Any Other Ways to Help Prevent Heart Attacks Besides Doing Cardio?

[Frank2500]

Folks, I was wondering if you guys might have some suggestions about any alternative ways that could be helpful in terms of preventing heart attacks besides doing cardio? I haven't done cardion now for almost three weeks because I feel as if I've lost quite some weight and I'm trying to regain a lot more of the muscle mass that I may have lost. Also, I seem to have one of those bodies that naturally tend to lose muscle pretty easily and quickly after cardio. Do any of you honestly think for instance, that keeping to a regular meal of heart-healthy foods such as oatmeal and almonds, tuna and fish in general, occasionally eating dark chocolate, etc., would be enough to prevent heart disease? I always get concerned when I feel as if my heart isn't beating as fast as it normally would or pumping fast enough, just like I do at the moment.

I do a lot of walking six days a week, but I wonder if that is enough to help prevent heart disease. Not having a car and having to commute via long distances through public transportation has resulted in me walking a lot more. My routine on a given day in terms of walking, often consists of something like this:

Monday: Walk from our house to the train station: At least 18 mins
From the train station to an education center where I currently put in several hours a week: At least 9-10 minutes
On my way back home, the walk from the train station to our house: 18 mins.


Tuesday: Walk from home to the train station: 18 mins

Walk from train station to education center: 9-10 minutes

4pm Tuesday, Walk from education center to subway station: 20-24 mins
From subway station to another train station to catch a bus to my gym: At least another 20-22 mins
Hop on the bus

From bus stop to gym: About 18 mins
At the gym, I workout.

Then I follow the same routine walking from the gym to the bus stop, hopping on the bus, getting off at that train station, boarding a train back to my neighborhood and then walking back home

I doubt if that is enough exercise for one's heart, but I was just curious.

 

[spesmilitis]

lots of things, first things to come to mind

avoid poly-6-unsats,
eat foods rich in omega-3's, take fish oil
avoid refined carbs
fruit and veggies, they are known to affect cholesterol levels (look up cholesterol and fruit or veggies on google)
avoid processed/refined foods.

 

[Frank2500]

Re:

Thanks, Spesmilitis. Could you please give me some ideas of foods that contain the poly unsaturated fats that folks should avoid ? (I hope I listed the term right) and also, what are refined carbs? Would that be stuff like rice and pasta? I always wondered how effective Omega 3 foods can be for your heart's health if you don't supplement their effectiveness with doing cardio.

 

[spesmilitis]

Natural poly-6's are great, and are needed by the body. Never worry about poly-6's from fruit and veggies. However, vegetable oils contain way too much and throw off the omega-6 to 3 ratio. Always cook with saturated fats (coconut oil or butter) or monosaturated fats (olive oil, saffola oil). Avoid eating out, esp fast/fried foods. They always use vegetable oil.

Regular pasta isn't that great. Organic whole wheat pasta is better, but it still may not be ideal, depending on one's carb tolerance. Even if something is whole grain, look at the ingredients. If it says "high fructose corn syrup" avoid it.

I don't know a whole lot about rice, but some rices are definably better than others. There are some that should be avoided, look it up.

Besides fruits and veggies, the best carb source you can get is probably sweet potatoes. Whole grains may be great compared to refined carbs, but sweet potatoes are great compared to whole grains in my opinion.

Omega-3 foods and fish oils are still really great even if you don't to cardio.

Now, other things that I remembered that are good for the heart:
-Consume a lot of fresh extra virgin olive oil. Monosaturated fats are awesome for your blood cholesterol. Some people take shots of that stuff.
-avoid cereals. I coved this one with 'avoid processed/refined foods'. But there is this notion that cereals are a health food. You should avoid all cereals, even cheerios.
-Eat organic foods whenever possible. Try to get cage-free eggs and grass fed meats.
-I think adding strength training along with cardio would be beneficial, but I don't know how it would affect heart attack chances.

 

[Potbelly]

Saturated fats are bad for you. Trans fats are even worse. Stick to the olive oil and leave the coconut at home. Coconut tastes GREAT, but it's probably one of the worst oils you can consume. Look up the lipid composition of coconut oil.

 

[Quiksilver]

How are saturated fats bad for us, Potbelly?

 

[spesmilitis]

Oh yeah, trans fats are horrible. Defiantly avoid them. Also, I forgot mention: avoid sodium, nitrates, preservatives.

Saturated fats are not bad for you. Its been in our diet throughout our evolution. Everything else I mentioned has not, or at least not in the amounts that are consumed today.

Also, I forgot to see the question you put at the bottom:
All that walking is great, but yeah, you should try to raise your heart rate more.

 

[Throttle]

how to prevent heart attacks:

- keep your bodyfat down as far as is practical, aiming for a small waist (a big waist due to frigging huge obliques is a different story)

i have come to the conclusion that this is the only reliable predictor of coronary heart disease, because it is the only reliable predictor of accumulated arterial plaque.

there is no clinical evidence supporting the lipid hypothesis (which says that consuming saturated fat clogs arteries which then causes heart attacks). Potbelly, you need to read up on this subject, i can give you some places to start if you like.

anything else is at this point sheer speculation, if you're looking for clinical evidence linked to mortality. the only other steps i take are to keep my omega-3 & 6 consumption in balance (which seems to help fight bodyfat) and to enjoy antioxidant rich versions of indulgences when i indulge (red wines, dark beers, dark chocolate and dark berries). avoiding highly refined foods just tastes better, so it's little sacrifice and, hell, it might just pay health dividends.

i don't think that walking like that is going to strengthen your heart, but it might reduce stress & restore some of your humanity. but again, i find no clinical evidence that exercising your heart reduces your chance of heart disease, apart from any effects it has on your bodyfat.

if anything exerting yourself increases the possibility of a tragic dropping dead of a heart attack in the present moment. can it help stave off a future tragic dropping dead when you over-exert yourself in the future? we're back in the realm of idle speculation...

 

[CGE333]

take an asprin a day. this is supposed to help prevent them

 

[Evzone]

take an asprin a day. this is supposed to help prevent them

Low dosage aspirin, like the 81mg type. A full aspirin isn't necessary and you don't want to over-medicate.

 

[spesmilitis]

As for the obese thing, I think being a few pounds overweight won't hurt anything. I came to this conclusion after seeing many top athletes in MMA/Wrestling having awesome conditioning but still looking 'fat'. I concluded that not all people were meant to have really low body fat levels.

This new study seems to confirm my assertions:
"A startling new study by medical researchers in the United States has caused consternation among public health professionals by suggesting that, contrary to conventional wisdom, being overweight might actually be beneficial for health."

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/health/article3138509.ece

I do admit, its about 5 years too early before I can have a whole lot of confidence in my theory.

 

[Rudra]

Start eating buckwheat. It´s a traditional breakfast in Russia (and I hear in China) and it is pretty cheap. It´s not really wheat (the name is misleading), botanically it´s close to rhubarb. Russians eat tons of the stuff. It´s great because
a) it´s gluten free and
b) much more importantly - it contains a fairly high level of rutin (a flavonoid), which is the same stuff as in red wine, that makes it great for your capillary system. It is even used as a cure agains capillary diseases.

Check it out - I think it´s a terrific addition to anybody´s nutrition plan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckwheat
especially http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckwheat#Medicinal_uses

and of course keep close watch of your blood pressure and take appropriate medication, if it is too high.
For some years now, there has been awesome medication on the market (angiotensin II receptor antagonists, ACE inhibitors) that have hardly any side effects at all and are much safer than beta blockers, the med of choice up until some years ago.

 

[penkitten]

what you eat, drink and smoke also have tons to do with heart attacks

 

[Mr.Positive]

Start eating buckwheat. It´s a traditional breakfast in Russia (and I hear in China) and it is pretty cheap. It´s not really wheat (the name is misleading), botanically it´s close to rhubarb. Russians eat tons of the stuff. It´s great because
a) it´s gluten free and
b) much more importantly - it contains a fairly high level of rutin (a flavonoid), which is the same stuff as in red wine, that makes it great for your capillary system. It is even used as a cure agains capillary diseases.

Check it out - I think it´s a terrific addition to anybody´s nutrition plan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckwheat
especially http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckwheat#Medicinal_uses

and of course keep close watch of your blood pressure and take appropriate medication, if it is too high.
For some years now, there has been awesome medication on the market (angiotensin II receptor antagonists, ACE inhibitors) that have hardly any side effects at all and are much safer than beta blockers, the med of choice up until some years ago.

Interesting Rudra, how do you all eat buckwheat over there? It seems you can make porridge, buckwheat pancakes, noodles, etc.

Buckwheat is also said to lower cholesterol levels, which greatly affect heart health.

 

[Rudra]

Interesting Rudra, how do you all eat buckwheat over there? It seems you can make porridge, buckwheat pancakes, noodles, etc.

Buckwheat is also said to lower cholesterol levels, which greatly affect heart health.

It is cooked and served with a sauce. They call it kasha here which means porridge. As buckwheat porridge doesn´t have a distinct flavor of it´s own, it tastes like whatever you want it to taste - the sauce does it all. Like rice.
Here´s how it looks like
http://bluekitchen.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/kasha_bowl2.jpg

Yes, there is research being done about buckwheat and cholesterol levels as well as about the possible positive effects on diabetes. Check out the wikipedia link for details or google the stuff

 

[mrRuckus]

I concluded that not all people were meant to have really low body fat levels.

I think the fact that being in shape counts as "low body fat levels" is really sad. More like IDEAL body fat levels.


I like Poliquin's quote/paraphrase of "If over 10% body fat for a man, or over 15-20% for a woman, you are fat."

 

[Heart Break Kid]

Green tea (get the leaves not bags!)
Extra virgin olive oil

I'm no expert at this but if you're a strong swimmer why not swim? Good cardio, excellent for the heart, and swimmers seem to keep muscle mass much easier than long distance runners.

 

[Rudra]

Extra virgin olive oil

Definitely! Apart from the superbe taste of a real good olive oil, it has a clear protective effect on the vascular system. It is not yet clear if this is caused by the polyphenolic acids in extra virgin olive oil or simply by the oleic acid.

Only real drawback - unless you know the farmer producing your olive oil yourself, you never know what is in the bottle. Consumer tests have shown time and again that your expensive "extra virgin olive oil" may very easily be just cheap bottled shyt. So you have to choose your source carefully. I get my olive oil from Ebay, the guy selling it gets it directly from his uncle on Crete/Greece.

 

[Improver21]

low dose asprin.

although this is with the assumption that you have no stomach ulcers/ blood type abnormalities as its a fact that even at a low dose, asprin will effect ur blood clotting.

if you do lots of vigourous contact exercise just beware and be aware.

consult ur GP. in aussie the GP is a free service, i dont know about where u live though.

check out this article: http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band86/b86-2.html
its a meta analysis (read analysis of a number of studies) on about >25,000 people and the effects, both positive and negative, of asprin.

 

[Master Bates]

Definitely! Apart from the superbe taste of a real good olive oil, it has a clear protective effect on the vascular system. It is not yet clear if this is caused by the polyphenolic acids in extra virgin olive oil or simply by the oleic acid.

Only real drawback - unless you know the farmer producing your olive oil yourself, you never know what is in the bottle. Consumer tests have shown time and again that your expensive "extra virgin olive oil" may very easily be just cheap bottled shyt. So you have to choose your source carefully. I get my olive oil from Ebay, the guy selling it gets it directly from his uncle on Crete/Greece.

I didn't know that. Any particular brands that should be avoided?