The best way to avoid a heart attack is to eat healthily, take regular exercise, quit smoking and lay off the booze, but did you know that you could reduce your risk of having a heart attack even more by snacking on these heart healthy foods? Read on to reduce your heart attack risk.

An unhealthy lifestyle is the most common cause of heart disease – there are 2.7 million people in the UK suffering from coronary heart disease. Changes to your lifestyle are important in order to minimise your risk of having a heart attack, but try and incorporate some of these foods into your diet, too.

Heart Disease Information: Apples Prevent Heart Disease

The old saying ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ may indeed be true, especially when it comes to protecting your heart from heart disease and heart attacks. A recent study of more than 34,000 women found that apples offer many protective benefits to the heart thanks to their unique flavonoid content. In this study, flavonoid-rich apples were found to be one of three foods (along with red wine and pears) that decrease the risk of mortality for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among post-menopausal women.

Read More: Apples Improve Heart Health

Heart Disease Information: Drinking Red Wine is Good for Your Heart

Whether or not drinking alcohol does increase life expectancy is debateable, but there have been numerous studies over the years to suggest that moderate drinking may be good for the heart, red wine in particular. Researchers in the Netherlands, in a recent study, found that participants who drank on average half a glass of wine per day, over a long period, had a 40 per cent lower rate of all-cause death and a 48 per cent lower incidence of cardiovascular death, compared to the non-wine drinkers.

But the key here is moderation – heavy drinkers put considerable pressure on their heart and are at greater risk than non drinkers of suffering from a heart attack. If you are looking for wine to drink, choose red wines from Sardinia and the south-west of France –a study published in the journal Nature claims that the presence of polyphenols called procyanidins is responsible for reducing heart disease risk and they are found in higher doses in wines from these two regions.

Read More: Drinking Wine Prevents Heart Disease

Heart Disease Friendly Foods: Nuts Prevent Heart Disease

Losing your cool on a regular basis is a sure fire way of raising your blood pressure and increasing your risk of suffering a heart attack, but eating nuts, which are rich in monounsaturated fats, could significantly lessen your risk of suffering from heart disease. The best nuts to eat are macadamia nuts or walnuts. Researchers in Barcelona have proved that the natural chemicals present in walnuts are able to boost the flexibility of arteries, thus reducing the chances of suffering a heart attack or developing coronary heart disease.

Read More: Macadamia Nuts Good for the Heart

Heart Disease Prevention: Porridge Reduces Cholesterol and Heart Disease

Porridge oats have been proven to reduce cholesterol and keep the arteries running smoothly. Alec Holden, who celebrated his 100th birthday in April, 2007, put his longevity down to eating porridge for breakfast and scientists believe that it is the anti-ageing substance melatonin, which is responsible for the health benefits, plus helps prevent heart disease. Oats are also rich in magnesium, which is a natural vasodilator that encourages the veins and arteries to dilate, so there is less chance of a restriction causing a heart attack or stroke.

Read More: Anti-Heart Attack Foods Revealed

Low Cholesterol Foods: Acai Berries

Coming all the way from the Brazilian rainforests, acai berries have been hailed as the next big ‘superfood.’ Acai berries are known to contain large amounts of protein and fibre, as well as both omega-6, which lowers cholesterol levels, and omega-9 fatty acids, which lower LDL cholesterol levels and maintain natural HDL cholesterol levels. These omega fatty acids have been studied for years as a way to protect the heart from damage and reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood, thereby providing possible protection from heart attacks.

Read More: Superfoods: Acai Berries

More Ways to Prevent Heart Disease: Other Heart Health Tips

Prevent Heart Disease: Go Vegetarian: A vegetarian diet is hugely effective for weight loss – vegetarians tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters, and they experience lower rates of heart disease. Read more: The Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet

Reduce Heart Disease Risk: Lay off the Drugs: Doing drugs, even smoking marijuana, will increase your chances of suffering from a heart attack, but drugs such as cocaine can lead to sudden heart attacks. Read more: Need to Know: Cocaine