5 tips that will protect you from a heart attack

Simple tips, from getting enough sleep to knowing your family history, can help you improve your heart health. Did you know your heart beats about 100,000 times and pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood throughout the body each day? That's a hard-working muscle! Consider these healthy habits to keep your heart in top condition.

The leading cause of death in the world is heart disease, which can mostly be avoided by altering your lifestyle and reducing risk factors. Many younger celebrities, like Sidharth Shukla (40), Puneeth Rajkumar (46), singer KK (53), and now Sonali, have died from heart attacks. The 58-year-old comedian Raju Srivastava also recently had a heart attack while working out at a gym and is still in serious condition.

Here are 5 simple tips to modify your lifestyle and prevent a heart attack

smoking

Quit smoking

This is a prevalent factor among most persons who get heart attacks while they are younger. Stop using smokeless tobacco as well. Passive smoking must be avoided by nonsmokers. It's crucial to remember that quitting smoking, even if you've always smoked, greatly reduces your chance of having a heart attack. Therefore, cease as soon as you can.

Keep a check on BP and cholesterol

As early as age 18, begin routine blood pressure monitoring. Between the ages of 18 and 39, if you don't have high blood pressure, you can screen once a year and then on a regular basis. Before the age of 40, cholesterol screening should start. Start screening in your 40s if there is no family history of diabetes; if there is, start earlier.

Exercise regularly

This will aid in losing weight and reduce the likelihood of acquiring diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol that increase the risk of heart attacks. Make sure you work out for at least 150 minutes a week, or 75 minutes of intense activity. If you are unable to, don't give up hope. Take the stairs, clean your house, and engage in other little but effective actions to maintain a healthy heart.

Keep a check on your weight

Your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and bone problems may rise if you are overweight or obese. As you age, maintaining strength and a healthy weight may be possible if you eat sensibly and engage in regular physical activity to preserve your muscles and bones.

Eat balanced diet & sleep well

Eat fruits and vegetables. If you are non-vegetarian, have lean meat like fish and chicken.  Reduce your intake of alcohol, processed carbohydrates, and red meat. Make sure you get 7-8 hours of restful sleep every night. A healthy sleeper has a decreased risk of getting diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure.