Heart attacks and heart disease unfortunately are a sad fact of a life with our current state of health and affairs.  The numbers are on the rise, largely due to poor diet choices, as well as environmental toxins, and bad health habits.  Below are a few heart attack statistics and facts that should shed a bit of light on what’s really going on with our health.

Heart Attack Statistics and Facts:

There are about 500,000 deaths resulting from a heart attack in the U.S. each year.  That number is out of the nearly 1.5 million heart attacks that actually occur each year in the U.S.

Annually, more than 233,000 women die of some sort of cardiovascular disease.  Sudden death is much more common in women experiencing a heart attack.

About every 20 seconds, somewhere a heart attack occurs.  Some one dies from a heart attack every minute.

It’s been shown that almost 14 million people in America have a history of either heart attacks or angina.

How is this for a heart attack statistic-  50% of deaths that happen, happen within an hour of the heart attack, outside of the hospital.

For those that are lucky enough to survive long enough to reach a hospital, they have an early mortality rate of 6- 9%.

Common times that heart attacks occur have been shown to be early morning, when blood platelets are stickier, and also Monday morning.  Saturday morning comes in a close second.

Deaths from all types of cancer through out the U.S. are still half as common as the deaths triggered by cardiovascular disease.

These are just a few of the many heart attack statistics available.  Run a search through Google, and you are sure to find many more where that came from.  Those are some very scary numbers!

There are many things a person can do to prevent heart disease and reduce their risks: cardio workouts either on an electric treadmill or through an actual aerobic class can help, also, eating foods low in cholesterol and “bad” fats can also reduce one’s risk for heart disease.

A heart attack diet is an essential part of a cardiac rehabilitation program.  When carefully planned and thought out,  a heart attack diet and nutrition plan  can either prevent a heart attack if you have never had one and are at risk, or can prevent a re occurrence.  But what to eat?  Eating healthy foods, including whole foods is the absolute key, as well as a largely vegetarian diet of fresh veggies and fruit, as well as whole grains and some heart healthy nuts and seeds.
During the first week following a heart attack, it’s important to take it easy.  Your heart attack diet should include several mini meals, all of them low sodium.  Also avoid cold liquids.  Some veggies to try are asparagus and carrots.  Both are easy on the system, low in salt, and provide essential nutrients.

It is also important to include essential fatty acids in your heart attack diet plan.  Look for  unrefined, cold pressed nut and seed oils like flax seed oil.  You can mix it into any foods that doesn’t require heating, or use it as a salad dressing with vinegar.  The fatty acids help to keep your arteries clear by reducing blood cholesterol levels.

Another important component to a heart attack diet, is to stay away from saturated fats and trans fats.  Most red meats are high in saturated fats.  Also, avoid things like shortening, margarine, and processed foods.  Instead find your protein in things like beans, soy, and fish or chicken.

Other great foods to add to a heart attack diet are magnesium rich foods like tofu, broccoli, and spinach, as well as garlic.  Garlic has been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as lower blood pressure.

Also things like almonds and walnuts, cayenne pepper, sea veggies and sea kelp, as well as onions are great additions to a heart attack diet, to keep your body functioning at it’s optimum health level.  Just be consistent, and your health will improve!

Another key factor in preventing heart disease is not only watching your diet, but also adding exercise to your daily routine. This is often over looked, but it can help you take off excess pounds and give you more energy and motivation to eat better. If you eat right and exercise, you surely will lose weight fast, really faster than you ever realized, and in return, will reduce your risk for heart disease. Diet AND exercise matters!

What Exactly Causes Heart Disease?

What exactly causes heart disease, and what can you do to prevent it?  This is a question many of you may be wondering about, and it is a very important one, as heart disease is the leading cause of death in the nation.

Heart disease can be caused by a number of things, including things that are beyond your control, such as congenital heart defects that you are born with.  Other times, what causes heart disease are factors and conditions that you have completely control over, it just involves you making some hard choices. Read more »

If you are worried about your risk of having a heart attack, then you definitely should be a getting heart disease screening.  Especially if you have a risky family history of heart disease and health issues. Even if you don’t though, with current lifestyles as they are you should still be getting a regular heart disease screening.

Generally, in patients over 40 who are healthy, you can obtain either an ECG or and EKG every 2-5 years or so.  Get one more often of you are older than forty, or if you have new or preexisting coronary artery disease risk factors.  This is mainly done to get a base idea of what is normal for your heart, to be better able to tell when something is abnormal. Read more »

Cardiac diseases refers to a myriad of conditions and diseases that can contribute to or cause heart attacks or heart failure.  It involves a class of diseases that in actuality refer to the arterial system, as these disease affect both the heart and your veins and arteries.

Here is a quick over view of the types of cardiac diseases people are suffering from today, and the risks that they imply. Read more »

Welcome to part 3 of the how to prevent a heart attack series.  I hope that you have been doing your homework and working to incorporate some changes into your life style, to help your health!  If you haven’t, tsk tsk, better get started! It’s your life we are talking about here!

This article will cover the final tips in your education on how to prevent a heart attack.  First of all, if you have related heart conditions, treat them already!  Take your medications, follow your doctor’s orders, and take care of your health. Read more »

Welcome to part 2 in the 3 part series on how to prevent a heart attack.  This article will cover a few more key methods in saving your health and your heart.

First of all, exercise, exercise, exercise!  Did I mention exercise?  Your heart is a muscle, and just like any other muscle, it needs regular activity to stay healthy, strong, and pumped full of live giving oxygen.  Think about it.  What happens to your body and muscles when you don’t exercise them properly?  They become stiff, and weak. Read more »

There are several steps that you can take in your endeavor for good health.  Learning how to prevent a heart attack is a very good one.  Heart disease is a leading cause of death in both men and women alike.  So it makes sense for you to educate yourself and take the necessary actions to protect your health today, rather than waiting until it is too late. Read more »