Men: How to Reduce Your Heart Attack Risk Factors

Eating better and getting off the couch are among the changes in lifestyle that can lower every man's heart attack risk factors. Here's what you should know.

The road to reducing a man's risk of heart attack is straightforward. If only he would ask for directions.

The basic prevention rules

Following five basic rules can prevent four of every five heart attacks in men, according to an 11-year study of nearly 21,000 healthy middle-aged Swedish men.  

You won’t be surprised at the rules:

• Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all
• Don’t smoke
• Follow a healthy diet
• Exercise regularly
• Maintain a healthy weight

Yet, the researchers also found that only 1 percent of the men in the study met those goals.

“It is not surprising that healthy lifestyle choices would lead to a reduction in heart attacks. What is surprising is how drastically the risk dropped due to these factors,” said lead author Agneta Åkesson, PhD,

The study also showed that men with hypertension and high cholesterol levels could cut their risk by following the rules. Ideally, you would avoid the drugs used to treat or prevent heart problems, and their possible side effects, which include fatigue, dizziness, wheezing or shortness of breath, nausea, and changes in kidney function.  

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What you can do

To get specific, men in the study with the lowest risk:

• Didn’t smoke (accounting for more than a third of the risk reduction)
• Walked or cycled for at least 40 minutes per day
• Exercised at least one hour per week
• Had a waist circumference below 95 centimeters
• Consumed moderate amounts of alcohol
• Followed a healthy diet with a regular consumption of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, reduced-fat dairy products, whole grains, and fish.

As Tufts cardiologist Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, observed: “These healthful diets were neither extreme nor exceptional, but consistent with dietary guidelines. Of note, the observed benefits were related to higher intakes of more healthful foods, not lower intakes of unhealthy foods.” In other words, giving up your crunchy junk foods and fried chicken isn’t enough. It’s time to embrace salad, lentils, brown rice, and salmon.  If you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, you’ll need to steer your diet in the same direction. Diabetes is a risk factor for heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

Alan Taylor, MD, a cardiologist at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center in Texas, also notes that yoga has heart benefits. A review of the existing research found that when men with heart disease did yoga, their quality of life, triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, and body mass index also significantly improved, compared to men who did not participate.

“It is the relaxation and behavior modifications that benefit individuals,” Taylor said. It’s important to try to reduce stress and learn to calm your body when you’re under pressure.

Taylor is also a fan of routine physical exams. “Screening for heart disease includes routine blood pressure checks,” he said. “Similar to heart disease, blood pressure can also go unnoticed and untreated for years until it’s discovered during an exam or when it causes another problem with your health.”

Talk to your doctor

It’s important to talk with your doctor about your dietary habits, physical activity, and other risk factors, rather than just leave with the results of tests for blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels.

An ongoing dialogue with your doctor can help you learn how to minimize your risk of heart attack, give you motivation, and keep you honest with yourself. It can also prompt your doctor, conversely, to ask you questions about what you eat and how much you move.

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