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More people in Britain die from CHD than anything else. But taking action now means that you can prevent this ever happening to you. It also means you can avoid the terrible breathlessness and distressing chest pain that leads up to it. |
The coronary arteries are the only means of supplying the heart muscle with blood and oxygen. When they become furred up and narrowed by cholesterol-rich deposits not enough blood gets through and the pain of angina begins. When a blood clot forms and completely obstructs the arteries, a large portion of heart muscle which is starved of oxygen dies, and with that, in 1 in 3 cases, the owner of the heart dies too. Each death is an avoidable tragedy.
By exercising regularly, you lower your blood pressure, cholesterol and stress levels. And as long as you start slowly and build up to more strenuous activity later, it really doesn’t matter what kind of exercise it is as long as you enjoy it.
Remember that even people who have already had a heart attack or heart by-pass surgery are advised by their specialists to stay active. So whilst it’s never too late, the sooner you start the better.
Here at Fitness First, you can get excellent guidance on a suitable exercise programme tailored for your own individual needs.
Following these 10 cardiac commandments is the best insurance policy you can ever take out to prevent a future heart attack.
- Exercise aerobically for at least 30 minutes 3 times a week.
- Quit smoking as this makes arteries narrower and blood stickier and more likely to clot.
- Eat a diet low in saturated fat.
- Normalise your weight to lower the risk of diabetes and heart strain.
- Consume less salt which raises blood pressure significantly.
- Don’t consume too much alcohol which does the same.
- Do enjoy 2 glasses of red wine every day if you want to, however, as a moderate amount of alcohol can actually protect the heart.
- Avoid too much stress as adrenaline and other stress hormones have a powerful but potentially damaging effect on the heart.
- Get your cholesterol level checked and keep it within the healthy range.
- Check out your family history – if heart attacks do run in the family you can’t exactly change your parents, but you can make doubly sure you do everything else here to keep yourself fit and healthy.
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Preventing coronary heart disease
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