How to Prevent Four of Five Heart AttacksSeptember 25, 2014
We've all been told to maintain a healthy lifestyle to prevent heart attacks, but a new study shows just how important certain health habits can be.
Researchers in Sweden followed more than 20,000 men for 11 years. The ones who didn't smoke and maintained several good health practices reduced their heart attack rates by 86 percent, according to a study published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
In other words, they prevented four out of five heart attacks.
"What is surprising is how drastically the risk dropped due to these factors," said Agneta Akesson, lead author of the study and nutritional epidemiologist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
According to Akesson's study, men at lowest risk for a heart attack didn't smoke, walked or biked for at least 40 minutes per day, exercised at least one hour per week, consumed one to two glasses of alcohol daily, and followed a diet with fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, reduced-fat dairy products, whole grains and fish. A waist measuring less than 38 inches was also associated with fewer heart attacks.
About 1.5 million Americans have a heart attack every year, according to the American Heart Association. But less than 2 percent of Americans follow a heart-healthy lifestyle, according to the authors.
"Everyone wants to quickly grab a hamburger on their way somewhere...our eating habits are very poor," said Dr. Prakash Deedwania, a cardiologist at the University of California San Francisco and member of the American College of Cardiology's Prevention Committee.
But researchers found even a few small habits dramatically decreased the risk of a heart attack. For example, not smoking reduced heart attack rates by 36 percent, while a healthy diet plus moderate alcohol consumption lowered it by 35 percent.
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Posted by Ken at 1:43 AM