How to prevent recurrence of a cardiac event: “secondary” prevention
The aim of prevention is to act on modifiable cardiovascular risk factors.
The first rule is to take the medication that has been prescribed and to never stop it without medical advice.
Other than taking your medication, certain lifestyle changes will have a very important impact.
The main measures to take are:
- Stop smoking: the most effective preventative measure
- Regular physical exercise: 30 minutes of daily moderate effort is recommended
- A balanced and healthy diet
- Loss of excess weight
- Learning to cope with stress
In the Event of a Recurrence
Proper management of your disease greatly decreases the risk of recurrence of either stable angina or an acute coronary syndrome (unstable angina or a heart attack). However, there can be a recurrence: 1 person out of 7 has a new cardiovascular event in the year following a heart attack
In case of a recurrence of chest pain, you should:
- Stop what you are doing, sit and give yourself some rest (next to a telephone if possible). If you are not alone, inform someone of the pain
- If you have nitro-glycerine with you, take some as recommended by your general practitioner or cardiologist.
- If you are not relieved after 15 minutes (with or without nitro-glycerine), call the emergency number.
- Do not drive and do not go to the hospital by yourself.
- If the pain receded within 15 minutes, make an appointment to see your doctor (general practitioner or cardiologist) as soon as possible.
If the frequency or severity of the chest pain increases, if you are finding it difficult to carry out daily activities, or if you are unusually short of breath, see your doctor (general practitioner or cardiologist) as soon as possible.
