Preventing Another Heart Attack

After you've had a heart attack, your biggest concern will probably be that you could have another one. You can help lower your risk of another heart attack by joining a cardiac rehabilitation program and taking your medicines.

Do cardiac rehab

You might have started cardiac rehabilitation (rehab) in the hospital or soon after you got home. It's an important part of your recovery after a heart attack.

In cardiac rehab, you will get education and support that help you make new, healthy habits, such as eating right and getting more exercise.

Make heart-healthy habits

If you don't do a cardiac rehab program, you will still need to learn about lifestyle changes that can lower your risk of another heart attack. These changes include quitting smoking, eating heart-healthy foods, and being active.

For more information on lifestyle changes, see Life After a Heart Attack.

Take your medicines

After having a heart attack, take all of your medicines correctly. Do not stop taking your medicine unless your doctor tells you to. If you stop taking your medicine, you might raise your risk of having another heart attack.

You might take medicines to:

• Prevent blood clots. These medicines include aspirin and other medicines such as clopidogrel (Plavix).
• Decrease the workload on your heart (beta-blocker).
• Lower cholesterol.
• Treat irregular heartbeats.
• Lower blood pressure.

For more information, see the Medications section of this topic.