- Get a flu shot tomorrow. This injection cuts your risk for a heart attack by 19% -- even more if you get yours between September and early November. Why? The risk of heart attack rises when people develop inflammation from any cause, and the leading cause in winter is respiratory infections, which easily spin off from flu. Fewer infections of any kind mean safer hearts.
- Bundle up when the thermometer drops. From crisp days to bone-chilling nights, drops in temperature in fall and winter increase heart attack risk. In one British study, every 1.8-degree drop led to a 2% rise in heart problems. Although cold weather may encourage blood clots to form, people who took low-dose aspirin to cut clot risk were less affected. If you have heart disease or are a guy over 35 or a woman over 40, ask your doctor whether you should take aspirin. And by all means, stay warm and cozy . . . pull out the fuzzy socks, the fleece jacket, and the winter blankets.
- Find your happy place. Bet this factoid will startle you: Depression can be worse for your heart than high LDL cholesterol or smoking! The combo of heart disease and depression almost quadruples your mortality rate. Since it's clear that permanently blue moods can be as risky for your heart as texting while driving, what frustrates us is that too many experts are still arguing about whether antidepressants or talk therapy is better . . . without prescribing the only solution proved to help both treatments: lacing up your walking shoes and moving it.
- Evaluate yourself -- nobody knows YOU better: If, in the last 2 weeks, you have constantly felt down or hopeless or had little pleasure in doing things that normally delight you, talk to your doc. Factors and symptoms may include inflammation, stress, medications, or simply not feeling up to the day-to-day challenge of eating right. Antidepressants can help the emotional angle but may not erase the added heart risks. What does? Physical activity. In one big study of heart attack survivors, people who worked out more not only felt better but also were twice as likely to be alive 3 years later. Twice as likely! If you've already had a heart attack or heart surgery, sign up for cardiac-rehab classes. They're proven to lift depression and lengthen your life.
- Aim for optimism. This is for you "Type D" personalities out there -- you know, people who are not so much seriously depressed as kind of distressed (what the D is for) and view the world through half-empty glasses. (Think of Eeyore inWinnie the Pooh.) If that's you, know that this kind of low-level, on-going gloominess triples your chances for a "heart event" (a heart attack, a bypass, even clogged leg arteries). You need to cultivate your sunny side by pursuing interests you love and connecting more with friends and family. If that's not enough to make your glass look half full, get some counseling.
- Turn in at 10. You've probably heard that skimping on sleep raises your risk of type 2 diabetes. But trading in ZZZs to catch the late movie, finish that report, or solve the latest Grisham thriller also triples your risk for biochemistry shifts that encourage heart disease. What's more, shorting yourself on sleep hurts your heart by encouraging you to overeat (even before Thanksgiving) and throwing off your body's sensitivity to insulin (yup, it affects your heart and arteries, too, not just your danger of diabetes). Sliding into bed earlier and avoiding sleep-stoppers like afternoon caffeine, before-bed stress (paying bills, working), and a too-warm or too-bright bedroom might be all you -- and your heart -- need for a longer, happier life.
Article can be found at: http://www.realage.com/heart-disease/save-your-heart-prevent-heart-disease