Five Ways to Reduce Heart Attack Risk by 80 Percent
If you could do five things to reduce your heart-attack risk by 80 percent, would you take a step to start on this path? That's a challenge posed by NANCY K. SWEITZER ND,phD director of the UA Sarver Heart Center and chief of cardiology. She
cites a study from Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, which observed 20,721
healthy Swedish men, ages 45 to 79, for 11 years. The study, published
in Journal of the American College of Cardiology, noted that men could
reduce their heart attack risk by 80 percent if they made five lifestyle
changes. “I believe these also apply to women and Americans,” said Dr.
Sweitzer.
Here's how these changes stack up:
- 36 percentage risk reduction attributed to not smoking.
- 18 percent reduction for eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, reduced-fat dairy products, whole grains and fish.
- 12 percent reduction for maintaining a waistline of 37 inches or less (for men). (For women, this waistline circumference would be about 35 inches or less, said Dr. Sweitzer.)
- 11 percent reduction for drinking fewer than two alcoholic drinks per day. (Probably one drink per day for women.)
- 3 percent reduction for moderate daily and weekly exercise routines.
- 1 percent – the percentage of study participants who exhibited all five of the healthy habits.
What could we save if more of us make these lifestyle choices?
- 600,000 – The number of Americans who died from heart disease during 2013. That’s 1 in every 4 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women.
- 380,000 – the number of people who die from coronary heart disease, the most common type of heart disease; it is caused by a blockage in the coronary artery.
- 720,000 – the number of heart attacks each year in America.
- $108.9 billion – the costs of coronary artery disease alone, including health care services, medications and lost productivity.
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