2023-05-18 02:59:00
An unhealthy lifestyle increases the risk of having a heart attack. But the danger can be prevented, explains a doctor.
Syke – Those who live healthily live longer – as the saying goes. But living healthy is not that easy. Many people eat too much or far too little, don’t exercise enough, sit for hours in front of the television or computer. Snacking on chips or chocolate does not necessarily help health, nor does drinking a soda or a bottle of beer. Anything but a healthy lifestyle. According to the unanimous opinion of doctors, this also increases the risk for people of having a heart attack. Michael Böhm, Director of the Clinic for Cardiology, Angiology and Internal Intensive Care Medicine at Saarland University Hospital, recommends that older and young people follow five rules in everyday life – to better protect their own heart.
Heart attack: Five tips to minimize the risk
More than 300,000 people suffer a heart attack in Germany every year. This is reported by the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). According to the cardiologist Böhm, it doesn’t even have to get that far. Patients might also take many small steps to protect their hearts before they develop heart disease or a cardiac arrhythmia, Böhm explained in an interview Focus.de. The heart specialist provided helpful tips that everyone can easily integrate into their lives.
Five tips to minimize heart attack risk:
- Quit smoking.
- Move: This can also be small movements in everyday life. Climb stairs; walking back and forth in space; standing and moving around on the phone instead of sitting.
- Brisk walking helps: preferably twice a day for regarding 15 minutes.
- Eat a “balanced” diet and not too one-sided.
- Check your cholesterol and blood pressure levels regularly with your family doctor.
Reduce the risk of heart attack: smoke-free through life with many small steps
Doctor Michael Böhm advises smokers in particular not to give up the fight for a smoke-free life. According to the DZHK, smoking is a proven risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease. The Federal Center for Health Education provides helpful tips on its website on how smokers can quit smoking rauchfrei-info.de. In addition, people should bring a little more exercise into their everyday life to compensate for their desk job. Every step, no matter how small, is the right path to a healthy life. Can help with lack of exercise: parking the car further away, climbing stairs, going for a walk with friends instead of meeting in a café, but also cycling in good weather or an exercise bike.
Current DZHK studies show that even a little movement compared to no movement at all can make a difference. So it doesn’t have to be a regular 30-minute jog. Even short daily walks, where you walk briskly for seven to eight minutes, reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases by 20 percent according to the DZHK. Cardiologist Böhm even recommends twice 15 minutes.
cause of a heart attack
One or more blood vessels of the heart (coronary or coronary vessels) are acutely narrowed or completely blocked during a heart attack. In most cases, coronary heart disease, i.e. deposits in the coronary arteries, is the cause of a heart attack. The deposits on the vessel walls tear open, blood platelets accumulate and a blood clot forms, which blocks the vessel. Other causes, such as spasms of the coronary arteries, are rather rare. (Those: DZHK)
Reduce the risk of heart attack: A balanced diet can help
The heart is particularly happy when a lot of whole grain products, vegetables and fruit are on the table. The DZHK advises that it is also beneficial to eat less meat and instead eat fish regularly, and to choose vegetable fats instead of animal fats if possible. A nutritional therapist explained which changes in diet really help. No one has to chastise themselves to protect their hearts. “Balance” is key. According to cardiologist Böhm, those who stick to this do “a lot of things right”.
Böhm also recommends important check-ups such as checking cholesterol and blood pressure levels. From the age of 35, every person in Germany is entitled to a check-up with their family doctor every three years. If the values are too high, according to the Help the German Heart Foundation to drink less alcohol and eat less salt. Less stress in everyday life can also lower blood pressure.
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