A recent study has revealed five health habits that could help minimize the risk of having a heart attack. These recommended habits could prevent four out of five heart attacks in men, according to the study.
Swedish researchers have found that middle-aged and older men had less chances of having heart attacks for over 11 years if they drink alcohol in moderation, do not smoke, practice a healthy diet, exercised at least an hour each week, and walked or biked at least 4o minutes daily. The study also found that maintaining a waistline not exceeding 38 inches could lessen the risk of heart attacks.
The risks drastically dropped due to these factors, which was surprising, according to lead author Agneta Akesson, an associate professor with the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden. Akkeson and colleagues studied the medical records and survey results of over 20,700 Swedish men who were between the ages 45 and 79 in 1997. During this year, these men had no recorded history of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. The researchers monitored these men until the year 2009 to see their long-term health status.
Results of the analysis revealed that eight percent of the men (1,724) did not practice any of the five health habits, resulting to 166 of them suffering heart attacks. Meanwhile, one percent of the men (212) practiced these healthy behaviors, with only three of them experiencing heart attacks.
The researchers conclude that practicing the five healthy habits could prevent up to 79% of first heart attacks in men. However, the study does not tackle life expectancy, and if men who practiced healthy habits would live longer than those who don't.
Akesson hopes that more community-wide programs will be implemented to encourage healthy behavior. She and her fellow researchers agree that with just half of the population following a healthy lifestyle, heart attack risk could be prevented by up to 40 percent.
The study is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.