just a student.
What I learned was that most physicians recommend a lower fat version of The Mediterranean Diet, but then found out that a low fat, plant-based vegan diet centred around whole foods reared even better results than the diet that is most recommended. The reason for this is simply because most physicians feel that going vegan would be asking too much of heart disease patients and that a mediterranean-style diet would be more attainable. If you wanted to minimize risk as much as possible, a whole-food, plant based vegan diet along with regular exercise would be your best bet. It's also the only diet that will literally clean out your arteries and reverse heart disease which is really interesting. You might want to familiarize yourself with Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, both experts in the field of nutrition and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Kim Williams, the president of the American College of Cardiology is also a vegan himself and promotes the diet as a cure for heart disease.

[Vtachy]

Review the following link... www.heart.org/.../...Attack_UCM_002042_Article.jsp
It has information about all of the modifiable risk factors associated with coronary artery disease. While genetics does play a significant role in your risk of having an MI, you can end up increasing that risk with several life style factors.

Also, if you haven't done so already, calculate your risk. Your going to need some blood work results to fill it out properly... ie. BS/FBS, HDL, LDL, total Chol, Trigly... etc. This helps to evaluate your risk of developing atherosclerotic plaque, as well as your blood vessel integrity (ie. developing PVD, peripheral neuropathy associated with diabetes.. etc): www.heart.org/.../...ssment_UCM_303944_Article.jsp

Even if you just focus on changing one modifiable lifestyle risk factor right now, its a step in the right direction, and will still contribute to lowering your risk. And remember, no one ever wants to have a heart attack, but a great percentage are not fatal. Know to look for the signs, especially the atypical signs that sometimes women experience such as 'heartburn' that is not going away, which can be an initial sign of a heart attack. The earlier you seek treatment, the better chance you have at preventing all of the ischemic tissue from becoming necrotic.

[Tarvold]

There's plenty of ways to prevent it.

Eat healthy - eat lots of fiber and drink lots of red wine. Do lots of exercises and don't let yourself get fat - if you are the size of someone in those "all bodies are beautiful" pictures, then you have room to reduce the chances of heart diseases.

But most importantly, live a happy life. If dieting makes you miserable, fuck it. Stress trumps everything else, so stay chill and stress free. Be happy, have fun with friends, laugh lots, and then at the very least, you would have lived a life that's worth living.

[Tarvold]

thanks for MH.

[ichot]

By practicing a healthy lifestyle...

A big mistake the majority of people are making are doing NOTHING about their stomach fat. It's not news that the amount of stomach fat strongly correlates to risk for cardiovascular disease.

Don't EVER be fat. Don't ever let your body fat% get out of hand. Look in the mirror and objectively assess yourself damn it. You will do irreversible damage by being overweight/obese and it will accumulate untill death.

[Anonymous]

I am a medical engineer. I specialize in cardiovascular capital equipment such as angiography and MRI.
Why would you even want to prevent a stroke? It's nature's only kindness to us. It's our easiest way out. Those who have it and pass away don't even know they're not existing anymore. (True it's hard on their people who stay behind. I lost my loving grandmother to a fatal stroke, and I'm angry that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. But I'm ever so grateful that she didn't suffer the least. She went painlessly. I couldn't have asked for her to suffer. She was so lucky. I hope I'm as lucky as she was.)
I've personally told everyone at home and work that if I have a heart attack, please do NOT resuscitate me with one of those electric shock machines.
That's my view.
But if you really want to take the hard way out (and super expensive too), just keep getting exercise stress tests, ECGs, echocardiographs, and angiographies, and cardiac MRIs as much as you can if you are genetically prone to strokes.
Healthy food, exercise, clean air, and stress reduction/management would also help whether you are genetically predisposed or not.

[TripleAce]

Genetics will play the biggest role in determining that

But lifestyle changes can greatly help. Low intake of salt, regular cardio, low animal fat, low saturated and trans fat will be key to protect you from heart attacks amd strokes

Of course no smoking either!

[Prettygurl12]

Eat healthy. Be active.

Be aware of your genetics.

[IBMtrait]

Exercise and a healthy diet. It makes a dramatic difference.

You can also take an aspirin every day, that can help also.

[Tarvold]

In case other people are reading, don't take an aspirin everyday because you're read it on the internet. Ask a doctor first and get yourself checked out.

If you have something that you don't know about, say mild hemophilia or something, then taking an aspirin a day will seriously fuck you up.

[IBMtrait]

@Tarvoid: Before you make up assumptions, I just want to point out that i did not read that online. My health instructor in college told me about this.

[IBMtrait]

@Tarvold

[Tarvold]

Is your health instructor a doctor? Is your college a university?

[IBMtrait]

He has a PhD. And yes.

[IBMtrait]

@Tarvold

Asdfg

[Tarvold]

Is it too late to get a refund?

[IBMtrait]

@Tarvold: And you're an expert?

[Tarvold]

More so than you.

[IBMtrait]

@Tarvold: More so than my professor who has a PhD? I really doubt that judging from your profile picture. Lol.

[Tarvold]

Oh, for fucks sake. Stop getting all wounded and defensive and use your brain for a fucking second, will you?

Aspirins have side effects. Blindly telling people to take an aspirin will mean that some people with particular sensitivities to these side effects will end up in a very bad situation. It's very basic logic at work here.

It doesn't matter who you heard your shitty advice from. If it doesn't pass the logic test, it's still shitty advice.

[IBMtrait]

@Tarvold: Lol.. Let's stop here.

[ThisAndThat]

Eating right watching your diet and getting exercise and getting checkups can help prevent them but like anything else not aways a assurance.

[PizzaGuy22]

maintain healthy diet and life style