According to the British Heart Foundation, around 100,000 hospital admissions in the UK each year are because of heart attacks.
The serious medical emergency occurs when the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked.
There’s a number of health causes for a heart attack with coronary heart disease (CHD) being the leading one. It’s typically the assumption that heart attacks are more likely to occur in those who are older.
But, as the NHS lays out, your risk of developing CHD can be increased by smoking, a high-fat diet, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and being overweight or obese.
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Dr Evan Levine is a cardiologist and patient advocate and while he doses out plenty of advice on TikTok, he stresses for people to ‘always consult your doctor’.
He shared his ‘top 10 suggestions’ for people who ‘don’t want a heart attack before the age of 60’. And let’s be honest, none of us want that.
Number one
A relatively obvious one to kick things off, Levine says to ‘never smoke or ever try cocaine’.
In some cases, cocaine can cause heart attacks as the drug can cause immediate heart-related symptoms such as palpitations and increased heart rate.
Number two
“Avoid all those sugary drinks – especially soda,” the doctor advises.
Number three
And similarly, he also recommends trying ‘to avoid all fast-food restaurants’. That, of course, links back to the high cholesterol point. But it’s worth saying you don’t want to give up all your favourite things in my life just because it ‘might’ help avoid a possible heart attack. Just make sure you’re living a healthy lifestyle.
Number four
“Exercise at least 30 minutes a day,” the doctor says as he recommends doing both ‘cardio and resistance’ training to help your heart health.
Number five
This is a bit of an interesting one, as Levine recommends getting a ‘coronary artery calcium (CAC) scan’. Now let’s be honest, this probably isn’t something you’ll be able to easily get on the NHS.
He says that getting one ‘before the age of 40’ can help spot early signs of developing CHD.
Number six
One thing I’m sure we’d all benefit from, the doc says to ‘resolve or remove stress’. Whether that be at work or in your relationships, you should try and keep stress as low as possible. Oh and he also recommends listening to some ‘soft music’.
Number seven
Levine says you ‘really got to treat’ any other underlying factors you may have, such as ‘hypertension and diabetes’.
Number eight
The doctor then bluntly says to ‘lose weight’ – but obviously not unless you actually need to.
“If you have it in that central area, that central obesity associated with hypertension, elevated triglycerides, fatty liver, elevated lipids,” he adds.
Number nine
A bit of a damming statement here, Levine reckons you should avoid all recommendations about your heart from the ‘hundreds of media experts’ who have no health expertise or training. Basically, make sure your information is coming from doctors, experts and the likes of the NHS.
Number 10
“One glass of wine a day, maybe. But nothing more than that,” the doctor says.
The NHS recommends that men and women drink no more than 14 units of alcohol a week, spread out over at least three days.
Jess Battison