In a new study from Amsterdam University, researchers found heart attack survivors could gain more than seven healthy years of life if they take the right medications and improve their lifestyle.
But many patients cannot get optimal control over their risk factors.
The researchers found among more than 3,200 patients, only 2% had their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar under good control one year after their heart attack or heart procedure.
Overall, 65% still had high levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol, while 40% had high blood pressure. Things looked just as bad when it came to lifestyle—with 79% of patients being overweight or obese, and 45% not getting enough exercise.
In the study, the team used a mathematical model and estimated that if study patients’ risk factors were being optimally controlled, they could gain 7.4 extra years free of a heart attack or stroke.
Most patients were, in fact, on medication, including drugs to control cholesterol and blood pressure or to prevent blood clots.
But they may not have been on the optimal doses or combinations of medication.
And then there were the lifestyle factors, which can have a particular impact on blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.
Researchers suggest that simply being on medication may not be enough. Exercise, a healthy diet and weight management are also very important.
They encourage patients to move toward a plant-based diet, high in foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and fiber-rich grains.
They also suggest that cardiac rehabilitation programs are where people can find help. Those programs can be prescribed in the aftermath of a heart attack so that patients can have supervised exercise and, often, other services—such as nutrition advice and help with quitting smoking and stress reduction.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about a common cause of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and findings of both numbers in blood pressure reading could predict future stroke, heart attack.
For more information about heart disease and your health, please see recent studies about the underlying causes of heart rhythm diseases and results showing that this supplement may benefit people with heart failure.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology. One author of the study is Tinka Van Trier.
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