Heart attacks are a serious medical emergency, and should be treated immediately.
The condition, which is also known as a myocardial infarction, is caused by a sudden lack of blood reaching the heart.
Making some diet or lifestyle changes could help to lower your chances of having a deadly heart attack.
Adding more beetroot juice to your diet could help to prevent a myocardial infarction, it’s been revealed.
Drinking beetroot juice could lower your heart attack risk as it helps to prevent high blood pressure, scientists have claimed.
Having high blood pressure increases the risk of developing a heart attack, added the American Heart Association.
Hypertension causes the arteries to become narrowed from cholesterol and fat – known as plaque.
As arteries become clogged up with plaque, blood clots are more likely to form, thus increasing the risk of heart attacks.
But, drinking beetroot juice could prevent high blood pressure. The juice contains chemical nitrates that have an antihypertensive effect, said the British Heart Foundation.
Just 250ml of beetroot juice a day is enough to lower blood pressure, it said.
“This research has proven that a daily inorganic nitrate dose can be as effective as medicalintervention in reducing blood pressure and the best part is we can get it from beetroot and other leafy green vegetables,” said researcher Amrita Ahluwalia.
“For those looking to work dietary nitrate into their daily diets, the trick is not to boil the vegetables – as dietary nitrate is water soluble – but steaming, roasting or drinking in a juice all has a positive effect.”
You could gain similar amounts of nitrates from beetroot juice by eating about 100g of cooked or grated raw beetroot.
Adding the juice to your diet could also lower the chances of developing dementia, scientists have revealed.
The high nitrate consumption has been linked to an increased blood flow to the frontal lobes of the brain.
You could also lower the risk of a heart attack by losing weight, if you’re overweight.
Losing just a few pounds will help to prevent heart disease – one of the causes of a heart attack.
The more weight you carry, the harder the heart has to work to pump blood around the body.
Giving up smoking will also lower your risk of a myocardial infarction.
Common heart attack symptoms include chest pain, severe headaches, and having a shooting pain in your left arm.
Dial 999 for an ambulance if you’re worried you may be having a heart attack.
