Few things are as frightening or as eye opening as having a heart attack. The event puts you face to face with the realization that you need to make some serious changes in your life. Diet, exercise and methods for coping with stress become paramount in your priorities. There are even some personality traits you may need to work on. It all starts with a plan.
Instructions
1. Exercise is essential to warding off a second heart attack. The heart is a muscle and it will grow stronger with exercise. Unless your doctor has instructed you otherwise, an hour a day of walking is excellent. Avoid running or high altitudes as this will put far more strain on your heart than it needs. Also, don't exercise after you eat for at least two hours.
2. Make better choices with your diet. Eat lots of veggies, some fruits and limit the meat you consume to chicken and turkey. Fish is also terrific for your health. You want to avoid fatty foods as they will clog up your arteries. Don't overeat as your weight needs to stay healthy in order for your heart not to overwork and become strained. Especially don't eat heavy meals at night. This is bad for your weight, digestion and sleep.
3. Avoid excessive alcohol. The American Heart Association recommends that men should have no more than two drinks and women no more than one drink a day. Higher amounts of alcohol can lead to higher incidences of high blood pressure, breast cancer and obesity. The incidence of alcoholism, suicide and death by accident is also much higher. The AHA now recommends that if people don't drink they would be better off not starting. (See the URL below for the whole article.)
4. Think about ways to slow down if you're a Type-A personality. Type-A individuals are perfectionists, greatly driven to succeed. Feeling a constant sense of urgency and obsessing over getting everything done on time and exactly right are also Type-A traits. These traits keep people in a state of high stress and even agitation which is fertile soil for second heart attacks to come out of. This is a hard lifestyle to change and many people need to seek professional help to make real headway.
5. Turn down stress with relaxation-producing activities. Take up Tai Chi, which is a gentle form of moving and breathing exercise that is relaxing and helps improve your body's health and strength. Also look into yoga, another great choice for reducing stress and getting into shape. There are also relaxation techniques that you can be taught. Biofeedback, creative visualization, self-hypnosis and listening to interactive relaxation tapes are all good choices. Think of taking up a relaxing hobby like drawing or photography, building birdhouses or taking care of roses, all of which are relaxing.
6. Manage your schedule to reduce frenzy. Don't take on so much in a day that you resort to rushing and running around in a panic. Make a to do list that includes time to eat properly, to exercise and to take care of yourself.
7. Stay in touch. People with time for friends and shared (no-stress) activities such as family barbecues or a day at the beach tend to stay more relaxed than those who have no time to play. Play is an essential ingredient of a healthy body and psyche, so don't think of it as frivolous but a necessary part of your life.
Tips Warnings
Learn the heart attack triggers: smoking, obesity, fatty foods, stress, lack of exercise, perfectionism and overindulging in alcohol. Now work on taking these things out of your life one day at a time.
Don't abuse alcohol. If you drink, limit your intake to two drinks per day for a man and one for a woman. If you don't drink, don't start.
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