1. Do not smoke
Smokers double their risk of heart disease and have a 70% greater chance of dying of a heart attack than nonsmokers. The risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked daily.
In addition to increasing the risk for coronary heart disease, smoking is a major cause of lung cancer.
The easiest way to handle smoking, of course, is don’t even start. However, if you do smoke, try as hard as you can to quit.
2. Maintain your ideal body weight
People who maintain an ideal body weight can lower their risk of heart disease by 40 – 50% compared to people who are 20% or more over their desirable weight.
With the right approach of lowering the calories in your diet and regular exercise you can loose weight and keep it off.
3. Exercise regularly
Lack of exercise is a big risk factor for coronary heart disease and heart attack. The connection between regular exercise and good health is very strong.
Consistent and intensive exercise controls weight, develops muscle strength, increases endurance and reduces stress. It protects your heart by raising HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
4. Maintain a normal blood pressure
Your blood pressure shows how hard your heart has to work to keep blood flowing through the arteries.
Have your blood pressure checked regularly. Generally, a blood pressure higher than 140/80 is a cause for concern.
Exercise, maintain healthy weight and limit saturated fat in your diet to prevent high blood pressure.
5. Limit salt
About 25% of people are salt sensitive and salt – sodium will cause their blood pressure to raise.
A lot of salt is now days in packaged commercial foods. Avoid them and try to eat more raw foods like fruits and vegetables and other unprocessed foods.
The American Heart Association recommends, healthy individuals limit sodium to 3000 milligrams per day.