The smartest plan for attacking a heart attack is, of course, preventing one from ever happening. Choose three of the following strategies and make them a habit. The closer to the top, the more you reduce your risk of heart disease.
1. Drink Five Glasses of Water a Day
People who drink that many 8-ounce glasses are 54 percent less likely to have a fatal heart attack than those who drink two or fewer. Researchers say the water dilutes the blood, making it less likely to clot.
2. Convince Your Partner to Stop Smoking Nonsmoking spouses of smoking partners face a 92 percent increase in their risk of heart attack. Breathing secondhand smoke boosts bad cholesterol levels, decreases good cholesterol, and increases your blood's tendency to clot.
3. Work Out for 30 Minutes, Four Times a Week Middle-aged people who exercise vigorously for 2 or more hours cumulatively per week have 60 percent less risk of heart attack than inactive people do.
4. Lose 10 to 20 Pounds
If you're overweight, dropping 10 to 20 pounds lowers your risk of dying from a heart attack. A 10-year study found that overweight people had heart attacks 8.2 years earlier than normal-weight victims.
5. Switch from Coffee to Tea
A recent study found that people who drink three cups of tea a day have half the risk of heart attack of those who don't drink tea at all. Potent antioxidants, called flavonoids, provide a protective effect.
6. Eat Salmon on Saturday, Tuna on Tuesday Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health say that eating fish at least twice a week lowers heart-disease risk by more than 30 percent. The magic ingredient is the omega-3 fatty acids.
7. Ask Your Doctor About Vitamin E and Aspirin
Men who take both cut the plaque in clogged arteries by more than 80 percent, according to a recent University of Pennsylvania study. (I'm not really a fan of aspirin as most of you know, but if you have heart disease in the family, research really does show it helps. Just be careful of stomach problems.)
8. Eat a Cup of Total Corn Flakes for Breakfast
This cereal contains one of the highest concentrations of folate (675 micrograms) of any cereal. Taking in that much folic acid daily cuts your risk of cardiovascular disease by 13 percent, according to researchers.
9. Count to 10
Creating a 10-second buffer before reacting to a stressful situation may be enough to cool you down. Men who respond with anger are three times more likely to have heart disease and five times more likely to have a heart attack before turning 55.
10. Eat Watermelon
It contains about 40 percent more lycopene than is found in raw tomatoes, and a new study shows that your body absorbs it at higher levels due to the melon's high water content. Half a wedge can boost heart-disease prevention by 30 percent.
These were reprinted from Mens health. In a journey to better health this is a good beginning. Start with the heart.
