Do you know the leading cause of death in the USA for both men and women? It’s heart attack and it’s responsible for over 1 million deaths every year. It’s usually a result of the most common heart disease, coronary artery disease.
According to statistics, this year alone we’ll have 920.000 new heart attack cases and as much as 50% of them will happen to unsuspecting Americans, without any warning signs.
Heart attack happens when the blood flow to your heart gets blocked and the heart isn’t receiving enough blood to properly do its function. The blood flow is usually blocked by arterial plaque buildup, which can suddenly rupture and form a blood clot which will limit the blood flow to your heart.
If such a situation does occur, you must react quickly or otherwise part of your heart muscle will start dying off and become scar tissue which can cause even more serious issues in the future.
5 Lifestyle Changes Could Prevent 80% of Heart Attacks
This life-threatening condition is very serious but what many people don’t know is that it can be completely prevented and avoided if people just made some crucial lifestyle changes. As we already know, our lifestyle is a big factor in our cardiovascular health.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute conducted a study which showed that just five healthy lifestyle changes could reduce first-time heart attacks in men by 80%. Here’s what they said:
“It is not surprising that healthy lifestyle choices would lead to a reduction in heart attacks… What is surprising is how drastically the risk dropped due to these factors.”
A similar study was conducted in 2004 by INTERHEART, which examined heart disease risk factors in over 50 countries worldwide and discovered that 90% cardiovascular disorders can be entirely prevented if certain diet and lifestyle changes are implemented.
What are these crucial lifestyle changes that play such an important role in cardiovascular health?
-
Healthy diet
-
Moderate physical activity (walking/bicycling minimum 40 min per day and exercising minimum 1 hour per week)
-
Healthy waist circumference (waist circumference under 95 cm or 37.4 inches)
-
Moderate alcohol consumption (maximum 10 to 30g. a day)
-
No smoking (…continue reading on next page).