A heart attack, also known as a myocardial infarction, is a potentially fatal medical emergency in which the heart muscle begins to degenerate from insufficient blood flow. Usually, a blockage in the arteries leading to your heart is what causes this. If a medical practitioner doesn’t quickly restore blood flow, a heart attack could lead to permanent cardiac damage and even death.
If you are aware of the risks associated with heart attacks, you can improve your health by taking action. Risk factors are personal traits and lifestyle decisions that can increase your risk of having a heart attack. It is essential to be informed about them. While some risk factors can be changed, others cannot.
The first step is to speak with a healthcare professional who can help you reduce, control, or prevent as many risk factors as you can. They might suggest giving you drugs, making improvements to your daily schedule, or doing both. In this post, we’ll talk about several typical risk factors that could increase your risk of having a heart attack.
There are nine things that could make you more likely to have a heart attack:
1. Cholesterol
Although there are steps you may take to make sure your cholesterol level is good, uncontrollable factors can change your cholesterol levels. Ask your doctor for advice on how to lower your cholesterol if you need to. Your cholesterol can be decreased by increasing your intake of dietary fibre, selecting nutrient-dense, low-fat foods, and exercising frequently.
2. Diabetes
Your heart may be harmed by diabetes, especially if it is poorly controlled. Heart disease claims more than 68% of the lives of diabetics over the age of 65. Follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations and make the required lifestyle changes for better blood sugar control.
3. High blood pressure
High blood pressure is a very common risk factor for heart disease. Blood pressure increases make your heart work harder. This tightening of the cardiac muscle may cause heart attacks. Speak to your doctor to learn what you can do to lower your blood pressure. With the right amount of exercise, a low-salt, low-fat diet, moderate alcohol use, a healthy weight, and stress management, your blood pressure may drop.
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4. Obesity
Excess body fat is linked to elevated cholesterol, blood pressure, and heart attack risk. A balanced diet and the right kind of exercise must be practised in order to reach and maintain a healthy weight. If you are having trouble losing weight, go to your doctor to come up with a plan.
5. Smoking
One in five deaths from heart attacks is related to smoking. If you smoke, your risk of having a heart attack can rise by two to four times. Smoking decreases the amount of oxygen that gets to your heart, elevates blood pressure, damages blood vessels, and increases the chance of blood clots, thus the risk is higher for smokers. If you presently smoke, there is still time for you to stop and reduce your risk of getting heart disease.
6. Not enough exercise
A sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of coronary heart disease. Regular, hard exercise can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease development. Physical activity can be used to control conditions like obesity, diabetes, and high blood cholesterol. It may also help some people lower their blood pressure. Adults should strive for 75 minutes of intense exercise (like jogging) or at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise (like brisk walking), or a combination of the two, each week.
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7. Insomnia
A poor response to stress is a risk factor for heart attacks. Try out several stress-reduction techniques to determine which ones work best for you. Some methods for lowering stress include practising yoga, breathing techniques, and better time management.
8. Sex
Men are more likely than women to experience a heart attack, despite the fact that heart disease is one of the main causes of death for both sexes. As they get older, women have a higher chance than men of dying from a heart attack.
9. Advanced age
As you become older, your chance of suffering a heart attack rises. Although a heart attack can happen at any age, males over the age of 45 and women after menopause, or around the age of 50, are at significantly higher risk.
Consider these elements to comprehend your risk of a heart attack.
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