Lifestyle Changes Could Help Prevent Coronary Artery Disease

Work with your physician to develop a healthy lifestyle that includes all of the following:

• Quit smoking: Smoking damages the artery walls and increases the heart's need for oxygen. Your physician can tell you about quit smoking programs and medicines that may help you quit.
• Exercise: Regular exercise is important. Walking  30 minutes daily helps with weight loss and can help you have less angina.  Regular exercise can help raise HDLs (the good cholesterol), lower triglycerides, lower blood pressure, improve blood sugar, and lower stress.
• Weight loss: The more over weight a person is, the harder the heart has to work. Loosing weight can help you have less angina as well as help lower your blood pressure.
• Take prescribed blood pressure medications: High blood pressure makes the heart work harder. Lowering your blood pressure will help you have less angina. Exercise and loosing weight may help lower your blood pressure.
• Lower your cholesterol: Lower cholesterol in your blood by eating a diet low in animal fat. Keep your weight down and regularly exercise. Talk to your doctor about cholesterol lowering medicines if necessary.  
• Control stress: Take a few minutes out of your schedule to relax every day. Get regular exercise. Sleep 6-8 hours every night.  Enjoy hobbies that bring you joy, such as reading, walking, visiting with family and friends, and gardening. Pray or meditate.  Learn time management. Learn to laugh. Don't sweat the small stuff.
• Share your feelings and concerns: Don’t be afraid to share your feelings and concerns with family members and friends. Let them help you. Angina is a life-changing disease for you and your family. Accepting that you have a heart problem is hard. Many people limit their daily activities to avoid having angina and then are upset because they cannot do more. You and those close to you may feel angry, sad, or frightened. These feelings are normal. Talk to your doctor about how things are at home. Your doctor can help your family better understand how to support a person with angina.
• Keep an angina log: Keeping a record helps you and your doctor know if your angina is changing. Your log should include when you have angina, what you were doing when it occurred, how long it lasted, and what you did to make it go away. Your log may also include a rating of how bad your angina was. Include any other symptoms you have with the angina.
  · Avoid angina triggers (anything that brings on your angina): Common triggers are high blood pressure, smoking, eating a large meal, exercise or physical activity, emotional stress and exposure to cold weather.
• Communicate with your physician: Ask your doctor what activities are okay for you to do. Tell your doctor if you have any changes in the frequency or type of angina you are having. Ask your doctor about sexual activity.
• You may want to join a support group:  This is a group of people who also have heart problems. Ask your doctor for the names of support groups in your town. You and your family may also want to learn CPR. A CPR class teaches how to help a person who is not breathing or has no heartbeat.