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- How often does the average heart beat (expand and contract) each day? About 100,000 times. How much blood does it pump? About 2,000 gallons. If you live to age 70, your heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times.
- Although some risk factors for a heart attack are beyond our control, many more are not. To prevent a heart attack, live in a "heart-healthy" way. That means:
- get more physical exercise
- eat a heart-healthy diet
- keep your blood pressure under control
- keep your cholesterol under control
- stop smoking
- stop drinking alcohol heavily
- Smoking is the most prevalent and preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease in women younger than 45.
- Fewer than half of all women are aware that heart disease is the number 1 killer of American women. Most women identify cancer as the leading cause of death.
- African-American women are more at risk for heart disease than Caucasian women.
- The body manufactures more cholesterol at night than during the day. Therefore, cholesterol lowering medicines are most effective when taken during the evening, at dinner or before bed.
- Learn CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and how to use an AED (automated external defibrillator). The American Heart Association has courses that combine CPR and AED training. They take only about four hours. Contact your local chapter to find out when they're given. You may save a life Get information about AHA's CPR and AED classes.
- About 4,000 people are currently on the waiting list for a heart in the U.S. About one third of them – more than 1300 people – will die waiting. Become an organ donor.
- A heart attack is not a death sentence. Today, the majority of people who have a heart attack survive it and go on to live normal, active lives. Following a program of secondary prevention (usually involving taking medicines and making some lifestyle changes) can prevent a second heart attack.
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