21 ways to reduce your risk of heart disease

EAT A PIECE OF DARK CHOCOLATE SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK

1 The beneficial effects in chocolate are likely due to chemicals called flavonoids, which help arteries stay flexible. Other properties of the sweet stuff seem to make arteries less likely to clot and prevent the “bad” cholesterol, LDL, from oxidising, making it less likely to form plaque. Dark chocolate is also rich in magnesium. But steer clear of milk chocolate, which is high in butter fat and thus tends to raise cholesterol.

GO TO BED AN HOUR EARLIER TONIGHT

2 A Harvard study of 70,000 women found that those who got less than seven hours of sleep had a slightly higher risk of heart disease. It’s thought lack of sleep increases stress hormones, raises blood pressure and affects blood sugar levels.

EAT FISH REGULARLY

3 A US study found that women who ate fish at least once a week were one-third less likely to have a heart attack or die of heart disease than those who ate fish only once a month.

RECORD YOUR SLEEP

4 If you hear yourself snoring (or if your partner has been kicking you a lot), make an appointment with your doctor. You may have sleep apnoea, a condition that causes sufferers to stop breathing hundreds of times a night. It can lead to high blood pressure and other medical problems.

EAT A HIGH-FIBRE CEREAL AT LEAST FOUR TIMES A WEEK

5 In a Harvard University study, scientists found that women who ate 23g of fibre a day – mostly from cereal – were 23% less likely to have heart attacks than those who consumed only 11g.

STIR A HANDFUL OF NUTS INTO A STIR-FRY

6 Just 45g of healthy nuts a day can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.

DRINK AT LEAST TWO CUPS OF TEA A DAY

7 Black or green, it doesn’t seem to matter, says a Dutch study, which found that only 2.4% of 5000 healthy Rotterdam residents who drank two or more cups of tea a day had a heart attack within six years, compared with 4.1% of those who never drank tea. An analysis of 17 studies on tea-drinkers found three cups a day could slash the risk of a heart attack by 11%.