Small daily habits that lower your risk of heart attack and stroke

You cannot feel fatty deposits building up inside your blood vessels, but you can take steps to prevent them. Cardiovascular diseases — disorders of the heart and blood vessels — are the leading cause of death globally. Yet the World Health Organization (WHO) notes that most of them can be prevented by addressing simple behavioural and environmental risks.

An estimated 19.8 million people died from cardiovascular diseases in 2022. Of these deaths, 85% were due to heart attack and stroke. The good news is that your daily choices play a major role in keeping those numbers down.

What daily habits protect my heart?

Stopping tobacco use, reducing salt in your diet, eating more fruit and vegetables, getting regular physical activity, and avoiding harmful alcohol use have all been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Air pollution is also an important environmental risk factor. While you cannot always control the air outside, supporting efforts to improve air quality matters for your heart.

These healthy behaviours help prevent "intermediate risk factors." These are measurable changes in your body, such as raised blood pressure, raised blood glucose, raised blood lipids (fats in the blood), and overweight or obesity.

How do I know if I am at risk?

Often, there are no symptoms of underlying blood vessel disease. A heart attack or stroke may be the first sign of trouble. That is why early detection is so important.

Intermediate risk factors can be measured in primary care facilities. Checking your blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood lipids regularly helps you and your doctor see if your risk is rising before an emergency happens. Poverty, stress, and hereditary factors also influence your risk. If you have conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, or high blood lipids, drug treatment is necessary to reduce your cardiovascular risk and prevent heart attacks and strokes.

When should I get emergency help?

If you notice warning signs, act immediately. Symptoms of a heart attack include pain or discomfort in the centre of the chest, arms, left shoulder, elbows, jaw, or back. You might also experience difficulty breathing, nausea or vomiting, light-headedness, a cold sweat, or turning pale. Women are more likely than men to experience shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and back or jaw pain during a heart attack.

The most common symptom of a stroke is sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body. Other signs include sudden confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech, trouble seeing with one or both eyes, dizziness, loss of balance, fainting, or a severe headache with no known cause.

Call 103 immediately if you or someone else experiences any of these symptoms. Do not wait to see if they pass.