Tag Archives: heart attack

So, you’re royally ticked off!

23 Friday Aug 2019

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Which is healthier for your heart: To suppress your feelings, or let ‘em rip? It’s a trick question – neither of those options is good for your heart.

If you lay into someone, scream and let your anger out, it raises your risk of a heart attack or stroke for the next 2 hours.

But suppressing anger isn’t a good way to go either. Over time, keeping your feelings bottled up can wear your body down, leading to high blood pressure, depression, and heart disease.

So what should you do when you’re majorly mad? Take a “time out” to manage your anger. Take at least 10 slow, deep breaths to reduce your stress hormones, heart rate, and blood pressure. Psychiatry professor Dr. Charles Raison from the University of Arizona says that’s enough to offset the adrenaline response, so you can share your negative feelings without blowing up at someone or doing your own body any harm.

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Stuck in traffic? Keep the air running!

30 Thursday May 2019

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If you’re stuck in traffic, keep your car’s A/C running. It could protect your heart! Researchers found when drivers kept the air on during a two-hour commute, they had a 32% increase in heart-rate variability, which is a measure of cardiovascular health. That’s compared to people who kept their windows rolled down instead. The reason? Because the A/C filters out exhaust particles spewing from the cars around you. Those pollutants trigger inflammation in the body, and it’s why being in heavy traffic triples your risk of heart attack within one hour.

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Don’t get mad. Here’s why!

09 Thursday May 2019

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Being angry can increase your odds of having a heart attack up to 14-fold for up to two hours after an argument. And studies show that people who can’t control their temper are more prone to thickened arteries, which can be an early sign of heart disease and stroke risk. That’s why Duke University researchers say control your temper and you could control your heart.

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To reduce your risk of a heart attack:

22 Friday Feb 2019

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Shake up your work schedule, and take a random day off now and then. Research shows taking an occasional “mental health day” relieves stress, and lowers blood pressure – both of which lower your risk for a heart attack. Plus, it reboots the brain, reduces your risk for job burnout – and allows you to come back feeling more creative and productive. But make it a “real” day off by doing something you don’t normally do… like, treating yourself to a movie, visiting a friend in another town, or taking a new hike on a different trail.

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Drink tea – for your health!

28 Monday Jan 2019

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Whether it’s black or green, a daily cup of tea may help you to live longer. The reason? Because it soothes your heart. Research from Johns Hopkins found that people who drink between 1 and 3 cups of tea a day have less calcium buildup in their arteries… which makes them 35% LESS likely to have a heart attack or stroke than those who DON’T drink tea.

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Want to boost your heart health?

31 Monday Dec 2018

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Eat some fruit – fresh AND dried – every day. British researchers found eating one cup of fresh fruit, like an apple – and a‑third of a cup of dried fruit, like raisins or dried apricots, can reduce your risk of heart attack by 40%. It’s down to the plant compounds they contain called polyphenols, which heal and strengthen blood vessel walls, and prevent the buildup of artery-clogging plaque. The recommended amount again: One cup of fresh fruit – and a‑third of a cup of dried fruit.

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There’s a delicious way to drastically reduce your risk of having a heart attack:

18 Tuesday Dec 2018

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Eat more strawberries and blueberries! Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health studied nearly 100‑thousand women under age 40. The result: Those who ate at least 3 servings a week of strawberries or blueberries were 32% less likely to have a heart attack. That’s about a‑half cup of berries a day.

So, what makes strawberries and blueberries so heart-healthy? They contain tons of anthocyanins – compounds that help widen arteries, and fight against the buildup of damaging, artery-blocking plaque. In fact, just about any red– or blue–colored fruit or vegetable can boost your heart health… including cherries, grapes, eggplant, black currants, plums, purple cabbage and boysenberries.

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What triples the risk of a heart attack?

02 Friday Nov 2018

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Having a knockdown, drag-out fight with someone, and then trying to blow off steam by going for a run or punching a heavy bag. New research from McMaster University shows, intense anger coupled with heavy physical exertion can be what triggers a first heart attack. The new research looked at more than 12,000 people, and intense activity and intense emotions each double the odds of having a heart attack within an hour. But if you’re really ticked off AND you exert yourself, your risk triples.

And if you’re thinking – “Well, I’m not a smoker, I don’t have high blood pressure and I’m not overweight” – it doesn’t matter; the risk is the same regardless. So, if you go mental on someone, don’t try to burn off your excess energy by mountain biking. Take calming breaths and do some yoga instead. You’ll increase your chances of settling whatever argument you had, instead of meeting your maker.

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Eating a little chocolate every day is GOOD for you – even if it’s milk chocolate.

21 Tuesday Feb 2017

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According to the journal Heart, people who eat 3.5 ounces of chocolate every day (that’s about 20 Hershey’s kisses) – dark or MILK chocolate – had a 14% lower risk of heart disease and a 23% lower risk of stroke than those who ate no chocolate.
Ounce for ounce, dark chocolate contains more antioxidants called flavonols – than any fruit or vegetable out there! And here’s what a good dose of flavonols will do for your health.
It improves the ability of blood vessels to expand and contract, which results in better blood flow to your hands, legs, and brain.
It helps the body regulate blood pressure.
A healthy dose of flavonols also decreases the stickiness of blood platelets – which reduces the risk of blood clots and stroke.
And it increases your ‘good’ cholesterol – which lowers your risk of a heart attack.
But since chocolate is still high in fat and calories, a couple of squares a day is plenty.

Which is worse for your heart?

13 Tuesday Dec 2016

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Job burnout – or smoking? Well, if you’re exhausted by your work – physically and emotionally… And your boss is a jerk… You’re a prime candidate for heart problems. A new study has found a strong link between job burnout and coronary heart disease – which is when plaque builds up in your arteries and can lead to a heart attack. In fact, people who were at the top of the job burnout scale were 80% more likely to have coronary disease. That was WAY more extreme than the researchers expected… and it makes job burnout a stronger predictor of heart disease than smoking, high cholesterol and stress! So if your job is making you sick – you may want to change jobs before it kills you, literally.