Knowing what causes heart disease and how you can prevent it can help you live a longer, healthier life. Take this quiz to find out more about reducing your risk for heart disease.
1. There's nothing you can do to prevent heart disease.
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Healthy adults can reduce their risk for heart disease and a heart attack by maintaining a healthy weight (a body mass index of less than 25), getting enough exercise (40 minutes on average 3 to 4 times a week), having regular medical checkups, taking prescribed medications, and adopting healthy habits (not smoking, no excessive alcohol, controlling stress).
2. Smokers are more likely to have heart disease than nonsmokers.
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Smokers who smoke 1 pack per day are more than twice as likely as nonsmokers to have a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).
3. Some risk factors for heart disease can't be changed.
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They include gender (men have a higher risk of early heart attack), age (your risk of heart attack increases as you get older), and family (you have an increased risk if your father or mother had heart disease).
4. You have to exercise at least 1 hour a day to reduce your risk of heart disease.
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Just 40 minutes on average of moderate- to high-intensity physical activity 3 to 4 times a week can help you reduce your risk. Good choices are walking, cycling, and swimming.
5. Drinking 3 to 4 alcoholic drinks each day can reduce your risk of heart disease.
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A glass or 2 of alcohol daily may decrease your risk for heart disease, but the risk grows if you have more. Men should not have more than 2 drinks a day; women, 1 a day.
6. High blood pressure can put your heart at risk.
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Your heart must work harder than normal when your blood pressure is high. When this occurs for an extended time, the heart can enlarge and arteries can become scarred and hardened.
7. An average of 100,000 Americans die from heart disease every year.
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The correct number is more than 500,000, according to the AHA.
8. Someone who has had a heart attack is at increased risk of having another.
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Men and women who survive a first heart attack are at increased risk of having another heart attack in the next 6 years.
9. You can't exercise if you have heart disease.
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Moderate exercise approved by your doctor plays an important role in controlling the disease.
10. Being overweight increases your risk for heart disease.
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Your risk increases if you're overweight.
11. Young women have the same risk for heart disease as young men.
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Estrogen provides younger women some protection against heart disease, but that protection is lost after menopause, when women have roughly the same risk as men.
12. Emotions don't affect your risk for heart disease.
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Research shows a link between heart disease and high levels of stress and hostility.
13. Your diet doesn't affect your risk for heart disease.
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The food you eat has a direct impact on 3 major risk factors for heart disease: weight, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol.
14. No tests can diagnose coronary heart disease.
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A treadmill test (or exercise stress test) can help diagnose atherosclerosis, or the narrowing of the heart's arteries.