Heart Disease Prevention: What You Can Do

In principle, all people can take steps to lower their risk for heart disease and heart attack.

Prevent and control high blood cholesterol
High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease. Preventing and treating high blood cholesterol includes eating a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol and high in fiber, keeping a healthy weight, and getting regular exercise. All adults should have their cholesterol levels checked once every five years. If yours is high, your doctor may prescribe medicines to help lower it. See our cholesterol fact sheet.

Prevent and control high blood pressure
Lifestyle actions such as healthy diet, regular physical activity, not smoking, and healthy weight will help you to keep normal blood pressure levels and all adults should have their blood pressure checked on a regular basis. Blood pressure is easily checked. If your blood pressure is high, you can work with your doctor to treat it and bring it down to the normal range. A high blood pressure can usually be controlled with lifestyle changes and with medicines when needed. See our high blood pressure fact sheet.

Prevent and control diabetes
People with diabetes have an increased risk of heart disease but can reduce their risk. Also, people can take steps to reduce their risk for diabetes in the first place, through weight loss and regular physical activity. For more information about diabetes, see CDC's diabetes program Web site.

No tobacco
Smoking increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Never smoking is one of the best things a person can do to lower their risk. And, quitting smoking will also help lower a person’s risk of heart disease. A person's risk of heart attack decreases soon after quitting. If you smoke, your doctor can suggest programs to help you quit smoking. For more information about tobacco use and quitting, see CDC's tobacco intervention and prevention source Web site.

Moderate alcohol use
Excessive alcohol use increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. People who drink should do so only in moderation and always responsibly. More information on alcohol can be found at CDC's alcohol and public health Web site.

Maintain a healthy weight
Healthy weight status in adults is usually assessed by using weight and height to compute a number called the "body mass index" (BMI). BMI usually indicates the amount of body fat. An adult who has a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese. Overweight is a BMI between 25 and 29.9. Normal weight is a BMI of 18 to 24.9. Proper diet and regular physical activity can help to maintain a healthy weight. You can compute your BMI at CDC's nutrition and physical activity program Web site.

Regular physical activity
Adults should engage in moderate level physical activities for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. For more information, see CDC's nutrition and physical activity program Web site.

Diet and nutrition
Along with healthy weight and regular physical activity, an overall healthy diet can help to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels and prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. This includes eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, lowering or cutting out added salt or sodium, and eating less saturated fat and cholesterol to lower these risks. For more information, see CDC's nutrition and physical activity program Web site.

Related Guidelines and Recommendations

The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure from the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute Web site.

Third Report of the Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) from the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute Web site.

Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Web site.

Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
This report brings together, for the first time, what has been learned about physical activity and health from decades of research.

Surgeon General's Reports Related to Tobacco Use
List of reports concerning smoking and health, including reports on tobacco use among ethnic groups and young people.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005
Dietary Guidelines for Americans is published jointly every 5 years by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
 

Page last reviewed: November 15, 2007
Page last modified: November 15, 2007

Content source: Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion