Heart attacks are highly preventable with lifestyle changes

By Pamela Assid, DNP, RN 

Updated on October 23, 2023

 Medically reviewed by Anisha Shah, MD

A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction (MI), is when the heart muscle is suddenly deprived of oxygen, usually due to a blockage.¹ If oxygenation is not restored quickly, the heart muscle can die. Heart attacks are typically a result of coronary artery disease (CAD).

More than 800,000 people in the United States have a heart attack yearly.¹ Understanding what can contribute to coronary artery disease can help prevent a heart attack.

Ahmani Vidal / Getty Images

Common Signs of a Heart Attack

While it is possible to have mild or even no symptoms with a heart attack (silent heart attack), most people who have heart attacks experience some of the following:¹

• Pain or heaviness in the chest, usually in the center of the left side of the chest

• Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, upper back, shoulders, neck, or jaw

• Difficulty breathing at rest or with minimal physical exertion

• Sudden sweating without any reason

• Feeling excessively tired without good reason

• Nausea or vomiting

• Light-headedness or dizziness

• Abnormal heartbeat, such as going too fast or skipping beats

What Causes Heart Attacks?

Heart attacks result from a blockage of oxygen to the heart muscle.¹ A blood clot, plaque from elevated cholesterol, or hardening of the heart's blood vessels can cause blockages. It is crucial to get blood flow restored as quickly as possible to prevent the heart muscle from dying due to lack of oxygen.

Most heart attacks are a result of coronary artery disease. However, age, lifestyle, and underlying medical conditions such as diabetes can increase your heart attack risk.¹

In a heart attack, the heart muscle usually becomes damaged. Working with a healthcare provider to reduce your risk of another heart attack is important. Some of the ways to reduce future heart attack risk are:²

• Physical activity: Studies have shown that walking 150 minutes a week can reduce heart attack risk. However, depending on how damaged your heart muscle has become, your healthcare provider might recommend limiting physical activity.

• Lifestyle changes: Eating a heart-healthy diet, quitting tobacco, and managing stress are lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your heart attack risk.

• Cardiac rehabilitation: Cardiac rehabilitation is a supervised program to assist people who have experienced a heart attack to engage in stress management, physical activity, medication management, and general education on maintaining heart health.

 What Causes a Heart Attack?

Age does not cause heart attacks, but the risk increases due to age-related blood vessel and heart changes.³ According to a 2018 American Heart Association study, the average age for a heart attack is around 65 in men and 72 in women.⁴ However, heart attacks can happen at any age, especially in people with multiple risk factors.

Can you prevent a heart attack quickly?

There is no quick fix to prevent a heart attack. Prevention requires long-term behaviors such as avoiding tobacco products, exercising regularly, and eating a heart-healthy diet.⁵

Understanding your personal risk factors can help you prevent a heart attack; you can determine your risk using the American Heart Association's risk calculator and work with a healthcare provider to reduce your risk.⁶

Lifestyle Changes to Prevent a Heart Attack

If you want to prevent a heart attack, there are some lifestyle changes you can make to decrease your risk.

Avoid Smoke

If you use tobacco products, quitting can reduce your heart attack risk.⁷ After avoiding tobacco products for 24 hours, your risk for heart attack decreases, and staying quit for a year reduces your risk for coronary artery disease by 50%, compared to your risk when you smoked.⁸

Reduce Stress

Various studies indicate that stress may contribute to heart attack risk.⁷ Stress can cause a person to overeat or use tobacco products, increasing coronary artery disease and heart attack risk.

Control Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar & Cholesterol Levels

High cholesterol can increase heart attack risk, particularly the low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (considered "bad" cholesterol) and triglycerides (a type of fat in the blood), which can build up in the blood vessels and increase heart attack risk.⁷

Blood pressure should be below 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).⁷ When elevated, blood pressure can cause blood vessel and organ damage, such as kidney issues. Physical activity, a low-sodium diet, and working with your healthcare provider on a plan to keep blood pressure within the normal range are crucial to reducing heart attack risk.

Diabetes can cause damage to the blood vessels, contributing to elevated heart attack risk.⁹

Get Regular Checkups

Attend regular appointments with a healthcare provider and work with them to address any heart attack risk factors.¹⁰

A healthcare provider's role in managing heart attack risk is ensuring chronic disease conditions, like diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, are appropriately managed with lifestyle changes and medication.¹⁰

Take all medications as directed and consult the prescribing healthcare provider before adding new medications—even over-the-counter medicine like aspirin or supplements.

Exercise Regularly

Incorporate regular physical activity into your daily routine to reduce heart attack risk. Studies have shown adhering to a weekly 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol and helps maintain a healthy weight.⁷

If you are already active, work to increase activity for more health benefits. If you are inactive, start slowly and work toward an achievable goal.

Maintain Weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is essential for lowering heart attack risk. Having obesity increases the risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. All of these conditions increase heart attack risk.⁷

Excess weight also puts more stress on the heart and blood vessels, which can also increase heart attack risk.¹⁰ The best methods for maintaining a healthy weight are not fad diets or supplements but good nutrition, controlling calorie intake, and regular physical activity.

Eat a Heart-Healthy Diet

One of the best methods to reduce heart attack risk is to follow a healthy diet. The food you eat every day can help reduce high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes, raising heart attack risk.¹⁰

A healthy diet contains nutrient-dense foods and emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, legumes, nontropical vegetable oils, and nuts. If you're aiming for a heart-healthy diet, you should limit sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, and red meats.⁷

Other considerations for a healthy diet include:⁹

• Avoiding foods high in saturated fat and trans fat, as these may contribute to heart disease

• Eating foods high in fiber and low in saturated fats, trans fat, and cholesterol to prevent high cholesterol

• Limiting added salt or foods with high salt content to prevent high blood pressure

Limit Alcohol

Consuming alcohol in moderation is safe for most people, but drinking too much damages blood vessels, raises blood pressure, and causes an irregular heartbeat. Various studies have shown that excessive alcohol consumption contributes to obesity.

To reduce heart attack risk, men should limit their alcohol intake to no more than two drinks daily, and women should have no more than one drink daily.⁷

Get Quality Sleep

Quality sleep is important for heart health and reducing heart attack risk.¹¹ Sleep is when your body repairs itself, allowing you to function normally while awake. Adults should get at least seven hours of sleep a night.

Should You Take Aspirin to Prevent a Heart Attack?

Over the years, there has been a lot of media coverage on the importance of aspirin for heart attack prevention. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded that there is limited benefit. Studies have shown taking aspirin might have more risks, such as increased bleeding in the stomach or brain, than benefits.¹²

Talk to a healthcare provider about taking a daily aspirin to reduce heart attack risk. If you have had a previous heart attack, your healthcare provider will likely recommend taking a low dose of aspirin daily to prevent a second one. However, your healthcare provider can carefully consider the risks and benefits of aspirin therapy and work with you to develop a beneficial plan.

Summary

Heart attacks occur due to oxygen being blocked from the heart. Coronary artery disease is the most common reason for a heart attack. Heart disease can be prevented by following a heart-healthy diet, regularly exercising, avoiding tobacco products, getting enough sleep, taking prescribed medications appropriately, and partnering with a healthcare provider for regular checkups to identify and address any heart disease risk factors.

12 Sources

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. What is a heart attack?.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart attack symptoms, risk and recovery.

National Institute on Aging. Heart health and aging.

Benjamin EJ, Virani SS, Callaway CW, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2018 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2018;137(12). doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000558

American Heart Association. New guidelines: health lifestyle, managing risk are key to preventing heart attack and stroke.

American Heart Association. 2018 prevention guidelines took CV risk calculator.

American Heart Association. Lifestyle changes for heart attack prevention.

American Lung Association. Benefits of quitting.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevent heart disease.

American Heart Disease. 8 things you can do to prevent heart disease and stroke.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How does sleep affect your heart health?.

Food and Drug Administration. Use of aspirin for primary prevention of heart attack and stroke.

By Pamela Assid, DNP, RN
Pamela Assid, DNP, RN, is a board-certified nursing specialist with over 25 years of expertise in emergency, pediatric, and leadership roles.