Heart Attack Prevention Secrets

By J. P. Morton
Heart attacks are terrible things. Shooting pain down your arm followed by what feels like a semi truck driving into your chest is just not something that anybody should look forward to. Luckily these days if you can get to the hospital in time there's a fairly good chance that you can survive your heart attack but it can still leave you in pretty bad shape and forever alter your lifestyle afterwards.
In this article today I'd like to talk about several different prevention secrets that should help lower your risk for heart attack in many cases and circumstances. Talk to your doctor before engaging in any of these tips.
The first thing you need to do is lower your cholesterol. Some people need to use cholesterol-lowering statin drugs such as Lipitor but some people choose to go a more natural route. Be sure to consult your doctor to determine the best way for your specific circumstances.
Cholesterol in our bodies comes from things like eggs and meat and whole milk and other animal food sources but most of the cholesterol in our bodies is produced by our own bodies. Dietary fat is a key ingredient in this equation because the more that you consume the more cholesterol your body will make; so try to cut out dietary fat if at all possible.
A good target to have is 20%. Try to get no more than 20% of your total calories in a given day from fats. To do this the only thing you can do is eliminate fatty foods from your diet. Here are some tips...
Switch from oil-based salad dressings to mustard or balsamic vinegar-based ones. Try to cut out butter, margarine, and mayonnaise as well. Try to replace them with things like jam or roasted garlic. Red meat is bad as well so try to substitute white meat instead or give up meat completely if you can. Finally try to cut down on whole or low-fat milk and cheeses as well as commercially baked foods.
Finally, another great way to prevent heart attacks is to simply reduce the amount of stress in your life. Stress releases adrenaline and adrenaline like chemicals which will always raise your blood pressure which in turn will make your heart beat faster. Your heart doesn't need this extra workload and it can increase your risk for heart attack over the long run.
Reducing stress in your life is easier said than done but one simple technique that I like to use is to engage in a deep breathing routine of 10 deep breaths followed by 10 shallow breaths followed by 10 more deep breaths. I do this several times throughout the day whenever I feel myself becoming stressed out. It only takes a few minutes and can work wonders on your stress levels.
So there you have several simple heart attack prevention secrets that just about anybody can employ without a whole lot of effort or stress. You don't have to engage in all of these tips but adding as many as possible is certainly beneficial in the long run.