Heart Disease Prevention

Is heart disease preventable?

Yes, in many cases, you can prevent heart disease or delay its progression. Heart disease refers to conditions that impact your heart’s function or structure. The most common form of heart disease is coronary artery disease (CAD).

If you have CAD, that means you have plaque buildup in your coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart to keep it pumping. Plaque can limit or block blood flow to your heart. This may lead to symptoms like stable angina or, ultimately, a heart attack.

It’s not always possible to prevent plaque buildup in arteries. Plaque usually starts to form when you’re a child or teen. But you may be able to slow its progression and delay complications.

How can we prevent heart disease?

There are many things you can do to prevent heart disease or delay its onset — from avoiding tobacco to choosing heart-healthy foods. Use the list below to get started. But don’t feel pressured to tackle everything all at once. Pick one goal to start and keep building from there.

Avoid smoking, vaping or using other tobacco products

When you think about the health risks of smoking, lung cancer might come to mind first. But tobacco use is also a major risk factor for heart disease. Here’s what to know:

• If you smoke, you’re more than twice as likely to have a heart attack compared with someone who doesn’t.
• Even one to two cigarettes a day greatly increases your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
• Smoking is the biggest risk factor for sudden cardiac death.
• Even if you never pick up a cigarette, secondhand smoke increases your risk of heart disease.

Tobacco use is the most preventable risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Quitting is hard. But it’s one of the best things you can do for your heart.

Limit alcohol

Drinking too much alcohol can lead to issues like:

• Atrial fibrillation
• Heart failure
• High blood pressure
• Stroke

When it comes to your heart, drinking no alcohol is your safest route. But if you do choose to drink, do so in moderation. Females should have no more than one drink per day. And males should have no more than two.

Eat heart-healthy foods

“Heart-healthy diet” is a term you might hear often. But what does it mean? Simply put, it means giving your heart the nutrients it needs to work well. It also means limiting or getting rid of ingredients that can raise your blood pressure or clog your arteries.

A dietitian can help you find changes to make right away. They may suggest a specific plan, like the Mediterranean diet. They’ll also tailor advice to your medical history and needs. Here are some general tips for heart-healthy eating:

• Choose foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids (healthy fats), like tuna, salmon, flaxseed, almonds and walnuts.
• Load up on fresh fruits and vegetables, which provide many nutrients and are often high in fiber.
• Use extra virgin olive oil in place of animal fats.
• Avoid processed foods, like chicken nuggets and packaged soups, which are often high in saturated fat, trans fat and sodium.
• Replace red meat with lean chicken or fish.
• Avoid adding salt when you cook and look for low-sodium versions of products.
• Satisfy your sweet tooth with heart-healthy desserts.
• Avoid palm, coconut and hydrogenated oils.

Aim for healthy lipid levels

A lipid panel measures the fats in your blood like cholesterol and triglycerides. Your healthcare provider will go over the numbers with you and help you understand what they mean. In general, you want to aim for:

• Low total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides
• High (but not too high) HDL cholesterol

LDL cholesterol is “bad” because it contributes to plaque buildup in your arteries. Plus, scientists have linked high total cholesterol and high triglycerides with a higher risk for heart disease.

On the other hand, HDLs help your body get rid of the extra LDL cholesterol in your blood. Healthy HDL levels may protect you against heart disease. Low levels may put you at risk.

Manage high blood pressure

Blood pressure is a measurement of the force inside your arteries each time your heart beats. High blood pressure makes your heart and kidneys work harder. Over time, this raises your risk of:

• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Kidney disease
• Stroke

Aim for blood pressure at or below 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Your provider might change your goal based on your age and health history.

To manage your blood pressure:

• Eat a low-sodium diet.
• Keep a weight that’s healthy for you.
• Limit alcohol consumption.
• Take medication if your provider prescribes it.

Manage diabetes

Having diabetes puts you at a higher risk of heart disease. That’s because diabetes makes you more likely to have high blood pressure and unhealthy lipid levels.

Talk with your provider about what your ideal blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C numbers should be. Together, make a plan to meet your goal.

Keep a weight that’s healthy for you

Carrying extra weight — especially around your waist — can tax your heart and blood vessels. It may raise your blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides. And it may raise your risk for diabetes.

Your provider can help you understand what weight is healthy for you. Everyone’s different. For example, the target body mass index (BMI) varies by ethnicity. In general, aim for:

• A body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9
• A waist circumference of fewer than 40 inches for males
• A waist circumference of fewer than 35 inches for females

Move around more

Physical activity is important in preventing heart disease because it:

• Improves how well your heart pumps blood through your body
• Helps you prevent or manage many heart disease risk factors, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and overweight/obesity

You have many heart-healthy options for physical activity:

• Get in 30 minutes of moderately intense activity, like brisk walking or swimming, five days a week.
• Do 25 minutes of vigorous activity, like running, three days a week.
• Do several shorter chunks of 10 to 15 minutes each until you reach your weekly goal.
• Build two-minute bursts of activity (exercise snacks) into your daily routine.

Talk with your provider before starting any new physical activity or changing your activity level. In general, it’s safer for you to gradually increase your activity level.

Take your medications as prescribed

Sometimes, you need medicine to help manage conditions like high blood pressure or high cholesterol that put your heart at risk. Talk with your provider about the ones you need and why.

Follow your provider’s guidance on when and how to take your medicines. You need to take them at the same time each day and follow other guidelines to get the most benefits.

Keep stress at bay

Your blood pressure can go up when you’re feeling stressed. Keep your stress level low with workouts, music, yoga or meditation. Even just breathing deeply, stretching or cuddling a pet can help when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Get quality sleep

A lack of sleep puts you at risk for conditions that lead to heart disease, like diabetes, overweight/obesity and high blood pressure.

Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night. This can be tough when life gets busy. But your efforts to get more — and better quality — sleep will help protect your heart.

There’s a lot you can do to improve your sleep, from going to bed and waking up at the same times every day to limiting screen use before bedtime.

Don’t try to do it alone

A can-do attitude isn’t always enough to prevent heart disease. This is why partnering with a healthcare provider is so important. They can catch signs of heart disease early — even before you may notice anything is amiss. And early diagnosis makes it more likely that treatment can help.

Make an appointment with a primary care provider each year. They’ll check your vital signs and overall health. They’ll tell you how often to get blood tests for cholesterol, blood sugar and other key levels.

Your provider may refer you to a preventive cardiologist to keep an even closer eye on your heart health. This specialist can calculate your cardiac risk score and work with you over the years to manage those risks. Some, you can’t control, like your age or biological family history. But others you can influence in small or big ways.

Barriers to heart disease prevention

There’s a lot you can do to lower your heart disease risk. But just because you want to make heart-healthy choices doesn’t mean you can. Limited access to resources like healthy food, childcare or a gym can get in the way.

If this sounds familiar, talk with your provider. They may be able to connect you with resources. For example, they might:

• Refer you to a dietitian or give you tips for meal planning.
• Help you learn exercises you can do at home.
• Point you to places in your community, like food banks and affordable childcare.

Can heart disease be reversed or cured?

You can’t reverse coronary artery disease once you have it. And there’s no cure. But tweaking some habits and taking medications can slow or stop the progression. Scientists continue to study new medications and therapies every day. For now, there are still reasons to be optimistic:

• You can do a lot to prevent or delay heart disease.
• Treatments can help you live longer and enjoy a vibrant quality of life.

It’s important to learn how to prevent heart disease and take whatever steps you can in that direction. But know there’s a safety net of treatments available to you if you need them.