Prevention and Control

What can I do to avoid a heart attack or a stroke?

Plan and maintain a healthy diet:  A balanced diet is crucial to a healthy heart and circulation system. This should include plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, fish and pulses, and restricted salt, sugar and fat intake intake.


All fats are high in energy and will make you gain weight unless you burn them off by staying active. Some fats are more likely to increase your risk of heart attack and stroke:

• Saturated fats and tran-fats lead to “bad” cholesterol in your blood, and increase your risk of heart disease. Try to restrict your use of these fats.

• Unsaturated fats are less risky, but they still make you gain weight. You should eat them in moderation.

Sources of saturated fat, trans-fat and cholesterol. Restrict your use of:	Sources of unsaturated fat. Use these fats in moderation.
Butter and ghee	Safflower oil
High fat dairy products, such as cream and creamy cheeses.	Canola oil
Palm oil and coconut oil	Nuts, such as peanuts, cashews, walnuts and almonds
Food fried in saturated fat	Sunflower oil
Processed meats, such as burgers and sausages	Sesame, pumpkin, or sunflower seeds
Liver and other organ meats	Cottonseed oil
Fatty pork	Corn oil
Lard and shortening	Soybean oil
Egg yolks	Fish oil
Chocolate	Soft margarine ( not hard margarines)

Cooking tips for reducing fat

• Use only a very little cooking oil.

• Instead of frying foods, bake, broil, boil, grill, steam, roast, poach, or microwave them.

• Trim the fat and skin off meat before cooking.

• Eat chicken instead of red meat like beef, pork, and mutton.

Take regular physical activity: At least 30 minutes of regular physical activity every day helps to maintain cardiovascular fitness; at least 60 minutes on most days helps to maintain healthy weight.

Avoid tobacco use: Tobacco in every form is very harmful to health - cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or chewable tobacco. Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke is also dangerous. The risk of heart attack and stroke starts to drop immediately after a person stops using tobacco products, and can drop by as much as half after one year.

Check and control your cardiovascular risk:

• Know your blood pressure: High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, but can cause a sudden stroke or heart attack. Have your blood pressure checked.
• Know your blood sugar: Raised blood glucose (diabetes) increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. If you have diabetes it is very important to control your blood pressure and blood sugar to minimize the risk.
• Know your blood lipids: Raised blood cholesterol and abnormal blood lipids increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Blood cholesterol needs to be controlled through a healthy diet and, if necessary, by appropriate medications.

Tips for reducing your risk!!!!!

There is so much that you can do to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke for you and your family. Start by making some healthy lifestyle choices:

• If you smoke or use tobacco, quit. Avoid inhaling smoke from other people’s cigarettes.

• Spend 30 minutes a day doing something active, like walking, gardening, or housework.

• Eat 5 servings of fruit and vegetables each day.

• Limit the salt, fat, and sugar in your diet.

• Once a year, ask your doctor to check your weight, blood pressure, blood fats and  blood sugar.

• Encourage your family members and others to change their lifestyles.