How to Reduce Your Risk of Heart Attack

Keeping Heart Attacks Away

By Brooke Strickland

A new test has recently surfaced that will help doctors make a quicker diagnosis for individuals more prone to heart attacks.  This test can detect troponin, a protein in the muscle tissue of the heart.  Individuals that have high levels of troponin are said to have a higher risk of heart attack.  This test could help doctors monitor patients that complain of chest pains but have no other heart attack symptoms. [1] 

Heart attacks are scary.  They cause damage to the heart and kill thousands of people each day in the United States.   However, changes to lifestyle and medication (if you’ve been diagnosed by your doctor to be more prone to heart attacks) can be key to preventing life-altering heart attacks. 

First of all, let’s go over what the symptoms are of heart attacks.  Most heart attacks start with subtle symptoms.   If you are experiencing any of these, it’s important to get to the hospital quickly.  “Toughing it out” is not a good idea – a heart attack can be fatal and it’s important to seek medical attention fast.

·         Chest discomfort or pain:  This can include tight aches, pressure, or feeling fullness or squeezing in the chest

·         Upper body pain:  Pain that can spread to your shoulders, arms, back, neck, or jaw

·         Stomach pain: including pain that extends into your abdominal area such as heartburn

·         Shortness of breath

·         Lightheadedness and sweating

·         Nausea and vomiting

Heart attack prevention may be easier than you think.   A list of easy lifestyle changes you can make to keep your heart healthy include:

·         Not smoking:  tobacco is one of the most significant risk factors in developing heart diseases

·         Staying physically fit: even if it’s housekeeping or taking your dog for a 10 minute walk around the block, staying active is key

·         Maintaining a healthy weight: being overweight causes your heart to work harder

·         Reducing stress in your life: managing and reducing stress in your life is good for your heart as well as your body and mind as a whole

·         Eating healthy: eat fruits and vegetables, and follow a plan of eating foods that are low in fat, cholesterol, and sodium)

·         Controlling other medical conditions such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure

You’ve only got one heart.   Keep it beating strong.