Reducing Your Risk for Heart Disease
Many of the sections in this booklet have information to help you reduce your risk for heart disease.
Overall, you can reduce your risk if you:
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Eat right.
- Stay physically active.
- Quit smoking (see pages 29-30).
- Control your blood pressure and cholesterol levels (see pages 37-39).
- If you have diabetes, control your disease (see pages 39-41).
Should You Take Aspirin for a Healthy Heart?
For people who are at high risk for heart disease, taking aspirin every day or every other day can help reduce that risk.
For most people, taking aspirin is safe. But for some, aspirin increases the chance of bleeding in the stomach or intestines. And there is a small chance that aspirin will increase your risk for some kinds of stroke.
Talk to your doctor or nurse to find out if taking aspirin is right for you.