Heart Attack Prevention
Prevention
You can help prevent a heart attack by controlling your risk factors for atherosclerosis, especially high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes. If you have high cholesterol, follow your doctor for a healthy diet low in fat and cholesterol and, if necessary, take medication to lower cholesterol in your blood.
If you have high blood pressure, follow your doctor’s recommendations to modify your diet and take the medicine. If you smoke, stop smoking. If you have diabetes, checking your level of blood sugar, follow your diet and take your insulin or take medicine as prescribed by your doctor. We also recommend regular exercise and maintaining an ideal weight.
When To Call a Professional
Seek emergency help immediately if you experience chest pain, even if you think it’s just indigestion or is too young to have a heart attack. Immediate treatment increases your potential to reduce heart muscle damage, as the reperfusion measures work best if done within 30 minutes after symptom onset.
Forecast
About 15% of patients who have heart attacks die before reaching hospital and another 15% die after arrival. The remaining 70% who survive hospitalization, about 4% (1 in 25) will die in the first year after discharge. However, this risk is not the same for all ages. For example, for patients over 65 years, the mortality rate is 20% within the first month after heart attack and 35% after the first year.