How to Protect Yourself from a Heart Attack

The American Heart Association proclaims each February as Heart Heath Month. The importance of focusing on heart disease cannot be overstated. Heart disease (which includes coronary artery disease, stroke and other heart conditions) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Each year 787,000 people die from some form of heart disease. Heart attacks are responsible for 380,000 deaths annually. To put these numbers in perspective, every 34 seconds someone in the United States has a heart attack. Every 60 seconds, someone dies from a heart disease-related event.

In one-third of persons with coronary artery disease, the first sign of illness is a life-ending heart attack. Knowing the risk factors that cause a heart attack and taking steps to address them are critically important.

The risk factors for heart disease fall into two categories. 1. Modifiable risk factors – those we can influence or eliminate. 2. Non-modifiable: those we cannot change. Let us start with the non-modifiable factors.

Age: As we grow older, our risk of having a heart attack increases. Most heart attacks occur after age 65 years. Heart attacks occurring before age 55 are considered to be premature and usually have a genetic component.

Gender: Men have higher rates of heart attacks than women. Before menopause, the rate of coronary heart events is four times higher in men than in women. At menopause men’s risk is still double that of women. By age 65 years, the rates become equal between men and women. Much of the differences between the sexes is due to women having higher HDL-cholesterol levels than men.

Family History: You are considered to have a positive family history if either 1. You have male relatives that have had a cardiovascular event prior to age 55 years; or 2. You have female relatives that have had a cardiovascular event prior to age 65 years. Cardiovascular events include: heart attacks, strokes or procedures to open-up or bypass a narrowed artery.

Race: Native Alaskans have lower rates of coronary artery disease than Caucasians. All other races have higher rates, the highest rate occurs in Black Americans.

Modifiable risk factors are conditions we can either improve or eliminate.

Smoking: Heart attack rates are doubled in smokers. QUIT! The increased risk for heart attacks decreases back to that of a nonsmoker after only two years of quitting smoking.

High Blood Pressure: A blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher defines hypertension. Reducing salt in the diet and regular physical activity and weight will reduce or even eliminate high blood pressure. If needed, there are effective medicines that can control your blood pressure with few (if any) side effects.

Diabetes: Cardiovascular disease is 2 to 4 times more common among men with diabetes and 5 to 8 times more common among women with diabetes. Keeping your blood glucose levels under good control has been shown to decrease your risk significantly.

Cholesterol: LDL-cholesterol is the form of cholesterol most closely linked to causing cardiovascular disease.

HDL-cholesterol is thought to help protect against cardiovascular disease by removing cholesterol build-up in the walls of your arteries. Talk to your health care provider about what your blood cholesterol levels should be for you.

Physical Activity: Lack of physical activity increases your risk of a heart attack. Physical activity (for example, brisk walking for 30 minutes 5 days each week) will greatly decrease your risk.

Proper Nutrition: A heart healthy diet decreases LDL-cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugars and body weight. Talk with your health care provider about the best meal plan and ask them about seeing a dietitian to help you.