Heart attacks occur when the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked. A lack of blood to the heart may seriously damage the heart muscle and can prove deadly. When it comes to one’s diet, aiming for five portions of fruits and vegetables will help to keep the heart healthy. When it comes to a food which does the opposite, there is one that should be avoided as much as possible.
When a heart attack occurs, it can disrupt a person’s normal heart rhythm, potentially stopping it altogether.
When the heart stops getting a supply of blood during a heart attack, some of the tissue can die.
This can weaken the heart and later cause life-threatening conditions such as heart failure.
Heart attacks can affect the heart valve and cause leaks.
Keeping healthy and active are some of the best methods to reduce having a heart attack and spotting early signs is also crucial.
When it comes to being healthy and reducing your risk of serious conditions, eating bacon should be avoided.
Heart attack: Eating this type of food will significantly raise your risk (Image: Getty Images)
More than half of bacon’s calories come from saturated fat.
Saturated fat raises the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol and boost the chance of a heart attack or stroke.
Bacon also contains high amounts of salt which bumps up the blood pressure and makes the heart work harder.
High amounts of sodium can lead to stroke, heart disease and heart failure.
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Bacon’s added preservatives are linked to these issues as well.
A study of almost 30,000 people followed for up to three decades found those who regularly consumed processed meat such as bacon were more prone to premature death.
In particular, having red or processed meat every seven days was linked to a three percent to seven percent higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
Senior author of the study, Norrina Allen, professor of preventative medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago said: “It is a small difference, but it’s worth trying to reduce red meat and processed meat like pepperoni and deli meats.
Heart attack: Processed meats including bacon should be avoided as much as possible (Image: Getty Images)
Red meat includes beef, lamb, pork, veal and venison.
Processed is bacon, sausages, hot dogs, salami and corned beef.
The study published in JAMA Internal Medicine included self-reported diets over the previous year or month of 29,682 men and women with an average age of 53.
Lead author Dr Victor Zhong said: “Modifying intake of these animal protein foods may be an important strategy to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death at a population level.”
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute said: “The major risk factors for a heart attack include smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, overweight and obesity, an unhealthy diet, lack of routine physical activity, high blood sugar due to insulin resistance or diabetes.
“Some of these risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar tend to occur together.
“When they do, it’s called metabolic syndrome. In general, a person who has metabolic syndrome is twice as likely to develop heart disease and five times as likely to develop diabetes as someone who doesn’t have metabolic syndrome.”
Source: Daily Express
