Coronary Artery Disease

You can slow or even prevent coronary artery disease by taking steps towards a Reference heart healthy lifestyle. Many people already have. More people are adopting healthy habits such as eating right, exercising more, and not smoking. Doing these things can also help reduce risk factors such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Lifestyle changes

• Reference Quit smoking. Avoid secondhand smoke too. Quitting smoking may be the best thing you can do to prevent heart disease. Smokers who quit cut their risk of heart disease by half after 1 year. You can cut your risk even more by staying away from cigarettes for good. After 15 years of not smoking, your risk of death from heart disease is the same as if you had never smoked at all.^{Reference 2}

  Reference Interactive Tool: How Does Smoking Increase Your Risk of Heart Attack? Reference

  Reference Interactive Tool: Are You Ready to Quit Smoking? Reference

• Exercise. There are lots of ways that exercise boosts your health. It can improve cholesterol and blood pressure. It can also help you reach a healthy weight. Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes on most, if not all, days of the week. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program.

  Reference Fitness: Getting and Staying Active

• Eat a heart-healthy diet. The way you eat can help you Reference control your cholesterol and blood pressure. It can be hard to know what's best to eat for a healthy heart. Remember that some foods you may hear about are just Reference fads that don't prevent heart disease at all.

  Reference Reference Heart Disease: Eating a Heart-Healthy Diet

  Comparing Heart-Healthy Diets (What is a Reference PDF Opens New Window document?)

• Maintain a healthy weight. Being active and eating healthy can help you stay at a healthy weight or lose weight if you need to.

  Reference Weight Management

Medicines

Control your cholesterol and blood pressure

To reduce your risk of heart disease, it's important to control your cholesterol and manage your blood pressure. Quitting smoking, changing the way you eat, and getting more exercise can help. But if these things don't work, you may need to take medicines as well.

Opens New Window High Cholesterol: Should I Take Statins? Opens New Window

Opens New Window High Blood Pressure: Should I Take Medicine? Opens New Window

Use aspirin to prevent heart attack and stroke

If you're already at risk for heart disease, taking daily Reference aspirin may reduce your chances of having a stroke or a heart attack. That's because a daily aspirin lowers your risk of getting blood clots. Blood clots can lead to a heart attack in people with heart disease. Clots can also cause heart attacks in people who have other problems that can lead to heart disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

Taking aspirin has some risks. Talk with your doctor before starting aspirin treatment.

Opens New Window Aspirin: Should I Take Daily Aspirin to Prevent a Heart Attack or Stroke? Opens New Window

Stress and depression

• Manage stress. Stress can Reference hurt your heart. Keep stress low by talking about your problems and feelings, rather than keeping your feelings hidden. Try different Reference ways to reduce stress such as exercise, deep breathing, meditation, or yoga.
• Reference Get help for depression. Getting treatment for depression can help you stay healthy.

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This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Reference Terms of Use. Reference How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.