How can I prevent or manage heart disease?

From the Guidelines

To prevent or manage heart disease, adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle is crucial, as emphasized by the most recent and highest quality study available 1. This includes regular physical activity, a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, while limiting sodium, saturated fats, and processed foods. Maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, and managing stress through techniques like meditation or deep breathing are also essential components of this lifestyle. Controlling existing conditions such as high blood pressure (target below 130/80 mmHg), diabetes (maintain HbA1c below 7%), and high cholesterol (target LDL below 100 mg/dL or lower if you have existing heart disease) is vital. Medications may include statins for cholesterol management, antihypertensives for blood pressure control, and aspirin for certain high-risk individuals as recommended by your doctor. Regular health screenings, including blood pressure checks, cholesterol tests, and diabetes screenings, are fundamental in preventing and managing heart disease. These approaches work by reducing inflammation, preventing arterial plaque buildup, maintaining healthy blood flow, and reducing strain on your heart, which collectively lower your risk of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular complications. Key lifestyle modifications include:

• Eating a heart-healthy diet, such as the DASH diet inspired by the Mediterranean diet, which helps with weight loss and improves blood pressure and cholesterol levels 1.
• Engaging in regular physical activity, aiming for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly.
• Quitting smoking and avoiding secondhand tobacco smoke, as smoking is a significant risk factor for heart disease 1.
• Limiting alcohol consumption and managing stress.
• Maintaining a healthy weight through a balance of caloric intake and physical activity. The most recent study 1 highlights the importance of dietary interventions, such as the DASH diet, in preventing cardiovascular disease, and it emphasizes the need for government support to implement regulations like reducing salt content in processed food to make these strategies more effective on a population level.

From the FDA Drug Label

Atorvastatin calcium tablets are used: to reduce the risk of: heart attack, stroke, certain types of heart surgery and chest pain in adults who do not have heart disease but have other multiple risk factors for heart disease.

Atorvastatin calcium tablets can be taken with or without food

Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your cholesterol levels during your treatment with atorvastatin calcium tablets.

To prevent or manage heart disease, atorvastatin calcium tablets can be used to reduce the risk of:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Certain types of heart surgery
• Chest pain in adults with multiple risk factors for heart disease. It is essential to follow the prescribed dosage and take the medication exactly as directed by your healthcare provider. Additionally, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet and regular exercise, can help optimize the effectiveness of atorvastatin calcium tablets in managing heart disease. 2 2 2

From the Research

Preventing and Managing Heart Disease

To prevent or manage heart disease, several lifestyle modifications can be implemented. These include:

• Increasing physical activity, which has extensive benefits, including improving both blood pressure and blood cholesterol, as highlighted in the study by 3
• Maintaining a healthy body weight, moderating consumption of alcohol, exercising, reducing sodium intake, altering intake of calcium, magnesium, and potassium, and reducing stress, as recommended by 4
• Following a healthy dietary pattern, such as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products, as suggested by 5

Lifestyle Modifications for Heart Health

Additional lifestyle modifications that can help prevent and manage heart disease include:

• Quitting smoking, which can reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation by 36%, as noted in the study by 6
• Limiting alcohol intake, as excessive alcohol consumption can increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, as reported by 6
• Getting adequate sleep, as sleep deprivation can increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, as highlighted in the study by 6
• Engaging in regular physical activity, which can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, as emphasized by 7

Dietary Interventions for Heart Health

Dietary interventions can also play a crucial role in preventing and managing heart disease. These include:

• Following a Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation and cerebrovascular accident, as noted in the study by 6
• Increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, and olive oil, which can help reduce the risk of heart disease, as suggested by 6
• Reducing sodium intake, which can help lower blood pressure, as recommended by 5 and 4