Forum: Keep in mind these tips to prevent heart attacks

The article “Heart truths” (May 15), on

heart attack survivors being at risk of another attack,

was helpful and comprehensive. As a general practitioner, I would like to offer some tips to prevent heart attacks.

Quit smoking. Smoking affects not only smokers but also those close to them. Second-hand smoking and even third-hand smoking can cause damage.

Diet is important too. The lipid levels of those with previous heart attacks and those with chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension should be lower than the normal values reflected in healthy individuals. What are normal levels in healthy individuals may still be a risk factor in those with previous heart attacks.

While regular exercise is recommended, people should not think more intense exercise is beneficial. Excessive exercise or extreme exercise may lead to other problems too. But simple exercises like shaking hands at home once a week is not adequate either.

While maintaining a healthy weight is important, extreme loss of weight and muscle mass may lead to sarcopenia and osteoporosis (particularly for post-menopausal women whose calcium levels may drop drastically).

Many seniors think long-term medications to control diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are detrimental to their long-term health. On the contrary, good control and follow-up help prevent many health complications.

People should check with their doctors before adjusting their medications. Some resort to taking medication for hypertension once every three days when each tablet is supposed to control the blood pressure for 24 hours.

On mental health, we should realise that stress is not just an individual problem. Stress may come from work, employer, family or financial problems. Those who impose unnecessary stress on others should bear in mind that they may indirectly be responsible for causing heart attacks in those they stress out.

Post-mortems have shown that some patients who died from heart attacks did not have any significant blockage in their coronary arteries. Instead, the heart attack was postulated to be caused by extreme spasms of the coronary arteries, long enough to cause damage to the heart muscle.

Hence it is possible to have heart attacks from stress and extreme emotional upheaval (sometimes labelled as being heart-broken).

Quek Koh Choon (Dr)