How to Prevent Atherosclerosis and Heart Disease Through Lifestyle Changes

Heart disease kills over 900,000 people each year in the United States alone. It is the number one killer in the US and is on pace to become the leading cause of death worldwide by the year 2020. The main cause of heart disease is atherosclerosis, a largely preventable condition. Approximately 90% of all heart attacks could be avoided if people understood how to prevent atherosclerosis and heart disease through lifestyle changes.

How to Prevent Atherosclerosis and Heart Disease Through Lifestyle Changes: The Risk Factors
Atherosclerosis refers to the narrowing and hardening of the arteries due to the build up of plaque. As plaque builds, it reduces the available space for blood to flow through the artery. This limits the amount of nutrients and oxygen that can reach vital organs, such as the heart. Clots can form at the site of the plaque blockage, which narrows the arteries further and greatly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The nine most common risk factors for atherosclerosis and heart disease are:

• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Excess weight
• Not eating enough fruits and vegetables
• Lack of exercise
• Excessive use of alcohol
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Stress

All nine risk factors for atherosclerosis and heart disease can be reduced or eliminated through lifestyle changes.

How to Prevent Atherosclerosis and Heart Disease Through Lifestyle Changes: Diet
Eating a balanced diet of fresh produce, whole grains and lean proteins can help control your cholesterol levels, bring down high blood pressure, reduce your risk of diabetes, and aid in weight loss.

Adding fiber to your diet helps control high cholesterol by reducing the levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol in your system. Consuming 5 to 10 grams of soluble fiber per day is recommended for preventing atherosclerosis and heart disease. Foods such as oat bran, soy products and beans are good choices for fiber. Other ways to increase your fiber intake include eating whole-grain breads instead of white bread, using brown rice instead of white rice, and snacking on fresh produce.

Fresh produce plays an important role in preventing atherosclerosis and heart disease. Scientists are not sure if this is due to the high fiber and vitamin content of fruits and vegetable or the phytochemicals (disease preventative chemicals) contained in the produce. Be sure to eat a minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

Fat intake needs to be limited to about 20 grams per day. For the best results in preventing atherosclerosis and heart disease, divide your fats as follows: less than 2 grams of saturated fats, 6-10 grams of polyunsaturated fats, and the rest of monounsaturated fats. Trans fats should be avoided. This healthy balance of fats will help control your cholesterol levels and aid in maintaining a healthy weight. In addition, you should limit your cholesterol intake to no more than 200 milligrams each day.

Reducing your salt intake helps control your blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends limiting salt intake to no more than 2,300 milligrams per day. That is the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt. African-Americans, middle-aged and older adults, and people who have high blood pressure should consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of salt each day.

Learning to read and understand the nutrition information provided on food labels will help you eat a diet that will prevent atherosclerosis and heart disease. For more information on food labels and eating a healthy diet, see the American Heart Associate website: American Heart Association - Diet & Nutrition.

How to Prevent Atherosclerosis and Heart Disease Through Lifestyle Changes: Exercise
In addition to the benefits for weight loss, regular exercise helps you control your blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduces your risk of diabetes. Your goal should be 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise three to five days per week. Aerobic exercise includes such activities as walking, running, swimming and bicycling. If a long work out is too much for you to handle, do several 10-minute sessions throughout the day. Ask your doctor for suggestions on what type of exercise would be right for you.

How to Prevent Atherosclerosis and Heart Disease Through Lifestyle Changes: Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight helps you control your cholesterol levels and blood pressure and reduces your risk of diabetes. Your body mass index (BMI) should be between 18.5 and 24.9. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute offers a free BMI calculator on their website: Calculate Your Body Mass.

How to Prevent Atherosclerosis and Heart Disease Through Lifestyle Changes: Alcohol
While drinking a glass of red wine may help reduce your risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease, too much of it can do more harm than good. Excessive consumption of wine, beer and hard liquors can increase your risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Men should limit their alcohol intake to two servings per day, while women should have no more than one serving of alcohol each day.

How to Prevent Atherosclerosis and Heart Disease Through Lifestyle Changes: Smoking
Tobacco smoke damages the lining of the arteries, makes the blood vessels constrict and reduces their elasticity. In addition, smoking increases your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and reduces your HDL (good) cholesterol levels. Smoking also increases your chance of developing blood clots. All of these are serious risk factors for atherosclerosis and heart disease.

If you smoke, quit. If you live with a smoker, encourage them to quit or ask them not to smoke around you. Second hand smoke is just as dangerous as smoking a cigarette when it comes to atherosclerosis and heart disease.

How to Prevent Atherosclerosis and Heart Disease Through Lifestyle Changes: Stress
Continual stress can raise your blood pressure and damage your heart. This is especially true if the stressful situation causes you to feel anger. Find ways to reduce your stress load, such as setting priorities and removing yourself from unhealthy situations.

The way you deal with stress can either increase or reduce your risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Instead of turning to food, cigarettes or alcohol to deal with stress, try deep breathing techniques, muscle relaxation, or mediation. Exercise is another healthy way to deal with stress and will further your efforts to prevent atherosclerosis and heart disease.

Sources:
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute:
How Is Atherosclerosis Treated?

Merck Manuals Online Medical Library:
Atherosclerosis

Mayo Clinic:
Arteriosclerosis / atherosclerosis: Lifestyle and home remedies

WebMD:
Atherosclerosis: How Is It Prevented?