Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffCertain types of heart disease, such as heart defects, can't be prevented. However, you can help prevent many other types of heart disease by making the same lifestyle changes that can improve your heart disease, such as:
- Quit smoking
- Control other health conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week
- Eat a diet that's low in salt and saturated fat
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Reduce and manage stress
- Practice good hygiene
References
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- How the heart works. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hhw/hhw_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Arrhythmia. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/arr/arr_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Cardiomyopathy. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cm/cm_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Heart valves. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4598. Accessed Nov. 15, 2010.
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- Endocarditis. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/endo/endo_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
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- Lloyd-Jones D, et al. Heart disease and stroke statistics: 2009 update. Circulation. 2009;119:e21.
- Chobanian AV, et al. The seventh report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. New England Journal of Medicine. 2003;289:2560.
- Rosendorff C, et al. Treatment of hypertension in the prevention and management of ischemic heart disease: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research and the Councils on Clinical Cardiology and Epidemiology and Prevention. Circulation. 2007;115:2761.
- Executive summary of the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/cholesterol/atp3xsum.pdf. Accessed Nov. 15, 2010.
- Common tests for congenital heart defects. American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/CongenitalHeartDefects/SymptomsDiagnosisofCongenitalHeartDefects/Common-Tests-for-Congenital-Heart-Defects_UCM_307412_Article.jsp. Accessed Nov. 12, 2010.
- Electrocardiogram. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ekg/ekg_all.html. Accessed Nov. 9, 2010.
- Davis MM, et al. Influenza vaccination as secondary prevention for cardiovascular disease: A science advisory from the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology. Circulation. 2006;114:1549.
- Cardiac rehabilitation. National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/rehab/rehab_all.html. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Aucott L, et al. Long term weight loss from lifestyle intervention benefits blood pressure: A systematic review. Hypertension. 2009;54:756.
- Friedewald VE, et al. The American Journal of Cardiology and Journal of Periodontology editors' consensus: Periodontitis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Journal of Periodontology. 2009;80:1021.
- Natural medicines in the clinical management of hyperlipidemia. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.
- Natural medicines in the clinical management of hypertension. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Nov. 5, 2010.

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