Do You Know About These 8 Surprising Heart Attack Triggers?

• A family history of cardiovascular events
• Diabetes
• Stress
• Lack of exercise
• Smoking
• Excessive drinking
• Uncontrolled high blood pressure and high cholesterol

1. Air Pollution

Protect Your Heart:

• Check the Air Quality Index to see when pollution is high: When air quality is bad in your area, minimize your time outside.
• Take B Vitamins: A Columbia University study shows that this vitamin can reverse the detrimental effect of air pollution on the heart.
• Reduce your time stuck in traffic: Instead, you can try taking the scenic route to avoid tie-ups.

2. Anxiety, Depression, Stress and Rage

Protect Your Heart:

• Seek help: Look for a trained, accredited psychotherapist who can help you develop coping strategies. If necessary, they may prescribe medication.
• Practice mindfulness and meditation: A statement published in the Journal of the American Heart Association reported that meditation may reduce your risk of a heart attack. (Search “guided meditation” on YouTube to get started.)
• Reduce your stressors: If you are feeling overwhelmed by life, divide your responsibilities up by what you must do, what you want to do and what you should do but’s it’s not that important. Get rid of the third one! Then ask yourself what chores you can delegate to someone else.
• Exercise: No, you don’t have to become a gym rat, but get your body moving in a way that sparks joy. Whether it’s a daily walk, yoga session or bike ride, find what feels good to you. The Mayo Clinic recommends 75 minutes a week of aerobics. They also suggest doing strength training for all muscle groups twice a week for around 12 to 15 repetitions.

3. Skipping Your Flu Shot

Protect Your Heart:

• Wear a mask
• Stay six feet apart when you are out in public
• Wash your hands frequently

4. Migraines

Protect Your Heart:

• Alcohol
• Stress
• Bright light
• Strong smells
• Sleep disruption
• A change in barometric pressure
• Food additives such as monosodium glutamate (MSG)

5. Sleeping Too Little – or Too Much

Protect Your Heart:

For Short Sleepers:

• Establish a firm bedtime routine and stick to it.
• Make your bedroom a sanctuary—banish all technology that might tempt you to stay up.
• Don’t use any lighted technology for the hour before bedtime.
• Don’t drink alcohol in the hours leading up to sleep. Contrary to popular belief, it actually disrupts sleep and causes shorter sleep cycles.
• Intense exercise right before sleep will just jazz up your system. If you must, gentle yoga stretches can actually promote sleep.

For Long Sleepers:

• Stick to a strict sleeping schedule, even on weekends.
• Use a natural light alarm clock. These emit a glow that gets stronger, mimicking the rising sun, which signals to your circadian rhythm that it is time to get going. Some also include gentle wake-up sounds.
• Check your medications with your prescribing doctors. Some can be very sedating. (Never stop a prescribed drug without first talking with your physician.)
• If you find that despite all this, you still feel exhausted, see a doctor. There may be an underlying medical reason you’ve lost your get up and go, such as obstructive sleep apnea (when you stop breathing for a moment while sleeping). This in itself is a risk factor for heart attack.

6. Gum Disease

Protect Your Heart:

• Prevent gum disease: Brush your teeth (and tongue) after meals, floss, rinse with mouthwash and see a dentist or periodontist regularly.
• Know your risk: Smoking, age, diet and genetics can all increase your chances. Talk with your dentist or periodontist about how to minimize them.
• See your dentist at the first signs of gum infection: If your gums are swollen, bright red, tender to the touch, bleed easily, pull away from your teeth or if your teeth feel loose or crooked, they could be infected according to the Mayo Clinic.

7. Cold Weather

Protect Your Heart:

• Dress warmly in layered clothing: This helps trap the heat inside. Don’t forget a hat and gloves.
• Wrap a scarf wrapped loosely around your mouth and nose: This allows you to breathe in warmer air.
• Wear waterproof boots or shoes: This way if you step in a puddle, you won’t have freezing toes or feet after.
• Use hand warmers and toe warmers: Slip them into your gloves and boots to stay warm in extra cold conditions. You can get disposable or battery-operated ones.
• Stay hydrated: Bring along a thermos of something hot – cocoa, coffee or tea, for example.
• Take breaks inside: If you feel yourself getting uncomfortable (shivering, feeling numb, tingling or stinging), go inside and warm up.

8. Rich Meals

Protect Your Heart:

• Snack satisfying: Try having more high-protein snacks throughout your day, such as yogurt, nuts, edamame or veggies and hummus, so you will be satisfied and properly fueled before heading into dinner.
• Balance your plate: When looking at the spread of appetizers, try to diversify your plate. Instead of loading up on one specific thing that may not be the most healthy, instead ask yourself, “What can I add to my plate to make it more satisfying and nutritious?”
• Pace yourself: We tend to get excited at big meals and eat really quickly. When that happens, your body doesn’t even get time to register that it’s full. Listen to your body, and be mindful of when you are eating, how it is making your body feel and when you feel satisfied.

Live Heart Healthy