How to Cut Women’s Heart Attack Chances

Mission Possible
Dr. Aagneta Akesson, PhD, MPH with her team of researchers in Sweden studied postmenopausal women in 1997 to evaluate their chances of heart attack depending on their diet and lifestyle. She says “how much YOU can — based on your own motivation — decrease your risk of [heart attack] by the different healthy lifestyle factors and in particular by the combined healthy diet and lifestyle”. Akesson’s research found out five ways to cut down the chances of women’s heart attack. The new studies show that up to 92% risk of heart attack reduces with five healthy habits:

· Take lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and pulses.
· Drink modicum dose of alcohol.
· Keep your waist leaner than your hips.
· Walk for 40 minutes daily and take weekly exercise.
· And no smoking.

Dr.Agneta Akesson claims “The five healthy diet and lifestyle factors are not impossible to follow,” and says further “It is up to ourselves what we choose to follow”. Dr.Agneta Akesson works in the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden with nutritional epidemiology division.
Heart Attacks in Women can be prevented

The research team of Dr. Akesson conducted studies on more than 24000 women who were in their postmenopausal period. Usually postmenopausal women are more vulnerable to heart attacks. During 1997 all these women reported their lifestyle including their diet and exercise. All of them were healthy free from cancer, type 2 diabetes or any sort of heart disease. The research team kept track on them for six years. During that period of time 51 women had heart attacks and died. Another 257 women survived heart attacks. It is observed women with all the above stated five heart-friendly habits were 92% less likely to have heart attack compared to those who had none of them.

Unfortunately it is found only five percent of women had all the five healthy habits. The study observed if all of them had all those habits, the heart attacks could be cut down by 75%.

Step by Step

However it is observed that every heart-healthy habit prevents the risk of heart attack. Women who drank less and ate healthy diet had 57% less chances of heart attack. More the heart-healthy habits results in reducing the risk of heart attacks.

Women, who did not smoke and had a healthy waist to hip ratio besides aforesaid healthy habits, were 92% less likely to have heart attack.

How Exercise Cuts Down the Risk of Heart Attack

Another research shows how exercise cuts down the risk of heart attacks in women. Daily physical exercise or activity prevents heart attacks and other problems in three different ways.
· By chemicals in blood causing inflammation, clotting and blood vessel functions.
· While keeping blood pressure within limits.
· And enhancing healthy cholesterol levels

The study was conducted on 27000 healthy women above 45 years of age for 11 years. The research team was headed by Dr.Samia Mora, MD,MHS of Harvard Medical School and Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The study appeared on online journal Circulation.