For decades, heart disease has been among one of the greatest contributors in mortality rate for Americans. There are two major ways to prevent cardiovascular problems: a primary prevention and a secondary prevention plan. The primary prevention is designed to help patients manage their hearts before a heart attack by eliminating smoking, controlling blood pressure, eating a healthy diet, and exercising. Next, a secondary prevention method helps those already diagnosed with heart problems such as coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral vascular disease. For the secondary prevention method, there are more limitations in helping the patient since the patient had a prior heart condition. However, it has been suggested that taking aspirin may reduce the severity of a heart attack and aid in thinning the blood, which could prevent blood clot forming in the arteries of the heart. Both of these preventative methods attempt to reduce the risk factors of serious heart problems. .
For the primary prevention plan, doctors suggest many factors to reduce the risks of having a heart attack. For example, smoking is the largest contributor for cardiovascular disease and particularly so for women. It takes less tobacco products to cause the same amount of harm for women than men. It has been noted that "regular consumption of tobacco products can lead to progression of blockage in the arteries of the heart, legs and head, leading to heart attack, pain with walking, and stroke." Also, it is important to exercise because it helps to reduce high blood pressure, and increase flexibility and energy if the patient has a regular exercising program. Along with exercising, it is strongly encouraged by doctors to eat a balanced and healthy diet. By reducing the saturated fat in a person's diet it will help with keep the weight down as well as the LDL cholesterol and triglycerides level low.