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Healthy Living After a Heart Attack:
Healthy Living After a Heart Attack: Understanding Risk FactorsAfter a heart attack, part of your recovery is taking steps to prevent another heart attack and treating yourheart disease.This usually means identifying things that might put you at risk of a heart attack and taking steps to treat orreduce those factors.Conditions that put you at risk of heart attack are called risk factors.Risk factors are often divided into two categories: factors you can change (called modifiable risk factors) andfactors you can’t change (called non-modifiable risk factors).Risk factors you can’t change include things like a personal or family history of heart attack or heart disease,race, ethnicity, increasing age, and gender.Most people with a strong family history of heart disease have one or more other risk factors. Just as you can'tcontrol your age, sex, ethnicity and race, you can't control your family history. Therefore, it's even moreimportant to treat and work to change any other risk factors you have.“My grandmother’s side all has fairly significant heart issues. Most of them have had open heartsurgery, and then with my diabetes, it just kind of all compounded together in me.”Risk factors you can change are things you can work to treat or control, but still raise the risk of a heart attack.These include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, how much exercise you get, your weight, smokingtobacco and diabetes.Your healthcare provider can talk to you about the steps you can take to modify these factors in order tolower your chance of having another heart attack.For example, if you have high cholesterol, you might be given medicine to reduce your cholesterol levels.Getting regular exercise is very important to keep your heart muscle healthy. Your healthcare provider canhelp you design a physical activity plan that’s right for you.You might also be prescribed cardiac rehabilitation or cardiac rehab. This includes a supervised exercisetraining and education program that can help you recover from a heart attack and get in better shape.If you are overweight, improving your diet and getting physical activity will also help you lose extra pounds.Page 1 ofUnderstanding Risk FactorsBeing overweight puts you at greater risk for heart disease and heart attack.In addition to risk factors you can change, there are contributing risk factors that can increase your risk.Contributing risk factors are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but scientists are stillresearching them.Eating a poor diet is a contributing risk factor because it has been linked to heart disease. Instead of eating adiet high in sugar, salt, and processed foods, try to eat a low-salt, heart-healthy diet of whole grains, fruits andvegetables, and healthy proteins and fats.The food you eat, and the amount, can affect other risk factors you can change, like cholesterol, bloodpressure, diabetes and weight.For example, reducing stress can make it less likely that you will engage in unhealthy behaviors like eatingunhealthy foods, overeating, smoking or drinking too much alcohol.Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure and all those extra calories can make you gainweight. It can also cause heart failure or a stroke. And alcohol can interfere with some medicines.If you do drink, the American Heart Association recommends no more than one drink a day for women andtwo drinks a day for men.Talk to your healthcare provider about how much alcohol is ok for you.Taking active steps to lower your risk of a future heart attack is a very positive decision.By taking control of the risk factors you can change, you can dramatically reduce the chances of sufferinganother heart attack and improve your overall health.Page 2 ofThis program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.© The Wellness Network
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