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Lower Your Heart Attack Risk
Knowing your heart attack risk can literally be the difference between life and death. Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. The most common heart disease in the United States is coronary heart disease, which often appears as a heart attack. In 2009, an estimated 785,000 Americans had a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 will have a recurrent attack. About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one.
**Here are 5 ways to lower your risk of a heart attack**
EAT RIGHT Eliminate saturated and trans fats from your diet and replace them with antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables.
LEARN YOUR FAMILY HISTORY Diabetes, heart disease, strokes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure can all run in families elevating your risk. ( Having a mother or father with heart disease can increase your risk by 25 to 50 %! ) If you know the risks early you can address them early.
EXERCISE Do at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise everyday and weight/resistance train twice a week to lower your percentage of body fat. Exercise can reduce your risk of heart attack by 35 to 50 percent.
KNOW YOUR NUMBERS Keep your Body Mass Index below 25, LDL cholesterol at 130 or below, HDL at 50 or above, total cholesterol at 200 or below, triglycerides at 150 or below and your waist line below 35 inches. See your doctor regularly to monitor these numbers.
QUIT SMOKING Sounds like a no brainer, but did you know you are still at high risk up to 5 years after quitting. The risk does steadily decrease.
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