Preventing a heart attack: 5 lifestyle habits that reduce the risk by up to 80%

Our expert: Dr Michel de Lorgeril, author of How to escape a heart attack and stroke

In Europe, cardiovascular diseases, causing myocardial infarction and stroke, remain the leading cause of death, indicates Dr Michel de Lorgeril. Every year, there are more than 6 million new cases of diseases of the cardiovascular and circulatory system, and more than 1.8 million deaths linked to these diseases.

Why lifestyle is decisive

What are the causes of heart attack?

If hereditary factors exist, certain behaviors such as smoking or diet can also play a role. “Heart attack is a lifestyle disease, which can be eradicated by changing habits, and sometimes with the help of targeted medications,” says Dr. Michel de Lorgeril, author of How to escape heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure and a sedentary lifestyle are risk factors for myocardial infarction.

What are the symptoms of myocardial infarction?

Myocardial infarction, or heart attack, is linked to the obstruction of a coronary artery which supplies the heart – more precisely the heart muscle – with blood, and therefore with oxygen. This is a medical emergency situation which requires calling the SAMU (15) for immediate hospitalization, in order to unblock the coronary artery. Typical signs of a heart attack are severe chest pain that radiates down the left arm, back, or jaw. Nausea and dizziness are also possible. If the situation of hypoxia (lack of oxygen) continues due to blockage of a coronary artery, this leads to the death of heart cells over a more or less large area. The heart has problems beating normally, resulting in heart failure or even heart failure. This is why it is important to act as soon as symptoms appear so that the patient receives appropriate treatment as quickly as possible.

What are the consequences of a heart attack?

According to Inserm, 10% of patients die within an hour of a myocardial infarction and the one-year mortality rate for heart attack victims is 15%. Complications after a heart attack vary depending on the extent of the affected area in patients.

The 5 habits that reduce the risk of heart attack

Several studies, including a Swedish one published in Journal of the American College of Cardiologyin fact suggest that it is enough to change 5 behaviors to prevent 80% of heart attacks in men. These high-benefit behaviors are called preventive medicine therapeutic lifestyle changes.

In the Swedish article, researchers studied the combined effects of several behaviors on the risk of myocardial infarction. For this, they used the medical records of 20,721 Swedish men aged 45 to 79 in 1997. At that time, they had no problems with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol. They were followed until 2009.

The 5 behaviors considered healthy were:

• a healthy diet defined as a high score on a nutritional quality index
• moderate alcohol consumption (10 to 30 g per day maximum or 1 to 3 glasses)
• absence of smoking
• regular physical activity (at least 40 minutes of walking or cycling per day and 1 hour of exercise per week)
• the absence of abdominal obesity (waist circumference less than 95 cm).

During the 11 years of follow-up, men who respected these 5 instructions reduced their risk of heart attack by 86% compared to those who had no healthy behavior. The combination of these 5 healthy behaviors – healthy eating, moderate alcohol consumption, absence of smoking, regular physical activity and absence of abdominal obesity – would therefore prevent 79% of heart attacks.

Each behavior taken individually reduced the risk of heart attack. For example, a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and low-fat dairy products was associated with an approximately 20% reduction in risk, compared to no healthy behavior. Similarly, a healthy diet and moderate alcohol consumption were associated with a 35% reduction in risk compared to no healthy behaviors at all. This is also confirmed in a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in 2026, involving 6,814 American adults without heart disease. It reveals that consuming more than nine portions of ultra-processed foods per day (crisps, frozen meals, industrial cold cuts, etc.) increases the risk of heart attack, stroke or coronary death by 1.67, compared to one daily portion. Each additional serving increases this risk by 5.1%, regardless of calories, overall diet quality or traditional risk factors.

Another Taiwanese cohort study of middle-aged men and women (43 years) shows that the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, without tobacco, with adequate physical activity, normal body mass index, and a Mediterranean diet, is accompanied by a significant reduction in cardiovascular risk.

In practice: key daily actions

A few simple lifestyle measures, and the adoption of a protective diet for blood circulation, of the Mediterranean type, are associated with a strong reduction in the risk of heart attack.

Read: The Mediterranean diet

For Dr Agneta Akesson, lead author of the Swedish study, “ there is a lot to gain and money to save if people had a healthier lifestyle “. Researchers conclude from this study that these 5 behaviors together can prevent 4 out of 5 heart attacks in men. This information is all the more important as the consequences of a heart attack can be fatal.

Books to go further: How to escape heart attack and stroke, Foods that prevent heart attacks And Prevent heart attack