7 Ways to Prevent Heart Disease for Men above 40

Heart disease can start early in life and not cause any health problems until years later. The sooner you make healthy lifestyle changes, the sooner you can prevent heart attack after 40.

• Making healthy lifestyle changes today can prevent heart disease and heart attacks.
• Eating a healthy diet can prevent and even reverse illnesses that can lead to heart attacks like hypertension, and obesity.
• Staying physically active helps the lungs and heart work better, pumping more oxygen through the body and heart.

Quitting smoking might be one of the hardest lifestyle changes a person can make, but one of the smartest. Cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes of heart disease.

One of the first symptoms of heart disease is atherosclerosis or narrowing of the arteries. Plaque builds up on the inside of the arteries causing them to narrow. This plaque restricts blood flow to the heart which can lead to heart attacks.

Smoking also damages the lungs, leading to emphysema and COPD. These diseases put a strain on the heart, causing the heart to work harder. This can cause a heart attack in people even if they don’t have heart disease. One-year after you quit smoking, your risk of coronary heart disease decreases by 50%.

Eating a healthy diet is one of the best ways to prevent a heart attack. A diet of junk food, processed food, and foods high in saturated fat leads to diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

A diet high in saturated fat raises LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. Saturated fat also causes plaque to build up in the arteries. Both factors can lead to heart attacks.

Foods that are high in saturated fat include meat, poultry, fish, certain refined vegetable oils, and dairy products. Reducing or even eliminating these foods can stop the plaque buildup in the arteries.

The healthiest diets to prevent heart disease are the Mediterranean Diet or a whole food plant-based diet with plenty of vegetables, whole grains, oats, beans, lentils, potatoes, and fruit. These vegetables can lower cholesterol, and prevent heart attack after 40. Some doctors believe if you get your total cholesterol below 150, you can be heart attack proof.

A sedentary lifestyle is another leading cause of heart attacks. Becoming physically fit is a great way to prevent heart disease. This doesn’t mean you have to run 10 miles every day. Walking, lifting light weights, tai chi, yoga, and dancing are all great ways to stay physically active.

Being physically active helps the heart and lungs work better. Exercise of any kind will help you lower your blood pressure, lower stress, and increase the flow of oxygen to your heart. Moderate exercise several times per week will help prevent heart disease male over 40. Your doctor can advise you of the best types of exercise for your current health condition.

Another reason to eat a healthy diet and stay active is to lose weight. Excess weight can put a burden on your heart. Having excess abdominal or belly fat can lead to heart attacks. Being overweight and eating a poor diet can lead to inflammation throughout the body. Inflammation is now believed to be a factor in heart attacks. So you must get to a healthy weight in order to lower the inflammation.

Going on and off of diets is not healthy. Changing to a healthy way of eating and sticking to it is a healthy lifestyle change you should make. Eat a diet high in nutritionally dense foods like vegetables, whole grains, beans, potatoes, and fruit. These foods will fill you up, lower inflammation, and help you lose weight.

In today’s busy world, it seems hard to manage and lower stress levels. Stress in your life puts stress on your heart. Chronic stress raises blood pressure, and levels of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Stress can change the way blood clots, which could be a factor in heart attacks.

You can lower stress by eating healthier, exercising, getting enough sleep, limiting alcohol, and learning time management. Other ways to lower stress include activities like hobbies and meditation. In order to prevent heart disease male over 40, you should manage your stress levels.

A good way to prevent heart attack after 40 is to manage or reverse other illnesses you might currently have. If you have high blood pressure, getting it down to a healthy level now will help you avoid heart disease.

Managing other illnesses today like high cholesterol, or being overweight will help reduce your risk of heart disease. Make sure you eat a healthy diet and discuss these illnesses with your doctor, so you can manage and possibly reverse these illnesses.

You can prevent heart disease by paying attention to your body. If you should notice changes in how you feel, you should have them checked by a doctor so you can correct them before they cause heart problems. Symptoms to be aware of include:

• Chest pains
• Shortness of breath
• Heart palpitations
• Leg swelling
• Confusion or dizzines