Regular exercise, a heart-healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking can help prevent heart disease. But is there anything that you can do to reverse it?
Yes, in certain cases, says Dr. Stephen Kopecky, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist.
“The heart disease you can reverse is the narrowing of the arteries in the heart,” says Dr. Kopecky.
He says even if you have known heart disease, you can improve your risk factors for developing blockages that cause heart attack. And while lifestyle changes won’t open an artery if it’s already blocked by calcification, they can help prevent other blockages from happening.
“Once you do things like stop smoking, take care of your diabetes, take care of blood pressure, the progression stops,” says Dr. Kopecky.
Making changes isn’t easy and it takes some time to see improvements. Dr. Kopecky says to start small. Replace a bag of chips with an apple and build from there. Because, he says, it’s worth it.
“There are so many good benefits to lifestyle in addition to just helping your heart. It also helps reduce Alzheimer’s disease, almost all cancers and arthritis. A lot of good things happen,” says Dr. Kopecky.
‘Courtesy: Mayo Clinic News Network.[/vc_message]
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
