Five Ways to Reduce Heart Attack Risk by 80 Percent

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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