Weird Advice Could Save You From a Heart Attack

If you’ve ever head a heart attack, you’re probably doing everything in your power to avoid another one. 

And that’s the right idea. 

Your risk of dying goes through the roof after a second heart attack.

But sometimes what you THINK you should be doing is the exact OPPOSITE of what you should actually be doing. 

There’s a big mistake that lots of heart attack victims are making right now. 

And if you’re not careful, it could cost you your life. 

If you’ve had a heart attack, your instinct might be to “take it easy” and not overly stress your recently damaged heart muscle.

That may SEEM logical. 

But it turns out that “taking it easy” is the last thing you should do.

Instead, one of the BEST things you can do after a heart attack is to start exercising regularly.

Researchers studied more than 22,000 patients between 18 and 74 who had experienced one heart attack and grouped them based on whether they were “active” or “inactive.”

Active was defined as 2-7 half-hour exercise sessions per week.

Inactive was defined as exercising once or less per week.

Turns out that people who increased their activity after having a heart attack had a 51% lower risk of death compared to those who were inactive.

And those who stayed active for a whole year had the best results, with a 59% lower risk of death.

Overall, those who were physically active were more than 50% more likely to than the “take it easy” crowd to be alive four years later.

While previous studies had looked at the heart-healthy benefits of exercise priorto having a heart attack, this is the first to look at its benefits aftera heart attack. 

And based on this study, it’s clear that one of the best prescriptions a doctor can write for heart attack victims is simply this: Exercise regularly.

Of course, it’s important not to overdo it. We’re talking about walking or gardening—not running a marathon.

In fact, an earlier study showed that doing exactly that—activities like gardening and walking—for just 30 minutes a day reduces your risk of having a fatal heart attack by more than 50%.

I like those activities—and those odds.

To a brighter day,

Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.