Prevent Heart Disease

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Scientists now know far more about the major controllable risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) than for most other diseases. A risk factor merely increases the probability that you will develop CAD; it doesn't guarantee that you will develop it, nor does its absence (or even the absence of all risk factors) guarantee that you won't have a heart attack.

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For healthy people, the following steps have been shown to help reduce the risk factors for CAD. Keep in mind that reducing one risk factor may help reduce others. Exercising, for example, can help you control your weight, as can efforts to lower your cholesterol level through a low-fat diet.

Quit smoking

This is perhaps the single most effective step you can take. Anywhere from 20 to 40 percent (100,000 to 200,000 every year) of all CAD deaths in the U.S. are directly attributable to smoking. It more than doubles your chance of eventually having a heart attack and increases the chance of dying from it by 70 percent; it is also the leading cause of sudden cardiac death. The good news: Quitting smoking quickly reduces your CAD risk; within five to 10 years of quitting, your risk of heart attack declines to a level similar to that of people who never smoked, regardless of how long you smoked.

Reduce blood cholesterol

For every 1 percent reduction in high blood cholesterol, there's a 2 to 3 percent decline in the risk of heart attack.

Control hypertension

High blood pressure is a risk factor for stroke and heart attack. For every one-point reduction in diastolic blood pressure, there's a 2 to 3 percent decline in the risk of heart attack. If you can reduce your blood pressure by making the appropriate lifestyle changes--including limiting intake of sodium, calories, and alcohol--the coronary benefits are likely to be particularly great.