Heart Attack--A Modern Disease

Up until the early part of the 19th Century, heart attack was a relatively rare cause of death. It mainly affected the very old, or the genetically weak and chronically sick. Nowadays, the situation is very different. No one is safe from the prospect of heart attack. It attacks people from all different walks of life, and at all stages of their life.

Heart attack then, is a disease of modern living. In particular, our diets which have fallen victim to the desire to have fast satiety and no effort at all, are responsible for the plaque which lines the arteries of a large percentage of the population. There it lurks until circumstances prevail, such as a shock of some kind, which will bring on the dreaded heart attack.

Changing the Status Quo

But we don't have to accept things as they are. Our level of knowledge about how our bodies work has never been so complete. So there's really no excuse for the individual not taking responsibility for their own health. We all need to learn what we can do, in terms of lifestyle changes, to bring about a change of direction so that we can all avoid the scourge of heart attack.

The greatest change of all can be made with diet. If we all went back to using unprocessed whole grains, and plenty of fresh fruit and healthy vegetables, we'd all be doing ourselves a huge favor. The large amounts of fiber in these foods prevent the absorption of much dietary cholesterol. We should also limit the foods that contain dietary cholesterol such as meat, poultry, eggs and dairy. It's also important to know that a healthy level of exercise will help to raise good cholesterol levels. The higher your LDL levels are, the less likely you are to have a heart attack!