What you eat and what you do makes a difference in regard to heart disease. Having a healthy lifestyle can reduce your chances of heart disease.  Be sure to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, plant oils, nuts, fish and whole grains for a heart-healthy diet. 

In addition to healthy eating, physical activity plays a very important role.  The more exercise people do, the more benefit in reducing the risk.  As little as 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity per week can lower a person’s overall risk by 14% and the risk of developing heart disease gets gradually lower the more exercise a person does.

Lastly, it is equally important to maintain regular sleep patterns.  Researchers have found that sleeping 5 hours or less a night leads to a 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping less than 6 hours a night has been linked to an increased risk for high blood pressure by 350-500%.  Individuals who sleep less than 5 hours had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks. 

Maintaining a healthy diet, regular exercise and sleep patterns can help reduce the chances of heart disease.