Lack of exercises and obesity leads to unhealthy lifestyle that causes heart attack.

Advantages of Exercise
* It reduces the obstruction in the coronary arteries by opening up the collateral coronary.
* Too strenuous or overexertion of exercises may be dangerous or may even lead to death.
* It should be known that what and how much of the exercise is to be done.

It is very necessary to first accustom to the exercises and also to its harmful effects. For the elderly, the exercises should be avoided if they are suffering from-
* prolonged breathlessness
* tiredness and
* chest pain 

Walking is the best exercise for people of all ages.

A mixed diet containing a wide variety of foodstuffs is recommended for heart patients. It should mainly comprise the following:
* Vegetarian food, generally, including antioxidant containing items.
* Animal food, occasionally, as a good source of proteins.
* Fish 
* Fair amount of milk and yogurt (curd), with most of the fat skimmed off, as a source of protein for the vegetarians.
* Vegetable oil (soybean, corn, sunflower) as a cooking medium, in limited quantity.
* Sparse consumption of ghee and butter.
* Eggs, should be avoided, but, if not possible, not more than 5 per week, should be consumed.
* Pulses in plenty, as a source of proteins.
* Low salt, low spice and minimum chilies in the food; sparse use of pickles and chutneys (especially for hypersensitive people).
* Plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits and salads.

Foods that can be taken in plenty

Clear soups, thin butter, milk, salads like cucumber, onion, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage etc., leafy vegetables, other vegetables like gourd, cauliflower, brinjal, etc., sour-lime, dal (pulses)-water, thin curd curry.

Moderately Restricted food

Cereals, pulses and legumes, egg, (if obese and having cardiac problems then avoid egg-yolk), lean cuts of mutton, chicken without skin, roots and tubers-potatoes, sweet potatoes, beet-root etc., fruits including citrus fruits (twice a day) like orange, papaya, apple with its skin, guava etc.

Cooking Oils
 
Vegetable oils, which are low in saturated fats but high in mono or polyunsaturated fats should be used. Apart from the vegetable oils, certain fish oils are very useful in reducing blood cholesterol, but they are not available for general consumption in India. The vegetable oils are not only low in cholesterol but they also tend to reduce the cholesterol manufactured by the body.

Restricted food

Refined cereals, sugar and sugar products, rich cakes, pastries, ice-creams, milk shakes (of whole milk), organ meats, egg yolk, nuts, oilseeds, coconut (fresh and dry), soft-drinks, hard-drinks, whole milk and its preparations.

High consumption of salt also leads to high blood pressure. Communities which consume a low salt diet habitually show lesser incidence of hypertension, which is an adverse factor for the heart.

Vegetarian v/s Non-Vegetarian
 
Now, it has been proven that vegetarian diet is healthier as it provides most of the antioxidants which are protective against free radicals. While on the other hand non-vegetarians, in general, have a lesser span of life  because of the increased cases of heart attacks.

Hypertension and diabetes are two common conditions which accelerate the production of ischaemic heart disease. The damage is compounded if both the conditions coexist in the same patient.

Normal range of blood pressure

Generally, 140/90 is considered to be the upper limit of normal blood pressure at the age of 40. This figure is somewhat lower for younger and higher for older people.

Effects of hypertension

The high pressure in the arteries causes their degeneration. This high pressure forces the cholesterol into the arterial wall in the form of deposits. Thus atheroma (fatty deposit) formation is facilitated by hypertension. These atheromas cause obstruction to the flow of blood in the arteries. Occurring in the coronary arteries, they produce angina and heart attacks. In the arteries of the brain, they produce stroke and paralysis. Similarly, they can affect other organs, such as the kidneys, eyes and legs.

There is also a direct, adverse, mechanical effect on the heart and brain due to hypertension. The left ventricle which is the principal pumping chamber of the heart, has to work against high pressure in the arteries. This puts an extra load on the left ventricle, which in course of time enlarges, its function suffers and it may ultimately fail. Acute rise of blood pressure above 200 mm can cause brain haemorrhage.

All hypersensitive people should, by habit, take a low salt diet, say one-third of the average consumption, unless they are being given diuretic drugs.