February 6, 2025

Heart Attacks Are Common But Often Preventable – Here’s How

Heart Attacks AndHow To Prevent Them

Heart disease is currently the number one killer in the world – of men and women. Which is why it’s so surprising that many of us would not be able to tell a heart attack from a stroll in the park.

The symptoms of a heart attack can potentially vary quite significantly from person to person. Men, for example, typically report experiencing chest pain that eventually radiates down the left arm, shortness of breath, and/or profuse sweating. Women, on the other hand, often experience symptoms that are much more subtle. These may include a sudden onset of feelings of tension or extreme anxiety, shortness of breath, indigestion, cold sweats, extreme fatigue, and even problems with falling asleep.

Risk Factors We Cannot Change

There are many factors putting us at risk for coronary artery disease. Some of these can be changed, while others can only be managed, and even having a strong immune system won’t always make a difference. Either way, it is vital that we become aware of what these factors are in order for us to lower our risk of having a heart attack.

Risk factors that cannot be changed – only managed and mitigated – include gender, growing older, genetics, and race.

As far as gender goes, men have a much higher risk of having a heart attack than do women. Worth noting, however, is that once women reach menopause, they more or less catch up with their male counterparts.

Onwards to cape global race. Certain ethnic groups are more prone to death from a heart disease or heart attack than some others. This is usually due to additional risk factors being at play, for example high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, etc. typically caused by a lack of proper nutrition and poverty.

Growing older is a risk factor for obvious reasons, as are genetics. If a parent or even a sibling has had a heart attack, your chance of having one significantly increases.

Risk Factors That Can Be Changed

Fortunate for us, most factors increasing our risk for having a heart attack can be changed. These include:

  • Smoking – Specifically, cigarette smoking. Those who regularly smoke cigarettes are four times more likely to develop heart disease than those who don’t smoke at all. It is estimated that a woman who quits smoking around the age of 39 will have added at least 3 years to her life – and a man, at least 5. Rather than smoking, learn more about fun activities that can be rewarding too.
  • High blood pressure – High blood pressure is probably the number one risk factor for all forms of heart and vascular disease. And since high blood pressure very often isn’t accompanied by any other symptoms, it is very important to have it checked at least twice a year.
  • High “bad” cholesterol – cholesterol levels in the body can be high in a good way or high in a bad way. Bad cholesterol is called low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and should not be higher than 100mg/dl.
  • Obesity – not only is obesity a risk factor in terms of having a heart attack, but it is also dangerous because it can easily lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Exercising to stay a healthy weight are always the best course of action.