Reducing the Risk of Heart Disease

Author: Navjot Singh

At a glance

  • Coronary heart disease is one of the biggest killers today, but by making healthier choices, you can significantly reduce your risk.
  • Eating more healthily puts less strain on your heart, and regular exercise can halve your risk of heart disease and help you survive an attack.
  • You lower your risk of heart disease the moment you stop smoking — and within a year of stopping your risk is halved.

Reducing your risk of heart disease

Coronary heart disease is one of the world's biggest killers today. And while there are some risk factors, e.g. personal and family history, that you can't change, there is a lot you can do to reduce your chances of having a heart attack. And to improve your likelihood of a full recovery if you do. In this fact sheet you can find tips to help you make better choices — and live a healthier and longer life.

The importance of food and exercise

Eating more healthily can help you to:

  • Maintain or reach a healthy weight, reducing the strain on your heart.
  • Lower your blood cholesterol level. Choose foods that are high in unsaturated fats, e.g. avocados, nuts and vegetable oils. And ensure your diet also contains plenty of soluble fibre, e.g. oats, beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas, fruit and vegetables.
  • Keep your blood pressure down.
  • Prevent fatty material from building up in the inside walls of your arteries. Saturated fat (found in red meat, biscuits, cakes, chips and dairy products) can clog them up and put a strain on your heart.
  • Prevent blood clots from forming.
  • Increase your chances of survival if you have a heart attack.

And being more physically active:

  • Halves your risk of developing coronary heart disease.
  • Makes you twice as likely to survive in the event of a heart attack.
  • Reduces your risk of dying after a heart attack by 20% (as part of a rehabilitation programme).

Stopping bad habits

When you stop smoking you:

  • Start to reduce your risk of a heart attack the moment you quit. Within a year of stopping your risk is halved.
  • Reduce your risk of suffering another heart attack by half if you've already had one.
  • Recover more quickly from heart surgery.
  • Reduce your chances of suffering from angina.
  • Remove the need for previously-planned angina surgery.

Reducing the amount you drink can help too:

  • Moderate drinking (between one and two units of alcohol a day) has a protective effect on the heart in men aged over 40 and in women who have gone through the menopause. But for every unit over these amounts, your systolic blood pressure is likely to be raised by 1mmHg.
  • Binge drinking increases your risk of having another heart attack.
Start reducing your risk today

Start making healthy choices in your life today, and your risk of coronary heart disease will begin to reduce straight away. So eat well, get regular exercise, reduce your alcohol intake and stop smoking — and you'll hopefully look forward to many more active and happy years ahead.

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